No brakes

[josh]

I tried just about everything  and still no brakes.changed master cylinder  brake pads calipers and still no brakes.what did I do wrong or what else can I do?

[Bake82]

Did you bench bleed the master cylinder? 

On another posted you can't bleed 1  caliper only - is the caliper installed on the correct side with the bleeder valve pointing up? 

Did you replace the brake hoses? Are you getting any fluid out of the caliper?   

Any leaks? 

[Schurkey]

On 1/8/2025 at 3:54 AM, josh said:

I tried just about everything  and still no brakes.changed master cylinder  brake pads calipers and still no brakes.what did I do wrong or what else can I do?

WHAT VEHICLE???

Do you have a scan tool to bleed the ABS with?

[josh]

1994 oldsmobile cutlass supreme sl 

[josh]

On 1/12/2025 at 4:06 AM, Schurkey said:

WHAT VEHICLE???

Do you have a scan tool to bleed the ABS with?

No

[Schurkey]

On 1/12/2025 at 4:06 AM, Schurkey said:

Do you have a scan tool to bleed the ABS with?

 

2 hours ago, josh said:

No

You'll need to GET one.  Make sure it's capable of auto-bleeding the ABS--not all scan tools can do that.

Edited January 22 by Schurkey

[White93z34]

3 hours ago, Schurkey said:

 

You'll need to GET one.  Make sure it's capable of auto-bleeding the ABS--not all scan tools can do that.

I would highly dispute that. I've owned cars with these master cylinders since 2003 and not one time at all have I ever needed to do anything more then traditional bleeding of them. they DO have some bleeders on the ABS unit that need bled.

did you bench bleed it before installing? thats necessary.

[Schurkey]

31 minutes ago, White93z34 said:

I would highly dispute that. I've owned cars with these master cylinders since 2003 and not one time at all have I ever needed to do anything more then traditional bleeding of them. they DO have some bleeders on the ABS unit that need bled.

If the ABS unit has bleeder screws, you may be OK.  I thought the ABS had to have the valves chattered by the scan tool to clear air or contaminated fluid from the accumulators.

 

31 minutes ago, White93z34 said:

did you bench bleed it before installing? thats necessary.

Yup.

[Last American Indian]

What White 93 said! You don’t even need to bleed the abs or bench bleed. I’ve change the entire system including lines, minus the abs unit. What you do need is a high quality, chemically speaking, squeeze ball siphon with a one way check valve. Plus the proper size tygon hose that will fit over the bleeder valve head. Bleed in the normal orientation, pass rear, drivers rear, pass front than drivers front. In each case use Teflon tape on the bleeder valve threads. Only open the fitting enough to flow fluid, leave it open till you get no more air bubbles in the fluid. Than close the fitting. Make sure you keep the fluid level up in the master cylinder, it will drain quickly under these conditions. If it goes empty you’ll have to start over. When done with that you can check it with a traditional bleed via the pedal. The rears will be a bit more resistant to flow due to the restrictor valves.
I would highly recommend using Bosch es16 brake fluid best on the market & it will make a huge improvement in the braking.

[rich_e777]

I have "bleed the brakes" on the todo list as well, i`ll post what the FSM says for the `94 CS. You wont need a scan tool but having a brake bleed kit with a decent oring seal is a must have. I prefer that method vs a complaint assistant pumping the brake pedal.

[Last American Indian]

Again, what Rich says is true, basically, what I’m saying to do. 

For whatever reason folks love to complicate the hell out of the whole car brake system thing! It is this simple! Fluid wise, the car brake system is nothing but a simple hydraulic pump! Fact! So when the car is off & the pedal is in its relaxed state, if you where to open a bleeder & leave it open it would drain the system completely except for what is below the bleeder valve hole. So likewise as long as there is fluid in the master cylinder reservoir, fluid will flow out of my port that is open & below that reservoir. Meaning if you have enough time & enough fluid you can gravity bleed every caliper just by gravity! Including the ABS valve body. 

The reason you don’t need a a scan tool to operate the ABS valve body is the ABS system if it fails simply reverts to a standard non ABS system.

Now one problem you could be having is this! Are you trying to bleed the brakes with the car running or the power on? If so than you do need a scan tool to deactivate the ABS valve body as it may see a disparity & activate, shutting down that wheel. If this is the case, stop trying to bleed the car in that manner.

Lastly I use the a Uline siphon ball with a check valve as I said because I can take a tygon hose from each end, one to the caliper bleeder the other end to a container. In this manner I can continually pull fluid through the caliper & not spill a drop. I also can see when I no longer have air coming out. Mine looks different, no red caps, but you get the idea.

Edited January 24 by Last American Indian

[rich_e777]

Dont encourage me, I really only know what I`m talking about at best 30% of the time. 

From what I`m reading in the FSM is recommended to rehome the motors of the ABS system with the Tech1 before flushing and bleeding. Its possible to do without a scan tool but only if no DTCs are present.

Start the engine and watch the ABS light on the dash, if it doesnt go out after about 10 seconds you have an issue with your brakes and will need a scan tool or get lucky fixing the issue. If it does go out after a few seconds turn the engine off and do it all over again without pressing on the brake pedal. The FSM states the system is ready to be bled now.

 

 

 

[Last American Indian]

On 1/8/2025 at 4:54 AM, josh said:

I tried just about everything  and still no brakes.changed master cylinder  brake pads calipers and still no brakes.what did I do wrong or what else can I do?

if you’re still having issues, explain what you’ve done so far.