with the engine NOT running, the brakes are VERY hard. The Brake booster uses the engine as a vacuum source to assist you in the application of the brakes.

The switch on the brake pedal turns the brake lights on when you push in the pedal. There is a little rubber stopper on the brake pedal itself. if your brake lights are stuck ON, that little rubber piece is the problem, 9 times out of 10.

The rod you say going toward the engine is the Brake Master Cylinder rod/plunger.

I would seriously consider downloading a Factory Service Manual.

 

or just buy one? way easier to look at than online.

 

Will do, and yeah the brakes being frozen is while the engine is running, first time it happened to me was while I was driving on my way home, brakes suddenly froze up on me..

However, I just got it back from the mechanic place I took it to, and I guess them fiddling with looking at it, they went ahead and did something? But my brakes weren't frozen.. Infact there was hardly any resistance at all.. I'd push the brake and it'd go straight to the floor.. But uh, it didn't stop very well when I did.. I almost rear ended a few people, yay for e-brake.. But yeah, I ended up having to drive home using my e-brake to stop, was pretty interesting.. So I guess I've moved on to a new problem?

 

well.. that probably means your brakes are severly low on fluid, or you have a horrible leak, or the pads are done for, but you didnt mention anything about grinding noises so i doubt the last one. check your brake lines and your fluid level.

 

thanks much, downloaded this manual but still not really guiding me towards what fixes what problems, just telling me how to do stuff.. just yeah still wasn't sure what it was i was trying to do lol

but alright, I'll check.. someone mentioned that they probably bled out the brake lines or something or another trying to get the pressure to let up on my brakes, so I'm guessing by the sound of it I probably lost a lot of brake fluid and they didn't feel the need to put any back in heh

and yeah, haven't been any grinding noises, had a few people check my brake pads and said they were fine, so I spose I'm just short on fluid now?

is it possible that I had too much fluid or something at first? seems like the opposite extreme of what was happening before.. first they freeze, then they have no resistance.. so would i possibly have had too much and it froze? now i don't have enough so they just don't work at all? lol

a leak is also very possible, I just fixed another pretty bad leak recently, and they said there were all kinds of fluids leaking onto the brake calipers as well.. heh.. x_x I suppose the biggest thing I need to learn is what to look for when buying your first car lmao, I've got a feeling I just bought someone else's problem..

Anyways, I'll check the brake lines and fluid levels like you suggested and see if I can find anymore leaks, thanks much for the response and for being patient with me, I know I've gotta sound like a complete idiot haha.. I really do appreciate the help though =D

 

Wow, kinda confused, lol. When they were 'froze' did you still have brakes?

A good bet would be to get a friend that knows cars to help you if you have to do brake work.

 

lol, sorry.. When they were froze, my car wouldn't move.. It was stuck sticking up like it was ready for me to step on it, but it was acting like the brakes were pushed all the way to the floor.. First time it happened while I was driving, my car just gradually got slower and slower until it stopped being able to move at all and then I realized they were completely locked up on me. Then after you just leave it for a while like overnight and go back out, the pressure on the brakes would release itself over time, and you could push them in again. Then after you'd start driving and using the brake, it's gradually start tightening up more and more until it was just frozen. The 2nd time I had just parked at autozone, ran in to grab a fuel filter, came out, popped it in reverse to be on my way, and all of the sudden I wasn't moving.. lol it was a pain.. But after I pulled up on the brake as hard as I could, trying to hit that "switch" my stepdad was talking about, the brake started loosening up enough for me to drive it, that's when I took it to the mechanic place. Then when I picked it up from them, the brakes had absolutely no resistance whatsoever and I could step on it all the way to the floor by just laying my foot on it lol..

But yeah, all of my really mechanically inclined friends have moved out of state, closest I have to a friend that knows what they're doing, or thinks they do atleast, is my stepdad, and he's why I have this problem in the first place.. ><..

lol, but yeah.. I'm trying to learn how to do all of this stuff on my own as well, I run in to too many problems and don't have the money mechanics ask for, so I figured the best place for me to learn would be a 240 forum.. Just eh, lots of guides and then the manual that tell you how to do things.. But that just isn't really what I need.. It's like teaching someone how to cure a disease but not telling them how to identify the symptoms of that disease.. I know what's wrong with my car and there's plenty of guides telling you how to do stuff.. But I don't know what kind of stuff I'm supposed to do to my car to fix the problems that I have with my car.. making sense? lol xD

Is there another manual out there with a big list of problems that you could have and then what you should look for to identify what the problem is specifically, and then what to do to fix that problem? That'd be a lot more useful if there is haha xD

But yeah, it'll probably be this weekend when I crawl under there to try what mikethebiker suggested, I'll let yall know how it turns out though =D

 

go to your local auto repair store and buy a chilton manual, that will help you way more than something on the internet. they have step-by-step instructions for all that stuff, and they have troubleshooting sections too, and a whole section devoted to how-to maintenance things on your car.

 

do you have tools?
all you should need to do to really service the brakes is:
1)remove calipers and inspect the brake pads. if bad replace em, if not #2
2)check the rubber boots around the brake caliper pistons and the pistons themselves. if they are all shitted up then buy a rebuild kit from autozone or something. theres a write up on here on how to do it.
3)re install everything
4)bleed the brakes, start with the passenger rear and do the driver rear, then the front in the same order. passenger side to driver side.
5)test the pedal and see if its still spongy. if it is bleed em again.
all of this is in the manual, have fun doing it. its the best way to learn.
if theres still problems, post it up!

 

Any new info?