I began the MC removal today. Everything went pretty smooth. I used a turkey baster to empty the reservoir. The DOT 5 was clean. There was not any rust or sediment. I removed the lines from the side of the MC w/o any difficullty.
Before I started to remove the four mounting bolts (last step), I pulled on the brake pedal arm once again just to "see". I held a rag next to the port closest to the front of the truck and fluid shot out like no tomorrow. The second port did the same on another pump.
I'm all for taking the MC down and inspecting/cleaning, but I'm wondering if a good pressure bleeding of all fluid in all lines would be worth doing first. I know the DOT 5 is expensive, that is not my concern right now.
One thing that I recall from the other day when the brakes stopped (well, not really "stopped"), but "quit working", was a noise that I heard. Thetruck is obviously loud, but I thought it was something that fell inside the cab near my seat, like a padlock or something. I thought it might have even been something inside the toolbox area under the driver's seat. Now I'm thinking that the one air pack is under the frame rail on the driver's side. Might that pack have been frozen and "let go" all of the sudden, thus causing a sudden noise and ejecting fluid back through the MC and reservoir? I realize now that it was brake fluid under the engine hood that shot out of the vent line. I originally thought it was from me pushing on the pedal, but now I'm not convinced of that either. I'm just doing some brainstorming/mental troubleshooting before I start tearing things apart and buying expensive parts that might not be the problem. Thought it best to think first, and try not to turn this into something expensive and maybe unnecessary.
What might be the symptom of what I described? (An air pack that was stuck, suddenly "popping", if something like that even occurs?)
Thanks in advance (again) for any and all useful information regarding this phenomenon.
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I removed and thoroughly claened the MC with isopropyl alcohol. There was no rust or pitting and the seals were beautiful. There was crud that might have been bloking the check valves beloe the reservoir. It seems to work. It shot fluid across the driveway.
The MC was reinstalled without much difficulty or swearing.
I purchased a Motive Power Bleeder but cannot get fluid to push through the system. I cannot develop any pedal pressure. Only a small amount of "old" fluid pushed out before everything stopped. No fluid pushing through.
I will try again tomorrow and see what I'm doing wrong.
