Have a 2000 SL1, I just bled the brakes in this pattern: RR, LR, RF, LF but it still won't pump up the brakes. No air was evident when bleeding and the master cylinder is completely full and it does not lose any fluid over time. The brake pedal engages in the last 10% of the stroke before that it's a sponge but it does engage and stop the car. Is it possible the brake booster is broken?

 

AlexT..............breaks are an important item on your car as you know. It does not sound as though you have a bad booster. When they go bad the pedel normally gets very HARD. Masters can leak (bypass the seal) on inside leaving no fluid evident on the outside of the unit. I'd just make a qick stop on the service drive of your nearset Saturn store and ask them to try the pedel and see what they think. Most brake pedels will not engauge at the top. Most don't start to produce stopping power untill the last 30% or so.


By the way


MERRY CHRISTMAS Edited by: sw2cam

 

Well AlexT, I beleive that all cars had an Anti-lock brake option by 2000. As with any brake system you should always start at the furthest calliper or wheel cylinder from the master cylinder, which you have done allready. Butif you haveAnti-lock you need to also bleed the actuator valve located near or on the master. There is a sequence and may be different with diff. years. I would recomend buying a manual to get the right sequence for your car. Also, how much brake pad do you have left? Brakes will seem soft and the pedal will travel further before brakes engage at 20-30% pad left. As far as the master sealgoing bad, your brakes will pump up, but when held will bleed off. There will also be evidence of fluid coming out the back side of the master(between master and booster.) If the plunger is bad inside the master, you would be able to pump them up to full brakes, but would also bleed back down if held. There may not be any fluid evedent.Hope this helps and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Edited by: answerman

 

2000SL1 has antilock brakes.Only one particular detail answerman,no-one ever said thathis paticular model had abs and traction control.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

PS: brakes are something you want to work without any doubts. So to sit here and try to get anyone to understand all the details of a breaking system would be futile. Breaks are to important a system to play with. Take the car to the people that know how to diagnose and repair the system. Spend yourtime andmoney once and get it done.Edited by: sw2cam

 

Saturn's S-Series sedans, the SL, SL1 and SL2, are redesigned for 2000. Changes include a restyled exterior, an all-new interior, extensive updates to the electronics and a new anti-lock braking system. According to Automotive.com, with all due respect.


And yes brakes are very important and if you don't have the common knowledge of a braking systemI would recomendtaking it to a professional.

 

Good answer ..................... man. AlexT get yourbrakes fixed. The internet is not the place to have brakes diagnosed.


I love being able to see everyones IP address at the top of each post they make.



MERRY CHRISTMAS

with all due respect ABS is not standard equipment on all 2000 and up SATURN S-CARS



Edited by: sw2cam

 

Thanks for the help guys. I've tried everything I have tools for. I've inspected the year old pads, rotors, shoes, and drums with nothing suspicious there. None of the lines appear damaged and there are no leaks anywhere that I can see. All the bleeder valves open and bleed fine. I've completely flushed the lines so the fluid is all new and the problem remains. The car went to the local Saturn dealership here where they charged me $125 to flush the lines again. Immediately I knew the brakes were no better even though they claim the problem has been resolved. 10 minutes ago my GF called me to let me know the car is probably not safe because the pedal needed to go to the floor even at 10-15 miles per hour to stop. There is no way to lock up the tires on this vehicle because there isn't enough stopping force.

This car may not be an SL1 (it isn't my car it's the little lady's) but I know for a fact it does not have ABS. Was ABS an option that year not a standard feature? If it helps to pinpoint the model the car has power windows and power mirrors along with a CD player. No sunroof though.

To be honest I'm not all that impressed with the quality of this car, maybe it's me just being frustrated but it uses about a quart of oil between 3000 mile changes, the transmission was replaced at 50,000 miles, and now it seems other things are going south at 70,000 miles on a 6 year old vehicle.

Any other words of wisdom? The car is going back to Saturn tomorrow morning.

 

Sounds like bad master cylinder.

What kind of brake fluid were/are you using? DOT-3?

As for other issues:

1) All S cars burn oil---eventually. 1 q at 70k sounds early but not uncommon.

2) Transmission at 50K? Did it have a leak that went undetected? How'd it die?

3) properly maintained S cars routinely last to 150-200K+ mi....keep the oil topped off and it should keep running....

 

Did you bleed the brakes yourself or did you have help? Unless you have speed bleeders or a pressure bleeding system, you probably got some air into the lines. I recommend picking up a set of speed bleeders and get the help of a friend and re-bleed the system agian.

If you have ABS make sure the system is in the "home" position. To do this, after you park the car where you want to work on it, turn the key to the "run" position without starting the engine for a few seconds and remove the key.

And to clarify a few of the posts above, not all Saturn S-Series had ABS. It was an option every year they were produced. Also the changes made in 2000 was that Saturn went to a rear drum ABS system rather than rear disc.

 

On my 95 SL1, I have mushy brakes and pedal goes quite far down before I get brakes when I take off in the morning or when the car's been sitting for abit. I usually have to pump the brakes a few times and then they come back. Doesn't really happen when I've beening driving thou.


Nothing's been done to the brakes other than changing the from rotors this past summer. This has been happening only for the last few weeks.