Brentd Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 So my buddies little brother is not very gearhead oriented and kept adding brake fluid to his resorvoir, apparently for over a year. Never mentioned that or the fact that there was no sign of brake fluid anywhere on the truck. He had his brakes and brake lines replaced and shortly after he threw codes for maf and misfire in #1 cylinder, is it possible that brake fluid is/has been seeping into his cylinders because of a bad master cylinder or brake booster through the vacuum line? They replaced both the master cylinder and brake booster but the power is down and the codes are still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Forgot to mention they changed the plugs and wires and they even bought a new coil pack for #1 cylinder, havent installed the coil pack but i havent for the life of me ever heard of a coil pack going bad in a truck that doesnt have a crazy amount of miles. Its a 07 with the 5.3 Just trying to figure out if the two problems are connected. Edited October 30, 2013 by Brentd (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatdavidkid Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 Swap coils from 1 to another cylinder and clear the code. See if it moves to another cylinder when it comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatdavidkid Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 I've never seen a leaking master cylinder leak fluid into the engine with the brake booster still working. Drill a hole in the bottom of the old booster and if you don't get multiple quarts of fluid out, it's definitely not the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 The brakes were garbage before they replaced the booster and master cylinder, now it has strong brakes, but the motor is running like garbage now. Think they trashed the old brake components or something. But if it never leaked one drop of brake fluid anywhere on the truck or ground, thats the only place i can think it went. They were having issues with it smoking and running weird and throwing codes so they checked the codes. It had a code for maf lean and misfire in #1 cylinder. Dude just didnt take care of his truck and failed to tell anyone he had been adding brake fluid to it for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 I just took a guess and threw out that maybe it could have been leaking into the engine, and if it was getting into the cylinder i can only imagine it would have burned something up, and now its running limp, maybe losing compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown 346 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 If his brakes were toast, you will have to add more fluid as the pads wear down. That is normal. Have they checked the MAF, and or even Clean it? Alot of times a mis fire code is a bad maf..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Not talking about the pads, talking about they were barely working at all. Master cylinder/brake booster issues. Those were replaced but not before the issues with the motor started happening, which is why we think it leaked into the old booster and fluid got into cylinder/heads. Trying to see if that is possible and if so could it result in trashing a piston or rings or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 And I have never had to add fluid just because the pads wore down before. Seems to me there is a lot of excess fluid in the resorvoir to handle the extra piston travel as brakes wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Did some digging. Think i figured it out. Old mc puked its guts out into the brake booster, over time brake fluid destroyed booster diaphragm, fluid sucked into intake, brake fluid probably destroyed seals and other stuff and possibly stripped anything oily of its nice lubritating properties, hopefully didnt damage the pistons or cylinders and the damage can be contained to intake and seals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown 346 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Have you checked the oil to determine this? I have had to add brake fluid when pads where as the piston has to travel further out of the caliper and causes the fluid to lower in the reservoir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Its down. At the shop, so a determination will be made sometime this week as to the extent of the damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thatdavidkid Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Compression test and coil swap like I mentioned before should easily determine the cause of the misfire. It could be possible to suck up brake fluid but man that's pretty extensive. It is possible for brake fluid level to drop quite a bit from pads but in order for it to even turn on the low fluid "BRAKE" light, all 4 wheels would have to have little to no pads left, I did four wheel brakes on a mustang the other week that would turn the light on under hard braking because fluid went low. Engines are simple, even with all the electronic stuff, it's still just an air pump.... Air fuel and spark at the right time with enough compression =smooth running engine. Also if it needed spark plugs and they weren't changed, that alone can put excessive load on the coil and cause it to burn up. I think you guys are over thinking it. The phrase KISS comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentd Posted October 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 Definately trying to KISS, but dude, he went through a LOT of brake fluid. That is why I wish I could have ben there when they pulled that booster. Its cool. I actually told them the first thing the mech is gonna do is do a compression test. It will all sort itself out but there is no getting around the fact that if you go through a massive bottle of brake fluid in just a few months and never once actually see where it is going, red flags should be up. I was talking to his brother, my friend, and he said it perfectly...I used to have to add oil to my old blazer all the time but it was okay, I knew where it was going, and the new owners of that home are probably pissed about the huge oil stain in the driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown 346 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 If the motor sucked up that much brake fluid, there would of been spun bearings. Brake fluid is heavier than oil which would cause the brake fluid to sit underneath the oil and take every bearing it came into contact with. I agree brake fluid just doesnt dis appear. But with as much brake fluid as you say was used as top off, if it were in the engine that engine would be toast and you would have more than a mis fire code. Have the MAF checked. Is he sure he was adding brake fluid to the right reservoir? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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