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brake problem in cold temperature


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My brake work fine but become very slushy when the temperature drop below zero... It's a nissan pathfinder 1990 with about 390000km...

I have this problem intermittant since last winter...

The oil brake is ok

What can cause this kind of problem????

 

Thanks!

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My first guess is water icing in the line. A complete flush (bled until no dark fluid is left) of the lines would take care of this as well as any air. Make certain the air temperature is above freezing. If that doesn't fix things, it may be the seals in the master cylinder hardening, which would be best cured by replacing it (make certain to bench bleed it if you do).

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Yesterday I parked the truck in the garage overnight and this morning the brake are woring perfectly... So for me there is water in the line somewhere and a bleeding should solve this problem!!!!

Thanks again!

P.S It was a pain in the ass to drive to the work this morning because of the snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes here it's winter time and it's time to put it in 4x4 :)

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I went to the garage this mornique and he said that the only solution is to change the master cylinder... He didn't want to bleed the brake becasue he said that it was not the problem...

He said it's impossible to have water in the line... He said that there is a leak inside the master cylinder in cold temperature....

What do think about that????

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I went to the garage this mornique and he said that the only solution is to change the master cylinder... He didn't want to bleed the brake becasue he said that it was not the problem...

He said it's impossible to have water in the line... He said that there is a leak inside the master cylinder in cold temperature....

What do think about that????

I suggest finding another mechanic, or better learn to do it yourself.

 

Google the topic read all you like. This is just one hit which contains the following:

Condensation, (small moisture droplets) can form in lines and calipers. As caliper and line temperatures heat up and then cool repeatedly, condensation occurs, leaving behind an increase in moisture/water. Over time the moisture becomes trapped in the internal sections of calipers, lines, master cylinders, etc.

I have never expereinced water freezing up in the lines, but that doesn't mean it couldn't.

 

You may end up replacing the master cylinder (which I originally also suggested), but it wouldn't hurt to bleed the system first. It may save you some cash.

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find another mechanic, it could be water or air in the line with those symptoms, it could be master cyl. i'd start with the easy/cheap stuff first which bleeding is. how is the fluid looking? dark?

 

bleed it first, it doesn't take that much, pretty easy and see if that does anything, if not then you move on to another solution.

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He said it's impossible to have water in the line... He said that there is a leak inside the master cylinder in cold temperature....

 

As Animal pointed out, that was a pretty stupid thing for the mechanic to say. I suppose that you could have worn seals in the MC that are shrinking in extreme cold... :shrug:

Definitely bleed it first, and change the fluid entirely if it is old or contaminated. That just might flush crud out of the MC that could be causing problems also...

 

B

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Definatly does sound like wate ror air in the line, though the mechanic might be half right... The air and water had to get in there somehow. Bleeding should take care of the porblem for a while, depending on how big the leak is.

 

I would definatly bleed for now and keep an eye on it.

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The right way to do it is start with the farthest wheel from the master cylinder first. So for you and the pathy, you would do the reas pass, then rear driver, then front pass and finally, front driver.

If I am replacing the brake fluid, I bleed the first wheel till I know I'm getting fresh fluid, and then do the same to the others. I'm assuming you have a buddy to press and hold the petal on command so you can loosen and tighten the bleed nipple. I use aquarium tubing for bleeding so I can see that there is no particulate matter, old fluid or bubbles still comming out.

On my 95, the fluid resivoir splits 1/2 way down; that means it will run out of fluid 2x as fast. Take your time and keep it topped off. If you suck air, you have to start over !!

 

B

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I have an identical issue... and it gets worse as it gets colder. I bled my brakes before the weekend and i had air in one of the front lines. It was fine for two days and it got crappy again. It may be the master cylinder so I am going to use this opportunity to upgrade to the GM master which is about 1/10th the cost of Nissan part (I am serious) and it's quite a bit more powerful.

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Yep that's the plan, pics & writeup when complete.

 

From N4W I got some info already and I have my mechanic sourcing the part right now:

 

my_chit_041.sized.jpg

 

http://nissan4wheelers.com/groupee/forums/...901#67110558901

 

http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/4runner/brakes/

 

went into Autozone and asked for a M/C for a '77 3/4 ton chevy pickup with 4x4, power brakes, no hydroboost, and it cost around 30 bucks with a core charge.
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OK.. quick update. I went to PartsSource which is a parts chain that belongs to Crappy Tire here in bitter and cold Canada. I had them order me a 1979 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 MC... It was $35 CDN + $10 CDN core charge for a total of $45. It will arrive tomorrow. I also placed a call to my Nissan dealer and they said that with my badass hardcore offroading guy discount (he does all he can on parts for us) the Nissan MC would be $320. Yea right... if you add 15% tax we have to pay on top of everything here that's savings of 9 two-fours of beer. :beer:

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That is an outrageous savings !! :beer: Personally I hate the crappy solid cover and bail design, but you get what you pay for. Only thing I would question is longevity, but if they failed twice as often, it's still a deal. I'll try to source US parts tommorrow for comparison... Keep up informed !!

 

B

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The comparison is between a rebuild from a parts dealer with new one from dealer. If you could find a rebuilt original it would be much closer in price - a rebuild kit may even be cheaper.

I would be very cautious swapping brake parts between models, even more between manufacturers. I would personally avoid it. There are even differences between rear drum and rear disc for the same make/model/year.

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