brakes pedal went soft again

[Andrew/USPWR]

Pulled the Viper out last night to wash it and when I went to pulled it back in the brakes were going to the floor. I've lost my brakes a few times this year at the track, but they were bleed after the last track event and the car has hardly been driven sense. What the hell.

Last time I bleed them, I put speed bleeders on the back, Which are the old front brakes and up front have the Baer 6 piston from Viper Speed.

Help, Could I have a air leak in a hose somewhere? Any advise welcomed. I'm in West Palm Beach and don't have a good Viper tech near by




2000 GTS Steel Grey
6 piston Baer claws up front, Front brakes in back, Quaife differential, GKH half shafts,
Alloy fly wheel, Short throw shifter, Polished aluminum intakes, K&N air filters,
Optima battery, Sterling silver ignition key, ACR 5 point harnesses.

 

[AviP]

You could have water or moisture in the line. Brake fluid is very hygroscopic and the coincidence that it goes soft right after a car wash could be the clue. I never use the high pressure spray near the calipers. Also check if your reservoir cap is loose.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I don't think the washing had anything to do with it. It felt soft the day before but I didn't pay much attention to it. I haven't checked the cap. but I wouldn't think water could get down to the caliper that fast.

 

[95Viper]

You should order the Motive pressure bleeder, less than $50. You could pressurize the system and you'd know if it was leaking and where. I can hook you up with a specific Viper cap and quick disconnect fitting too so you can use it on multiple vehicles.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

where to order?

 

[Bad_Byte]

Best recommendation I have is to simply take out the bleeder and take off the cap on the reservoir and let it drip for about 5 minutes or more. The problem with using the pedals and speed bleeders is that the porportioning valve moves or something. All I know is I had squishy brakes (not to the floor) and that got that last little bit of air out of the system. Watch for the bubbles to come out the top of the caliper where the bleeder was.

I would think that if you have a leak you'd see the fluid level drop.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

You may have a bad master cylinder, too. You didn't say you were losing fluid, only that bleeding must have helped. With an open bleed screw, the pressure doesn't build up, so the master cylinder isn't "working hard." And if fluid isn't on the floor, it's still all in the system, just not doing what you want it to.

Having six pistons up front and four out back means the master cylinder is being exercised quite a bit.

 

[ViperRay]

I bought a pressure gauge kit from stainless steel brakes (stainlesssteelbrakes.com) a while back for around 30 bucks. You take out your bleeder screw and screw in the gauge (it comes with several fittings).
You can then test the pressure in the brake lines at the calipers and learn what's going on.

At the time I bought it, I was switching from drum to disc brakes on my Challenger and needed to know if I had enough pressure (you need about 2X as much for discs compared to drums). Anyway, this is another subject.

 

[Tom Sessions]

Andrew How about a viper tech coming to youI may be in your area late Oct.Let me know if I need to stop by.

 

[95Viper]

Andrew, The Motive Bleeder is at motiveproducts.com, it's only like $40 and it will tell you the pressure too. Get the basic kit with the universal fitting and shoot me an email and I'll hook you up with the rest to have a great setup. You'll love the setup, you'll be bleeding all your cars, trucks, etc.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I checked this morning and I am loosing fluid from the master cylinder. Haven't had the time to look for the leak yet.

Tom, Would love to have you take a look at it and maybe give the whole car a once over. We'd love to see you regardless though. you know were your #1 fan. I'v been thinking about a duc kit from ViperSpeed. But you know me, I don't want to cut into my spoiler. Can it be modified. Your thoughts.

Thanks Craig, I cheakout motiveproducts now and let you know.

Few more years of wrenching on this car and I'll be a Viper tech myself...............Not