Master Cylinder

[milehighbear]

Ok, went out to warm up Lil Blue, 92 Festiva i just acquired about 6 months ago and saw the brake light on. Thought that had to do with emergency brake and knew i had to work on it soon. Well, put car in gear and moved it up and hit the brakes and pedal went to floor. Got it stopped and got out and opened hood and pulled top off reservoir and found it empty. The gal i bought it from had already bought rear brake cylinders and m/c but sold me car before getting them on. So i replaced wheel cylinders and brakes were good. Now, 4 months later brakes gone again and reservoir empty so figure it's time to replace m/c. Thanks to Jim Davis i found out brake light is also connected to m/c and after filling it, light went out. Looked at all wheels and see no fluid on them but a little by mc so will change it. My question is: I read few postings and know i need to bleed m/c before i put it on and see where you put hoses on fittings and put hoses into top of reservoir and push in on cylinder with screwdriver till no air comes out of lines and be very careful putting it on so you don't get air in it. I thought m/c had a rod out back that hooked to pedal with a pin but i see that's not case. Anything else i need to know. I will probably also bleed lines at wheels just to make sure. Any suggestions will be appreciated if you have them. By the way, new m/c she got is cardone select and is new and comes with reservoir attached and has hoses in box to bench bleed it. Anyone know cardone brand??? TY for any feedback.

[Rick the Quick]

Hello MileHigh, Cardone (in my opinion) is a highly regarded rebuilder. They have actually received awards for quality control of their product. And yes, I have seen some of their products defective right out of the box. It does happen. While I have no first hand knowledge of their "brand new" product lines, I would imagine they are high quality items. Good luck with your repair.

[bravekozak]

The proper brake bleeding sequence (due to cross proportioning) is right rear, left front, left rear, right front.

[FestYboy]

Milehigh, you'll want to bleed the mc as described, but don't be too fussy about being careful afterwards. Here's a trick I developed a while ago to purge all air from the system: before starting the swap, compress the front calipers to force any air and old fluid back up the lines. Prime the master as normal and cap the ports. Loosen (not remove) the 2 lines then disconnect the old mc from the booster. Tilt the master so that the lines are at an upward angle. Now remove the lines. Take the new mc, top off the reservoir, unplug the ports and let gravity do it's thing as you attach the lines at an angle.

Doing this will ensure the least amount of air in the system. As you're attaching the lines, the flow of brake fluid will displace any air that may be present.

[milehighbear]

TY fellas for the great info. Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Will let you all know how it goes.

[TominMO]

I strongly recommend getting Speed Bleeders to make bleeding the brake lines a truly one-person job. A little ball valve lets fluid out, but does not let air back in when you lift off the pedal. When I installed new wheel cylinders, pre-charged with brake fluid, I only had to pump the pedal twice on the left side to get an air bubble out (2nd pump was hard), and when I did the right side the pedal was already hard--zero air.

Festiva and Aspire part # is SB8100 (i.e. M8 x 1.00). Festiva is not shown in their Ford listing, only Aspire, but I have them on my Festy (stock rear brakes and Capri fronts). I would speculate it is the same for Kia and Hyundai (also not shown). They also come in stainless. The SB8100 size is very widely used for Mazdas.

Speed Bleeder.com

[milehighbear]

Do they stay on your car all the time?? Never mind, i went to the ad and saw how you do it. That's what i pay my wife for, lol, to pump while i bleed. Ill check into that, ty Tom.

[milehighbear]

Well, finally got off my butt and went out and changed m/c out. Only took me about hour and 15 mins. Pedal only goes down maybe an inch but is really firm and took it out for drive and still have lots of pedal. Will bleed wheels when i get a chance but at least i can move it and drive it around without hitting someone. TY all for inputs.