Brakes went out

[fudge]

I guess I'm going to take it home and check it out myself today! I only drove it for a quick ride and I did not check for leaks, didn't even think to lol. Yeah my pedal felt good to me because before it had no resistance at all and now it has a good amount, but the brakes barely slow me down until I'm pressing firmly. I'll check the crush washers and do everything else you guys told me to. Thanks a lot for all of your input guys, I really appreciate it! So I definitely shouldn't order new calipers? If I did would it fix my problem if there are no leaks?

[Rick the Quick]

I would get another opinion before throwing money at calipers etc. I would imagine there is some one on the forum that you are close to that would give you a good unbiased opinion. As for leaks at the banjo fittings. If they are dry don't mess with them. The crush washers will leak if over tightened. Not to mention the banjo bolts will break if you have a heavy hand. You may want to spray the banjos and surrounding areas with carb or brake cleaner to get them dry. You can look at them a day later and leaks should be obvious. If you have a good pedal and no leaks, good fluid level, no air in the system it sounds like the booster is not working. Good luck.

:fofd:

[firebush357]

The only reason I can think that you would need to replace the Calipers would be if they are Rusted stuck and the Hydraulic Pressure isn't enough to break them loose. If you can't get the whole front end off of the ground to try what I said earlier you can jack up one front wheel at a time and Turn the Tire by hand while someone steps on the brakes to see if the Caliper is working at all.

[fudge]

I brought my car home from the shop. I lied, the brake pedal isnt as good as I remember, it's pretty light. My brake lights still stay on! I had to pull the pedal up to get them to turn off and I took the fuse out again. The shop said it was the front driver side caliper that they couldn't get the air out of. The guy at the desk said that because the bleeder screw is rusted and broken it would be hard to get the air out or something like that. I jacked up my car and got someone to press the brakes and spun the tires. The passenger side front brakes worked well and held the wheel firm, the driver side didn't work quite as well, only stopped the wheel when pressed down harder. I didn't see any leaks except for on the master cylinder around the top mounted line it was a little bit wet but nothing huge.
I am thinking about buying new calipers because I want my car on the road asap!

[Rick the Quick]

If you took the drivers side caliper off of the steering knuckle and found a way to position it to where the banjo fitting is at the highest point the air can be bled out. Before you have someone step on the brake pedal find something about the same thickness as the rotor and put it between the piston and the opposite side of the caliper. The idea is to keep the piston from coming all the way out. Make sure the reservoir is full of brake fluid before you begin. Start the engine and have an assistant slowly depress the brake pedal three times and hold it down while you crack open the banjo bolt. It may be a good idea to crack it open before you remove the caliper from the knuckle. Otherwise it may be difficult to crack it open while holding it in your hand. OK back to bleeding, have you assistant depress the pedal and hold it down while you crack open the line at the banjo. The first time you should get a good amount of air and fluid of fluid with lots of bubbles. If you repeat this procedure about 3 or 4 times you should be able to put the caliper back on the knuckle, put the wheel back on and you should have brakes. As Firebrush said you may need a new caliper especially since your bleeder is broken. It cost nothing but a little time to try and bleed it like I said. You might get lucky, also when giving the banjo the final tightening, very firm but do not get carried away or the crush washer will leak.....Good luck!
:tm:

[Rick the Quick]

The only reason I can think that you would need to replace the Calipers would be if they are Rusted stuck and the Hydraulic Pressure isn't enough to break them loose. If you can't get the whole front end off of the ground to try what I said earlier you can jack up one front wheel at a time and Turn the Tire by hand while someone steps on the brakes to see if the Caliper is working at all.

Actually if a caliper is that rusted inside (the bore and or piston) it may still stop the car. The problem you are more likely to experience is the brakes dragging. MAJORLY. The only thing that retracts the piston is the square seal and it has a hard time overcoming rust.....:study:

[firebush357]

There is a Guy up in PA parting out 6 Festivas, Here is a Link to his CL ad. Email him and see how much he will charge you for some used Calipers. You can get them on Rock Auto for about $35 each after shipping and you return the core. Now that I am typing that sentence out I would suggest that if you are going to buy Calipers to go ahead and just buy brand new ones from RockAuto for the sake of having a Brand New one and the fact that it will probably cost $10+ to ship the used ones anyway.

If you would like to Order them from AdvanceAutoParts I have a Discount Code you can use to order them online and have them shipped to your house that will save you 30% ($23.39) The Code is TRT30 ~ from what I am seeing the total with shipping will come out to 106.58 but then you will get $40 back when you send them your cores so really a cost of $66.58

RockAutos Cheapest ones would cost about $61 ish after discount code and Core Refund.

Prices Above do not include your Sales Tax.

[fudge]

There is a Guy up in PA parting out 6 Festivas, Here is a Link to his CL ad. Email him and see how much he will charge you for some used Calipers. You can get them on Rock Auto for about $35 each after shipping and you return the core. Now that I am typing that sentence out I would suggest that if you are going to buy Calipers to go ahead and just buy brand new ones from RockAuto for the sake of having a Brand New one and the fact that it will probably cost $10+ to ship the used ones anyway.

If you would like to Order them from AdvanceAutoParts I have a Discount Code you can use to order them online and have them shipped to your house that will save you 30% ($23.39) The Code is TRT30 ~ from what I am seeing the total with shipping will come out to 106.58 but then you will get $40 back when you send them your cores so really a cost of $66.58

RockAutos Cheapest ones would cost about $61 ish after discount code and Core Refund.

Prices Above do not include your Sales Tax.

Yeah I ended up ordering calipers from rockauto last night, they are supposed to arrive monday. I want my Festiva back!!! If I was closer to PA I would check that out for sure! thanks

[WmWatt]

When buying used calipers people might want to get the seller to check that the bleeder nipples aren't seized by unscrewing them.

[fudge]

so my dad and I just put the new calipers on and my brakes work now! They aren't super great but they work! My concern is that my brake lights still stay on all the time until i pull the brake pedal upwards with my foot or take the fuse out. What could be causing the brake lights to stay on?

[ryanprins13]

so my dad and I just put the new calipers on and my brakes work now! They aren't super great but they work! My concern is that my brake lights still stay on all the time until i pull the brake pedal upwards with my foot or take the fuse out. What could be causing the brake lights to stay on?

Theres a switch that turns the lights on as soon as the pedal moves a tiny bit down. There is a spring thats supposed to pull the pedal back up. The one for the clutch pedal broke on my car. Look under there and check that the spring is still intact. Have you tried an actual brake bleeding tool? Sometimes helps in systems that are hard to bleed.
Vacuum Pump and Brake Bleeder Kit | Princess Auto

http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/vacuum-pump-and-brake-bleeder-kit/A-p8050832e

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[1990new]

The little pad on the brake pedal may not be contacting the pin to turn the light off when the pedal is fully raised. You may have to glue a penny to it or put something on it to make sure it pushes the pin in to turn the brake lights off.
I had this problem with Rosie after I put the new Booster on her. Even though the spring pulled the pedal up all the way, the pin was not being pressed in far enough to turn off the light. If I pulled it up really tight, the light would go off. I just stuck a glob of jb weld in the center hole of the pad and it solved the problem for me.

[firebush357]

The little pad on the brake pedal may not be contacting the pin to turn the light off when the pedal is fully raised. You may have to glue a penny to it or put something on it to make sure it pushes the pin in to turn the brake lights off.
I had this problem with Rosie after I put the new Booster on her. Even though the spring pulled the pedal up all the way, the pin was not being pressed in far enough to turn off the light. If I pulled it up really tight, the light would go off. I just stuck a glob of jb weld in the center hole of the pad and it solved the problem for me.

My Wife's Hyundai did the same thing, I walked out one morning and the Brake lights were on. There was a little Rubber pad that basically deteriorates so I just glued a little foam pad to the back of it and it fixed it.

I seen this thread had updated and was hoping it was a post that said the Car was on the Road finally. Congratz.

[fudge]

I took it to the shop to have them professionally bleed it and they also adjusted the rear brakes. also I fixed my brake lights and now my car is back on the road! I love driving my festiva so much it makes driving around town so much fun! my brakes are better than they have ever been! Next on my to do list is suspension! Can't wait! thanks for all of the help through that way too long process of fixing my brakes!

[firebush357]

I took it to the shop to have them professionally bleed it and they also adjusted the rear brakes. also I fixed my brake lights and now my car is back on the road! I love driving my festiva so much it makes driving around town so much fun! my brakes are better than they have ever been! Next on my to do list is suspension! Can't wait! thanks for all of the help through that way too long process of fixing my brakes!

If you want to make it even more fun around town, Drill some 1 inch holes in the bottom of your Air Intake box for a lot throatier sound.