Hello,

So yea the brake fluid seems to get low slowly. I believe I have a fluid leak but I'm not sure. The first time it happened was when I was driving around and I noticed when braking. I was able to hear some noise when braking. I checked and sure enough the fluid for the brake was low so I went to Autozone and bought some. Same fluid which is dot 3 / 4. Then it didn't happen to like a month later I would say, after I let my girlfriend drive. And she does make aggressive stops.

Next day, the car was very low that I had to almost step on the brake pedal all the way down to brake. I have filled it up right away with fluid and minutes later back to normal.

Now it does make a grinding noise on the rear right. And 2 weeks ago i changed the brakes because they were worn out.

I also see fluid on the floor. rear right but I am still not convinced.

How is it that I wake up with very low fluid.


Now, it's half way.

Where can this leak come from?

 

You see fluid on the floor under the right rear and you're not convinced?
I don't think anything I could say could convince you more.

You may need a new caliper or new brake line, but first make sure the banjo bolt is tight and don't forget the copper washers around it. I vote all the above as well as a new girlfriend.

 

i had similar symptoms, low on fluid, topped off, then a noticeable leak from the right rear. my caliper piston seals took a poop. even more obvious with the wheel off. but it seems like you should have seen that when you did the brake job. coincidentally my brakes were pretty much completely worn when i had my problem. i guess what i'm trying to say is look for the leak and go from there

 

I'm thinking you have a leak at the piston seals in the caliper or in the rubber brake line. If brake fluid has contaminated the pads they could make noise.

It's perfectly understandable that it may not have been leaking before you worked on it. When stuff like this gets old, it sometimes doesn't like to be messed with. A part that's close to failing may fail shortly after a repair even if you're careful. Seals and hoses are especially prone to this.

*The brake line may have cracked from bending it around or hanging the caliper on it without support.
*The old seals may have been ok but compressing the piston could have been too much for them.

You should be able to find the leak if you pull the wheel off and inspect the brakes.

 

I do have new calipers, Powerstop. I did not see any fluid on the caliper when i was replacing the pads. I'm guessing the brake cable? DOes that banjo bolt has to be super tight? Is replacing the cable easy? I'm thinking of taking it to the mechanic on Friday to fix the problem.

 

do you know if both crush washers were installed with the banjo bolt? the spec for the banjo is 12-14 ft-lbs, which isn't extremely tight but should still be solid on there. if the crush washers are missing that could be a potential source of the leak

 

So it turns out that they had to replace the caliper. It still makes the grinding noise though.

 

rear break caliber