yeah I guess some how they go bad not sure how but they do and they dont let fluid run freely
Thanks for the advice melancholyda. I was wondering if a proportioning valve might be part of my problem. Your description though makes me think mine is okay. During bleeding I was able to bleed all 4 corners no problem with pretty much equal flow all around.
I took the car for a test drive tonight. The brakes work and are decent, but its hard to be very confident with them if that makes sense. They don’t seem to stop like they should. I was able to lock them up this time but it took considerable effort.
I put it back in the garage and I’m going to try bleeding a couple more times tomorrow night. Hopefully I still just have some air in there.
I guess my question this time is: would it be possible to lock up the brakes if there was air in the lines? It would seem like if there is enough air in the lines to make the first 2 inches or so of pedal travel feel so soft that there would be no way to compress the air enough to lock up the brakes.
I wish I had an answer for you there honestly I have ran one of my das with air in the line even though the peddle sunk a bit it still braked . when the car is on around the master cylinder area do you hear a hissing sound by any chance?
Ive had air in my lines go both ways to where the brake is extra sensitive or very sluggish to stop . might just be me that this has happened to dont know . Any one else have some input or advice on what might be going on?
I have noticed a kind of hissing at higher rpm’s coming from around the MC and it wasn’t there before all this. It may be in my head though because it is definitely not very pronounced. I’ll check it out next time I fire it up. Somehow my battery died so I’ve gotta get a charger from someone at work. Dead battery, spongy brakes, what next?
Upper/lower ball joints, inner/outer tierods, lca/trailing arm bushings… etc. Basically your whole suspension LOL.
:shock: Unfortunately you are right! My car has 306k miles and pretty much all the bushings and ball joints need to be replaced. Plus, I think some of my shocks are leaking! Once I get this brake thing under control my next step will be coilovers, new UCA’s, lower balljoints, all new bushings and wheels and tires.
Check this out turn the car on get some brake cleaner and spray around m.c area if your car turns off you have a leak and that would explain your brakes
To answer my own question: “dragging rear brakes and uneven parking brake!”
I bled the brakes again last night, didn’t get any air. I hit the calipers with a rubber mallet to try and dislodge any bubbles but still nothing. I’m pretty sure all the air is out.
Like I said before, the brakes are driveable so I was just going to adjust the e-brake and take it for a spin again. Well, the e-brake grabs unevenly! The right rear caliper kind of drags, I had to tap it with the mallet a couple times to get the rotor to spin a little more freely. If you pull the e-brake spring with your hand at the caliper it only takes like a quarter inch or so of travel to completely lock up that caliper. On the drivers side it takes a good inch or so of travel before the e-brake starts to drag. So no matter how I adjust the e-brake under the console the right side is always going to drag and the left side won’t do anything.
I read somewhere on HT that if the proportioning valve was malfunctioning then it could not let fluid pass back through it (i.e. from caliper to MC) so that would make the piston stay extended, causing my brake drag. The only other thing could be the caliper mounting bracket. If those pins were sticking than the brakes would drag as well.
If you remember my original post
Noticed smoke coming from right rear wheel, looked like brake fluid had sprayed out onto brake disc/wheel.
It was the right rear caliper that I think caused all the problems in the first place. I have since replaced the caliper itself. Perhaps the proportioning valve wasn’t letting the fluid pressure relieve in that line causing the brakes to drag which boiled the fluid and caused me to lose the brakes in the first place.
Any thoughts? That is…if anyone has read this far, sorry for the super long post.
change the p valve its only like 12 to 25 bucks to change and that will answer alot if theres still a problem after that then it would be the pins but im putting my money on that little p valve that usually doesnt go out but on some lucky das it does 
Yeah, the proportioning valve is hardly ever mentioned here or on HT so it must rarely go out. Where can you get them? OEM is like $140, are you talking about picking up one from someone on the boards?
there or in junkyards
:argh: Still no brakes!
I checked the right rear caliper to make sure it was floating correctly on the pins and everything was fine. Figured it had to be the proportioning valve not letting the piston back in. Replaced the valve and same story. Left rear e-brake lever on the caliper takes a good quarter turn to start dragging the brakes. Right rear takes literally less than a fraction of an inch before completely locking up and the brakes seem to be dragging too much even with the e-brake completely disengaged.
The only thing I can think is perhaps the “self adjusting” e-brake mechanism is not working properly?
In the service manual it says after working on the rear calipers to apply the brakes several times with the car on to “set” the adjustable parking brake. Then you adjust the cable. I assume setting the brake pushes the piston out and then the adjusting bolt in the pic keeps it from backing off too much. It seems like mine is keeping the piston too far out so that barely applying the e-brake locks everything up. In the pic below I circled in red the part I’m talking about.
Also, incase it helps anyone diagnose what is going on, the part I circled in blue seems to be loose on the caliper I’m having trouble with. I wiggled the one on the drivers side and it is pretty firmly in place. Same for the two old calipers I removed. The passenger side caliper though has a good amount of play in it, you can push the level that attaches to the cam up at least a half inch or so. I tried manually pushing the piston back into the bore on both rear calipers by turning them. Interestingly after doing so when I turn on the car the pedal feels like it has air in it and sinks pretty far before firming up. Is this normal?
I’m getting another caliper tomorrow and I’m going to switch them out. Again, thanks to everyone for the help. Hopefully someone knows what the hell is going on this time.
im sorry bro I thought for sure the p valve would of fixed it im all out of ideas and advice really sorry bro
Hey man no problem, you’ve been a lot of help.
I worked on it again tonight and I think the problem was the OTHER rear caliper. I tested all four brakes and the fronts and the right rear would all grab at about the same pedal pressure. The left rear, however, wouldn’t grab until near the bottom of the travel.
I looked through the slot in the caliper and noticed the piston was not even touching the inner pad, there was atleast a quarter inch or more of clearance. I took off the caliper and manually pushed the piston out further by turning it counterclockwise.
I put everything back together and it is a lot better. I think something is wrong with that caliper though. I drove it and the brakes feel good but I think the right rear is grabbing sooner than the left rear. I’ll see if it evens out over the next couple days. If not then I think something is wrong with the threaded adjuster screw inside the caliper and isn’t holding the piston out far enough.
This also explains my soft pedal. When pushing the pedal all the brakes would fully lock but this one still had a ways to go so the pedal would continue to sink.
Thanks again for the help, this thing has been a nightmare. I’ll post if anything changes over the next couple days.
no problem and good luck