Today I was on my way home from the mall, and it was raining pretty hard and the roads were soaked. I pulled up to a red light, came to a complete stop, with medium pressure on the brake (like normal). All of a sudden, the engine revved. The brake got real mushy, and I started to roll out into the intersection. At this point, the break is to the floor and I'm still rolling. I'm like WTF, I didn't know what was going on. Luckily, I was able to pull over and get to a stop without hitting anybody. I limped it home by stopping very slowly and shifting into neutral at red lights.

When I made it home, I popped the hood and looked into the brake fluid reservior, and to my surprise, it was as dry as the Mojave desert. :eek:

WHOA!!! almost a whoops. Fill that thing up asap!

You are loosing the fluid somewhere, either at one of the 4 corners or into the master.

Either way dont just fill it up and go.

fill it up bleed all 4, then test it, then check it, look for leaks!!!!

Also look at your master cylinder real close, unbolt it if you have too to find out if it;s leaking internally. It is common.....

I am guessing you need a new caliper or two somewhere....

Had any brake work done recently?

I painted my calipers about two weeks ago with no problems. Last night I removed my front bumpstops, which involved beating them with a BFH and the break lines are right there, but I didn't hit anything.

How often do you usually have to fill up the brake fluid? Because I know it hasn't been filled up in over two years.

Never. That is why I say you have a leaking master cylinder or caliper. Sure some fluid may leave the resevoir from around the cap, but it doesnt just evaporate.......

I didn't see any puddles on the garage floor though? It was sitting all night.

OKay here's the deal. Just because the fluid is gone now, doesnt mean it all leaked out in one big puddle.
It could slowly be leaking from one or more of your calipers or lines.
It could also be leaking internally in your master cylinder.

You have a leak somewhere, I would find it before I went driving on the highway.

Since it was empty you need to bleed all 4 brakes anyways so while you are down there you may find your leak.

Or you can take it to someplace and have them test for leaks and bleed it.....but I trust Midas about as much as I trust Britney Spears is a virgin, and those are real.........

have them powerbled at a shop or if you are a tool freak, like me, go out and buy one to hook up to the air compressor. Works great and you'll notice a leak instantly. Just a though... also, check and see that your brake lines aren't extending at full turn. Mine did without the lift, if you all don't remember my story, and it wound up that ford installed them on the wrong sides. Check it out...

Oh thats right, I remember that thread.....yikes!!! Man can you imagine the lawsuits over that one!!!!

Also when you painted the calipers you never unhooked them I assume.

If you unbolt the master cylinder from the power booster you can tell if it is leaking internally usually. you will see fluid on the brake booster, or moisture. It is not uncommon for themasters to lose a seal.......

I would definately find out where all your fluid is going. Inspect all hoses and connections. Inspect all corners and see if the calipers and/or drums appear damp. Rebuild or replace leaking caliper or wheel cylinder. You don't want to just fill it up and have the same problem later. Next time you might not be so lucky.

I've had a few scary brake situations, espeacilly on wet roads. It seems as I gradually apply pressure to the brakes the ABS kicks in and releases. Maybe I'm not used to the ABS or maybe the previous owner had a cheap brake job, but it seems like I'm not getting significant de-acceleration before this happens. Other times it seems like the fronts lock up easily. I'm thinking maybe a ABS sensor, proportioning valve or master cylinder.
Has anyone else experience this?
It seems like I had much more braking power on my 88 Escort w/o ABS.

Lonestar, on your 91 the RABS valve probably needs to be replaced. Personally I hated the RABS on my 88 BII, caused more problems then it soved. I removed it and converted to rear discs. Now she stops straight and true and quick!

Also on a 95 XLT it will have rear discs, so no wheel cylinders, just 4 calipers.

Why did the engine rev up? Shouldn't have anything to do with the brakes.

I am guessing the vacuum in the brake booster was not functioning with the master being empty = vacuum leak??? Hard to say

Thanks 410.

Is the RABS valve mounted on the drivers side frame rail, or is it the peice in the rear diff. Also is there anyway to just bypass the ABS system without creating any trouble codes, or doing an entire rear end brake swap.

Sorry Hartman, this just looked like good thread to ask.

Lonestar. 1 question do you have 4wABS or just RABS?

Yes the RABS valve is on the drivers frame rail back by the rear axle, you can leave it in place or plumb a short piece of brake line to bypass it.

The stator ring in the rear axle can stay too.
Youcan unplug the RABS computer, on an Explorer I believe this sucker is in the cargo area behid the cover on the drivers side. I have heard you can remove the RABS fuse too, I chose to diconnect and remove the computer. My RABS valve is still there, but eventually I will replace it with a small piece of brake line.

The RABS valve must also be bled prior to bleeding the rear brakes.

Youcan do the discs anytime, also putting the discs on the back means you need to install a disc brake master cylinder. Simple really, one of the best upgrades I did on my truck.

OK, I found my problem. Passenger side caliper bolt, the one in the center of the caliper that the brake line is attached to, was loose. The caliper was covered with brake fluid. I tightened the bolt, filled the brake fluid reservior and the brakes are great now. I am making an appointment to get them powerbled ASAP, although they are perfect now. Thanks for all your guys help.

What a day. :confused:

good!!! Glad it was an easy spot!!!!

That coulda been bad! Now you know what to do next time, right? Put her in Neautral and press down your e brake. :)

Hey I am guessing it came loose when you were oainting the calipers, which means you might want to check the other 3. Also it is best to remove the bolt, clean the copper washer and mounting surfaces and re-install. Dirt may have gotten in there and we dont take any chances when it comes to brake systems.

You dont need to have it powerbled, but if you want to go for it. You can bleed your brakes in about 30 minutes with a helper......

I believe its RABS only.
So basically, bypass RABS valve and disconnect computer in cargo area. Thats it? What about the sensor on the diff, can it stay? I guess if the computer is disconnected it shouldn't matter.

I would love to do a rear disk conversion, just don't have the time or money right now. A couple hundred for the axle and a couple for the master cylinder, and a $100 for odd and end hoses and cables and a day or two to work out all the bugs. Plus, this is my daily driver so I can't just tear it apart a work on it whenever.

Originally posted by 410Fortune
Hey I am guessing it came loose when you were oainting the calipers, which means you might want to check the other 3.

I don't think it came loose when I painted my calipers, I think I might have caught it while I was beating the crap outta my bumpstops last night. I GOTTA BE MORE CAREFUL!

Yeah unplug that computer, dont sweat the rear diff or the RABS valve. You can take care of those later, heck mine has been disconnected for almost 5 years and I still have the RABS valve and the diff sensor.

The rear discs are not too hard, when you get the time you can easily do it in a weekend, the hardest part is getting the drums off and bleeding.

Read Brett'sa article on how to do it on this board under the tech section. He doesnt mention anything about swapping out the master cylinder, but we later found out if you dont the rear discs will drag = loss of mileage, hot rear rotors which can warp easy, and lots of worn out pads. All you have to do is get the master cyl from a 95-96 Ex and install it at the same time, then the proportioning to the rear discs will be all set.

The RABS got me in trouble a few times, especially on wet roads, it seemed to make the rear slide even more then without it! I hated it! The later 4wABS systems are MUCH better....but still for off road I say down with ABS!!