I just bled the whole brake system, and the pedal still goes to the floor...
if I look in the reservoir on the master cylinder I see a little fountain of brake fluid bubbling up

[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/891782/IMG_2479.JPG[/img]

does this mean my master cylinder is shot ?? new seals in it ??

My gut feeling is this is not normal...

If it's a geyser of brake fluid, and not air, then it's perfectly normal.

If your brake pedal still goes to the floor, then you have air in the system somewhere.

You will get a squirt of fluid when the peddle first starts to move but should stop after the peddle travels a ways. Once the piston is past the fill hole it normally stops. But until that happens it spurts up in the reservoir.

Also if you have an old master and you have been pushing the peddle to the floor a lot you might have damaged the piston seals. It's often good to put a 2x4 or something under the peddle so it does not go all the way to the floor.
On an old master crud builds up in the piston bore and if you push the piston into the unused part it can possible damage the seals. Putting a board under the peddle helps to keep it out of the bad area.
This may or may not be the problem.

If you pump the brake pedal and then the pedal gets hard that means there is air in the system.

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If you stab the pedal quickly and then it is hard but if you press the pedal gently and then it just goes to the floor, that is an indication that the seals in the MC are bad.

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If you look under the car and see a puddle of brake fluid that indicates a leak. (other than your MC fountain splashes)

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+1 on the quick fountain at the start of the pedal travel. That is normal and is why you have to put the cover back on the MC when manually bleeding brakes. I have learned that lesson quite a number of times. Not sure why I have to keep on relearning it but I'll be in the middle of bleeding the brakes, will have just refilled the MC and will forget to put the cover back on. Then there is brake fluid splashed all over and I will have learned the lesson one more time.

Thanks for the responses...

the fountain (not air bubbles) happens the whole pedal travel when you press slowly.... if you stab it... it squirts a very high and makes a mess. but its the whole travel, not just the beginnings...

and I can press it to the floor every time.

is there a seal kit only or should I replace the whole thing with a rebuilt one ??

thanks

For the cost difference I would simply replace it.

$21.82

http://www.rockauto.com/cat...249152&parttype=1836

[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 01-02-2014).]

DIY rebuild MC is not recommended.

See my Cave, Brake Service covers that and more.

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