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'98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/10/2011 12:21 AM

Rust weakened one of the two brake lines running to the rear wheels on a 1998 Buick Regal and a brake line broke open. So I replaced both brake lines, leaving the front brake lines intact.

After installing the brake lines, I bled the right front/left rear without difficulty.

But the right rear/left front either bleed spurts of air, liquid spurts, air/liquid spurts or worse, bleed nothing on multiple successive brake pedal pushes; where apparently pressure is entirely absent on the down stroke of the brake pedal.

There are two bleeder valves on the anti-lock braking assembly. The one bleeds 'normally', presumably the one feeding the working right front/left rear circuit. The other one sometimes bleeds fluid, sometimes fluid/air, sometimes nothing at all, just like the right rear/left front pair.

There was no issue with braking on this vehicle before the brake line broke. The vehicle did not pull to one side when braking and it had a 'high' brake pedal.

I replaced brake lines on a '99 Regal two months ago without incident and it runs fine today.

Is there a hidden bleeder for the master cylinder that I missed? Something else?

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#1

Re: '98 Buick Regal brake line failure, one side of master cylinder won't pump

04/10/2011 3:15 AM

Hello Iris, Found this information from aa1car.com. I'm only posting this here for easier reading to answer the question. Though I'd go to there site they have a lot of auto related information.


"DELCO ABS-VI BLEEDING PROCEDURE
Introduced in 1991 as an option on Saturn, Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais and Pontiac Grand Am models, the Delco ABS-VI anti-lock brake system has been used on a wide range of General Motors front-wheel-drive vehicles, including Chevrolet Lumina and APV, Chevrolet Beretta, Corsica and Cavalier, Pontiac Grand Prix, Sunbird, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Buick Regal.

The Delco VI system is a nonintegral ABS system with a conventional master brake cylinder and power booster. It has four wheel-speed sensors, but is a three-channel system. The front brakes are controlled separately, but the rear brakes share a common ABS circuit. Attached to the master cylinder is the hydraulic modulator and motor pack assembly. The modulator is held by two banjo bolts at the master cylinder�s two upper outlet ports, and two transfer tubes at the two lower outlet ports. An important service point to note here is that the two lower transfer tubes and O-rings must be replaced if the master cylinder and modulator are disconnected from one another. This is necessary to prevent leaks that could cause the brakes to fail.

The modulator assembly has fluid chambers for all four brakes, two isolation solenoid valves, four check balls, a motor pack containing three bidirectional direct current motors with electromagnetic brakes (EMBs) and/or expansion spring brakes (ESBs), three ball screw assemblies, four pistons, a gear drive set and gear cover. The modulator motor pack, isolation solenoid valves, gear cover and individual gears are all serviceable parts and can be replaced separately.

The brakes on GM cars equipped with Delco ABS-VI may be bled using manual, vacuum or pressure bleeding. The usual bleeding sequence is right rear, left rear, right front, left front.

Before you begin, however, you must make sure the rear pistons in the Delco ABS-VI modulator are in the home position so the check balls are unseated. If this is not done, you won't be able to bleed the rear brake lines. There are two ways that this can be accomplished: With the Tech 1 or similar scan tool, select the F4 ABS Test mode, then select the F0 manual control option. You can now command the rear motor to drive the pistons to the home position.

Without a scan tool, open the front bleeder screw at the modulator. There are two, so be sure you open the front one. Then bleed the modulator. Close the screw, then bleed both front brakes starting with the right one first. After checking for a firm pedal, drive the vehicle above three miles per hour. The controller will automatically reset the system by commanding the rear motor to run to the home position. Once this has occurred, you can stop the vehicle and bleed the rear brakes."

This should help.

Charles

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#2
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Re: '98 Buick Regal brake line failure, one side of master cylinder won't pump

04/10/2011 6:51 AM

GA, and thanks for reminding me, again, why I hang on to my old 86 truck. No antilock, electronics, etc. Just good old fashioned straight forward mechanics.

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#5
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Re: '98 Buick Regal brake line failure, one side of master cylinder won't pump

04/11/2011 7:49 PM

Hi metalsmiths Did they do away with the check valve that use to shut off the front or rear line if it lost pressure?

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#9
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Re: '98 Buick Regal brake line failure, one side of master cylinder won't pump

04/13/2011 2:38 AM

Hello James, I know what your talking about. Most likely the ABS Systems now does what the check valves used to do. Most of my ABS knowledge comes from reading and research for the knowledge and working on friends and my vehicles. Although I'm no expert.

Charles

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#3

Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/10/2011 10:49 AM

And that's why old codgers like me should not give automotive advice any longer, either.

What ever to the good old days?

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#8
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Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/12/2011 10:42 PM

"What ever to the good old days?"

The days of resetting points by the side of the road at night? ( Oh crap, I dropped the screw)

The days of replacing spark plugs every 6-8 thousand miles?

The days of trying to get a sunk float to work again?

The days of valve adjustments every year?

Or do you miss the days of snapped axle shafts, and wrestling manual transmissions in and out to change a clutch?

How about 8 tracks, manual window cranks, heaters that threw out 40 degree air, those great non halogen head light bulbs, manual chokes, oil bath air filters rotted out floors.

Ah yes, those were the days my friend.........

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#4

Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/11/2011 11:58 AM

How did you bleed the system by pressure or by vaccum? Many new cars and some old will not bleed by pressure, only vaccum. Possible sometimes to use a pressure bleeder but not by pumping the pedal. I ran into this several times started on a Pontiac Fiero..years ago.

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#6

Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/11/2011 8:32 PM

I bled the system by opening a bleeder valve, having a helper depress the brake pedal, closing the bleeder valve when the brake pedal was down, the telling the helper to let the brake pedal up. I call this "manual" bleeding.

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#7
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Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/11/2011 9:06 PM

You are correct but I think you got the full answer form metalsmith.. Right out of the manual.. It may be possible but from my experience manual bleeding is very difficult on the new brakeing systems if not impossible.

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#10
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Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/14/2011 12:36 AM

Just as an add on... Harbor Freight has a vacuum gun with a container to accumulate the brake fluid. I love that critter!... and it really sucks! It is so nice to be able to bleed brakes without needing a helper. You just have to remember to keep the master cylinder full

#92474 $25.99

Well worth the bucks!

Bill

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#11
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Re: '98 Buick Regal Brake Line Failure, One Side Of Master Cylinder Won't Pump

04/14/2011 6:13 PM

Oh ya! other wise the fun starts over.

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