My friend drives a 99 LX (rear drums). Recently, he had to slam on the brakes really hard (he didn't tell me why). Now when he hits the brakes the pedal goes all the way to the floor. Any ideas of what it might be? I was thinking possibly a blown line or air leak? Or do you think he just effed up the pads that bad, although I don't think that would cause the pedal to go all the way to the floor.

TIA,

-Jake

Could be a couple of things.

First, it could be that it was a bit more than "slamming on the brakes" and he overheated them, boiling the fluid, creating air in the lines.

or, it is also possible that slamming on the brakes activated the ABS, and certain ABS modules (can't remember for sure if this is the case w/ the Contour module) have internal passages where fluid can be locked away, and if they weren't bled out at some point, an ABS activation can release the air into the rest of the system.


Either way, the solution is a thourough bleed of the brake system.

Do the brakes still work at all? If they're very soft, but functional, it's probably trapped air, like Rara said, which a good flush will clean out.

How much fluid is in the reservoir? If it ran low that could do this, and if there's a leak you'll be low/out of fluid.

Is is possible he FUBAR'ed the master cylinder?

Originally posted by Rara:

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Could be a couple of things.

First, it could be that it was a bit more than "slamming on the brakes" and he overheated them, boiling the fluid, creating air in the lines.

or, it is also possible that slamming on the brakes activated the ABS, and certain ABS modules (can't remember for sure if this is the case w/ the Contour module) have internal passages where fluid can be locked away, and if they weren't bled out at some point, an ABS activation can release the air into the rest of the system.


Either way, the solution is a thourough bleed of the brake system.

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This is your best advice. Start with a thorough bleed/flush. If that doesn't resolve it, look further, but start with making sure you have no air in the system and that you have no major leaks.