Brake Pedal Goes to the Floor

Take the keys out of the ignition and throw them as far as you can. Preferably into a neighbor's yard that has a big mean dog in it, BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEBODY!

Then, look under it for the fluid leak. Fill the master cylinder again, start the car, leave it in park, and push on the brake pedal. Look again.

Don't replace anything until you find the leak.

I have looked and dont find any leaks anywhere the only time it leaked is qhen i drove around the block cane back it was empty but i had someone in the car and added fluid and had them.press the brake pedal over and over again and no fluid leaked so i took it around the block again came back and bam empty again i think it is actually leaking on the naster cylinder itself if not idk what to say im about to replace master cylinder then the wheel cylinders and lines. If i still have the problem after all of this then i will be in a undecided situation.

Yea i did notice a little bit of white smoke its wierd that you say that because it was not an oil leak nothing like that and it smelled different. And didnt see anything on the inaide of the tires.

I have a 1990 Honda CRX that kept using brake fluid but I could not find a leak. Finally, with the engine running, I started pumping the brakes and after a minute or two white smoke started coming out of exhaust. The brake fluid was leaking out of the back of the master cylinder and filling up the brake booster. Then it got sucked into the engine.

This is a possibility, I have heard of occasions where a booster failure can pull fluid out of the master cylinder, perhaps this is even likely, since apparently both halves of the reservoir emptied. Think of how the piston cups in the master cylinder are made. If a vacuum is pulled where the push rod goes in, the cup is designed to hold pressure, but a vacuum would put on the same stress as a differential of pressure. I don't see how it would leak, but it is not designed to operate that way. The reason I say likely is that it would be unusual for both sides of the master cylinder to have a leak suddenly at the same time.

An easy test. Fill master cylinder. Don't start engine. Mash on brake pedal many times and look for leak. If it is still full, the brake booster is probably bad, if it is empty look at the little switch that detects balance between front and back brakes or the area of the anti-lock brake mechanism if it has anti-lock brakes

if no fluid is present its in the vacuum booster

I would start with the master cylinder.

not all braking systems are the same

Yeah they mostly are...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_brake

Its 4 wheel disk brakes in this model so it doesnt have any wheel cylinders i have checked just has bleeders directly on the brake so im pretty sure that if its the master cylinder i need to find out jow but also this vejicle is 19 years old and im only the second owner and thebfirst owner says never had this problem and qhen i teat drove it it was fine then the batterybdied and it sat for a day got a jump and vtakes were gone? Is it possible to have somethig to do with the electric?

You do have wheel cylinders, they just aren't called that. The caliper piston does the same job and can also leak.

O ok thank you bro that helped alot i honestly hope its just one of those and not the entire cylinder but im gunna go check this out now and let you all know exactly what it is i find out

I found the leak its between the vacuum and the master cylinder where they meet i noticed some fluid all over it does that mean i need to replacw the ebtire master cylinder or is there a gasket i can just replace also i am pretty sure it might be leaking around the resivour seal also? Please let me know ido not really know what im doing so does anyone know a shop i can afford this at i have about 400.00 to fix the problem?

We don't know where you are located. Usually in a place I don't know, I ask around from the locals for a good, cheap mechanic. It sounds like it is just the master cylinder. It should be under $400. Personally, I would buy the part myself because they charge double what it costs at a repair shop usually. Then you just need to pay for labor, which should be ~2 hrs max.

The fact that you had white smoke coming out the exhaust means the brake fluid is getting inside the engine, through the vacuum booster.

The master cylinder is relatively easy to replace, and cheap >$100.00.

The booster is more labor intensive and will cost the rest of your budget, if you pay to have it done. There are nuts under the dash, inside the car to take off.

Call around to non-dealer shops and ask what they charge to do both.

It's simple if you've done it before.

Well i found someone whois a mechanical engineer to help me out tomorrow afternoon i have my parts reserved at napa auto parts everything i need in parts is around 250 including booster cylinder and turn signal switch that is an entirerly seperate problem but after that is all done up with the car should be great she runs wonderful and only has 123k on engine and trans and i am only second owner and was owned by an older man that bought it brand new and did regular maintenance then it sat for 6 months because he couldnt drive i paid 900 for the car so a little work to have a great maintained car in great condition and almost no rust especially for a new york car thats almost 20 years old that amazing so thank you all ypu were a great help if it wasnt for this site i would have paid a mechanic out the wazoo for this

Either it is burning in the engine, is leaking through the brake pedal rod into the foot well under the carpet of the drivers side or possibly ending up in the sump with the engine oil. Probably the first of these. If you can't see it leaking out anywhere then what else is there. Not having brakes is serious so I would get to the bottom of it before I had an accident.

I found the leak and i am not driving this vehicle at this time thanks for your advuse but please read pasr posts before putting in your two sence thanks

Michael, please let us know what you find.

I found the leak it was where the brake master cylinder and booster meet so i am replacing both the booster and master cylinder tomorrow afternoon got a great price on parts from napa auto parts all brand new the master cylinder is 85.05 abd the hydraulic booster is 79.99 so that is a great price compared to everywhere else once i replace them i will let everyone know how it goes but im sure that is the problem also i am replacing the master cylinder and resivour all with brand new not remanufactured parts as this is my familys life and other people life at stake everytime i drive down the road a car is a powerful and dangerous machine if not properly maintained and i am very well aware of this and when i took this car around the block i dis not go over 10 miles per hour and i would crash into a pole myself before i would hurt anyone else i do appreciate everyone help and concerns but i am a very responsible person and would never ever put anyone else in danger for my own desires i will keep everyone updated and as i have done brake repairs before just not a master cylinder i have replaced brake lines rotors drums and pads im sure this will be a new experience but not much more difficult than any other part of a vehicle especially a gm they are american and easy to work on from what i know thank you all for your time

See i tried to just pump the brakes and it stayed at the same level it doeant loose the fluid until i drive it which is weird but im fixing it today

....you didn't have the engine running!!!

If it's not on the floor it's in the servo and will get to the inlet manifold then you will get a great white cloud come out the exhaust, the seals in the master cylinder have failed.

Bazzer.

Can't afford to not to take it to a shop if that's all you know about brake systems. I don't want to be harsh, but you need to start with simpler things, especially when yours and other peoples safety is at stake. I have a pretty good idea, but am reluctant to say because of the safety issue. Also not really a beginners project. Please, if you really cannot afford a shop, get some help, not just advice, from someone with a little more experience on brake systems. -- JHF

So here is my new issue i got the master cylinder out and ita ok but it is connected to this box where the brake lines are that was on the side of it and there is only one bolt holding them togeather i unscrew it and can not disconnect the two and since in ny its cold as heck outside i brought it back inaide to try and disconect these two but the issue ia u dont want to try to take them apart if there is another bolt im missing and currently my friend is unavailavle for helping me so if anyone knows how to do what im asking please help me out thanks

Is this the part on the kitchen table?

Lol not anymore its now all back togeather n in the carvit was a abs modulator and if it wasnt hell getting the brake lines back in it because the bolts have to be just perfect or it wont go on mqchine threaded

yeah, had the same issue with my Jeep a while back. Everything has to line up just right.