I was doing a routine brake system bleeding on the rear brakes today and somewhere in the middle, I started getting no pressure on the brake pedal. I know there is no leak anywhere because I can't see any fluid. Is it possible that my master cylinder just went bad all of a sudden? Can anything else be the cause of this? Anyone else had a problem like this ever?

 

^bump. anyone?

 

Did you keep topping up the master cylinder in between bleeding at each wheel? maybe you let the fluid get too low in the reservoir and you have air in the system... try to bleed each wheel again....

 

I did keep the fluid level up. There was always plenty in the reservoir so I know that isn't it. I tried bleeding them some more to see if anything happened, but nothing did.

 

I'm not sure of the details - I but I know that you can screw-up the master cylinder if you push the pedal too far - something to do with the piston going past its normal travel range and ruining the seals/o-rings in the master cylinder. What essentially happens is that the seal gets ruined, and now when you press the brakes, fluid is escaping around the piston - rather than creating pressure (thus applying your brakes). Do some googling on master cylinders - you might come up with some useful information. You might have to get it to a shop for a proper diagnosis....

 

that's pretty much what I was thinking. I can get a master cylinder repair kit to basically replace those seals and piston for about $50 from http://jerryromenissan.com. I will probably end up doing that. A new master cylinder would run me about $250 and a remanufactured on would be $150.

 

If you feel comfortable doing the rebuild - then go for it... be careful - when you are sure you have done everything right, check all the components again - you don't want your brakes going out on you while you are driving.... Let us know how that turns out and if it fixed your problem.