Brakes!!!! What am I looking at?

Aaron Pedroza

Registered User
Driving home last night I think my brakes finally gave in. They are hard as a rock. It has been a slow progression for a while. They were just hard at first touch on the pedal, then they went to normal braking but now they are hard as a rock 80% of them time, longer drives gets them back to normal. I am assuming accumulator, am I right? What is involved with fixing it? What kind of cash am I going to be laying down?
 
Start with the ABS Relay for $10 or so bucks and cross your fingers b/c then you're looking at the Accumulator from Prior Remanufaturing @ 10 times the price. Good luck
 
Check your brake fluid :/ I had the same problem this seemed to work, the car had barly any fluid.
 
Do you get an ABS light now all the time?

You might want to start with pulling the codes. The ABS system has a connector just like the EEC, and the procedure is the same.

The relay is one thing, then there could be a problem with the pressure switch, the pump motor, and/or the accumulator.

Check and make sure your brake fluid is topped up. If it's low, and you see no signs of fluild loss, I'd tend toward the Accumulator. But if it's not low, it might not be simply the accumulator.
 
Well, light is on all the time now, pretty much. I just had to add like half abig bottle of brake fluid into the reservoir. Will check to see if there are any leaks.
 
With no leaks, that much fluid being added would point to the Accumulator bladder rupturing. But I would expect the pump to be able to build pressure at least to get the light off when you sit still, and then the light come right back on as soon as you hit the brakes.

If that isn't the case, it's possible the relay or the pump motor also have an issue.

The accumulator is fairly easy to replace. It is the big round ball looking thing next to the brake master cylinder. It turns out of some threads, the new one just turns back in.
 
thanks for the info, I will keep any eye on the fluid levels and check for leaks. I will also pay attention to the lights now too. I'll let ya know.
 
If you don't start the engine, but turn the key on, you should easily be able to hear the pump run and shut off as you press the brake pedal. If you don't hear it, start by checking the pump motor relay.
 
Must be the accumulator, I just dumped out alomost a whole bottle of fluid driving around the block, guess i know what i'll be doing this weekend.
 
Ok, now is there anything else I should do when I'm in here? I am buying the accumulator, $200 (ouch!!!), but is there anything I should buy?
 
Ouch is right. A reman from Prior is only $99 + shipping. And if I understand correctly (you should verify by calling them) they give you credit towards a complete master cylinder rebuild if that doesn't fix your problem.

http://www.priorreman.com/

Once you top up your fluid, you shouldn't loose anymore regardless what has blown. If you have put in fluid, then added more, then added more. You have got to have a leak somewhere.

Once the accumulator ruptures internally, the system still has a fixed volume, it's just that the volume has increased. Once you fill that volume up, it shouldn't keep needing more.
 
Well, took a quick look at it last night, turns out brake fluid is leaking out of master cylinder somewhere. May have a leaky fitting or reservoir is leaking. Anyone have this happen, kind of hard to see in there so if anyone else has had something like this happen, where'd it leak from?
 
There are a few places. I've seen a few people have the fluid leaking past the housing of the pressure switch. Here is a picture of the assembly so you can get an idea where things are:

absactuator.jpg
 
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