i was backing into my storage unit and there was some ice, my back tires spun a little bit. the red "brakes" light poped on in my dash and stayed on. noticed my pedel felt a little weak.

so that was 2 weeks ago. today i went there and started her up and it still is happening.

anyway come to find out i put almost a full bottle of brake fluid in the holder thing. (problem fixed) but my question is where did all my fluid go?

i only put front brakes on the car since i owned it. about 2 years ago. (still like new) since its only a weekend car... (the rears are almost shot though)

 

when your pads wear down the piston comes farther and farther out of the caliper, causing the fluid lever in the master to drop.

when you do pads and compress the calipers the fluid level will rise in the master.

are you sure the pads are new? did you visually confirm that or are you guessing that because u dont drive it much?

id do front and rear pads and id be willing to bet the fluid will be overflowing out of the master. before u do the pads take the cover off the master cylinder, and watch out for your paint because if the fluid comes out on your paint it will ruin it

 

The "BRAKE" light indicates there is uneven pressure between the front and rear braking circuits. The fact that your master cylinder was so low may have allowed air to enter one of the circuits, causing the pressure to be less in the system with the air in it. You need to bleed the brakes to insure all the air is out. Have you taken the time to examine the brakes - pistons, hose, lines, etc?

 

btw the cars a 95z28,

yes i took the tires off and looked at the brakes. fronts are like new still and rears are almost down to the warning thing.

also looking at the rear brake set up. how the hell do you take all that parking brake stuff off the caliper?

 

You don't need to take the parking brake apart. To change the pads, you take the upper guide/slide bolt out, leaving the lower bolt in place, and rotate the caliper outward, pivoting around the lower bolt. If you are replacing the rotor, you take off both the bolts that hold the caliper to the mounting bracket on the end of the axle housing and pull the entire caliper off, leaving the parking brake intact. You only remove the parking brake assembly if you are replacing the calipers.

As far as examining the brakes, you should be concerned about leaks. You need to examine the calipers and rubber hose for signs of brake fluid.

 

Not to hijack this thread but I have the same question as coco95z28 about the parking brake hardware on a 95. I recently did the front upgrade and wanted to examine the rear guide pins for corrosion and to regrease them but wasn't sure how to remove the parking brake spring etc. and reinstall it since it prevents access to one of the guide pins. Is the spring going to unwind and launch itself into the weeds when I remove the bracket! Will I need to try to readjust the E-Brake (It's never been adjusted since it left the factory ... I read the procedure ... it sounds as though a good adjustment is a matter of luck more than skill)

 

i feel dumb

so its not as hard as it looks lol thanks injuneer

 

I've pulled the caliper to change the rear rotors, I've flipped the caliper out to change the rear pads, and I've pulled the entire brake assembly off the stock 10-bolt to replace it with a 12-bolt, and I have never had to do anything with the parking brake. It never interfered with accessing the bolts. The only thing I have ever done to the parking brake assembly is unbolt the rubber "hockey puck" damper to reduce weight.

 

Injuneer:
Thanks for the reply. It sounds as though removing the "hockey puck" has no ill effects. I've had the calipers with abutment bracket off the mounting plates but (I may not be remembering accurately) there was a "cage" the parking brake cable went into that also contained the parking brake lever and return spring and this blocked access to the lower guide pin bolt that secures that guide pin to the caliper. It looks like this cage has to come off to service that guide pin and I'm concerned that the heavy return spring requires a factory tool or special procedure at this point ... I guess I'll find out when I do rear pads and rotors this coming spring!!