ok, in the mornign i start up my car, its very cold out, i let it warm up, i take it down the street, and when i get to the bottom of the hill i feel as if i have no brakes, my foot is pressed soo far down, and it barely squeeks, so i'm driving down Street Rd. and when i apply the brakes the brake light comes on, and its harder to break, i need all the help i can get, thanks, cya

 

I have no idea here, but...

It seems to me you have no front brakes, only back. Hence why you can stop, but not well....

You bust a line, maybe?

 

if that happened, you would hear the squeeler, the whole time you drive, and i dont hear that, any other ideas???

 

Forget the "squealers", those only tell you when your pads are worn. Your problem probably has nothing to do with that. It sounds like something has failed in the hydraulic part of the brakes, not the linings. A broken line will not cause the "audible wear sensors" to expose themselves to the rotors and make noise.

Is fluid present? The light comes on when there's a pressure diference betwen the front and rear systems; which end of the car isn't working?

 

its probably the front that doesnt work, cause i slow down, just slowly, so i'm thinking its a problem with the front, and my pedels feel soft, thanks

 

I agree, sounds like a hydraulic thing. With the way you're describing it getting worse, it could be the master cylinder failing. It also sounds like you're very low on brake fluid, and have a very large air bubble somewhere. Of course, inspect the pads to rule that out as well.


Here's some things to do:

Look for leaks. If there's a wet spot on the inside of one of your rims, chances are a caliper's leaking. Fortunately calipers are an easy fix.

Look for leaks in the lines. This is, of course, more difficult than a leaky caliper.

Check the master cylinder.

Completely bleed the brake system. IF you buy some speed bleeders, this process becomes a lot easier as you don't need a friend, or a pole to hold the brake pedal down.

I've found best results by gravity bleeding the system first, and then doing the usual pumping. I don't know your level of knowledge, so.. if you already know all this, just skip over it. heh. Start with the caliper farthest away from the master cylinder, then work your way to the closest. Open the bleeder screw about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn, and take the cover of the master cylinder off. Let the brake fluid slowly drip out (catchng it in something, of course. Easy to do with a hose attached to the bleeder screw running into a jar somewhere.) Keep an eye on the level of fluid in the master cylinder, as you don't want that to run dry. It'll take about 15 minutes per caliper. Then, bleed the brakes the normal way. If you have speed bleeders, just pump the pedal (slowly, or fluid will splash up out of the master cylinder) five or six times, or until just clear fluid comes out. If you don't have speed bleeders, then, here's how you do it: Keep the caliper closed. If you have a friend, have them pump the brake pedal a few times, and then have them hold the pedal down. If you don't have a friend, pump the pedal and keep it down with a pole running from the pedal to the seat or something. Then, open the bleeder, let the fluid come out, close the screw, and repeat the process a few times. THen move onto the next tire and repeat the process.

If that doesn't get rid of the problem, you might need to bench bleed the master cylinder. While this is poperly done with the master cylinder OUT of the car, it can be done with it still on. You may find a bench-bleed kit at a local car-parts store like Pep Boys or .. whatever you have near you. If you can't, you need to find some fittings that will screw into the master cylinder where the brake lines come out of it. From those, run a hose (rubber's easiest to work with) back into the master cylinder. Pump the pedal slowly to work out any bubbles in the cylinder. Once they stop, wait 20 minutes or so and do it a gain, usually it'll take more than one attempt to get all the air out of the system. Then, reattach the lines. You may need to bleed the brakes normally after you've bled the cylinder.

 

Check your master cylinder for fluid. I bet it's probably low.

I know when I had a rear brake line leak mine was low, and the brake light came on.

 

As was said....check for leaks in your lines. I just had this exact problem on an 86 cavalier on sunday. One of the lines rusted through. I ended up replacing the hose and 48 inches of line. Damn did that suck.