Well, brakes were fine this morning, drove to the north shore to do PT on the beach at Waimea Bay and when I was leaving the parking lot the brake pedal completely gave out and went straight to the floor, and I needed to use the hand brake to stop. All day has been the same, I can get the truck to slow if I stand on the brake but still need the hand brake to come to a complete stop, without it the truck will idle through the pedal brake. Fluid level is just under the top line and the brake get stiffer when pressed with the engine off, but is still pretty easy to put to the floor no matter how much you pump it. Also, I have not found any leaks on any of the calipers, so Im guessing my 6 month old master brake cylinder is shot. I did find out that my father-in-law serviced the brakes with valvoline DOT 3 synthetic from wal mart, and just about everyone has recommended the Castrol GTLMA brake fluid over everything else otherwise the other brake fluids will eat the seals and hoses. I checked walmart, kmart, and checker auto parts for the GTLMA but nobody on island carries it except possibly the LR dealership, which will probably charge $20 a quart if they carry it. So couple questions, is the master cylinder most likely the culprit, or should I do some other checks before replacing it? Where is the best deal on the brake fluid that I should use when I rebuild my brake system if that is what I need to do?

 

It sounds like a bad master cylinder, with no leaks.

I do not think the brake fluid would make a seal go bad that
fast,,it was just a bad part or a bad rebuild.

 

Yeah, bad master cylinder.
As long as the brake fluid is DOT 3 and LMA you are good, brand makes no matter.
I used Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3 when I did my flush last year, no problems.
BUT, if you want Castrol, www.AtlanticBritish.com carries it, so does www.pacificbritish.com and www.roversnorth.com.

 

Ok, ordered a master cylinder and 4 quarts of the castrol along with some other small stuff from britishpacific, seems they stay under atlanticbritish costs with just about everything, just wish they had a cool, easy to use online catalog like atlanticbritish does.

 

might check the manual. I am pretty sure it takes DOT 4 due to the heat generated by the brakes. Might look into flushing and upgrading if you are replacing the master cylinder.... Just a thought

 

Is there an upgrade for the master cylinder or are you talking about a pad and rotor upgrade?

 

I was talking about using DOT 4 instead of 3..

 

Sorry, yup it should have never gotten Dot 3 in the first place, I was in Iraq when the master cylinder and fluid was changed the first time so I had little say into the job. The Castrol GTLMA is a Dot 4; I bought 4 quarts to start, should last a while.