Cant bleed brakes on 99 sl2
 

I've tried bleeding the master cylinder, went in the order by the book (rr, lf, lr, rf) i've bled it so much i have clear fluid at every wheel. and the pedal still goes to the floor. i have no idea what to do now -__-

Is that a replacement master cylinder? Why were you bleeding the brakes?

I replaced all the pads and shoes and resurfaced the rotors/disks. and when i drove it the pedal sinks to the floor. after doing every method of bleeding i could think of besides pressure bleeding, i was stumped. a couple people told me it could be the master cylinder today, so i went out and bought one and bled the master cylinder according to the repair manual, and them bled the wheels twice and still it sinks to the floor.

Are you losing fluid from the master cylinder? Are there any leaks from the caliper piston seals?

This type of symptom usually indicates a leak in a wheel or master cylinder (wheel = calipar) allowing fluid to dribble out leaving a puddle on the ground OR you have no idea what brake fluid can do to paint.
OR
improper bleading of the brakes leaving air in the line.
When you push on the brake pedal the fluid will not compress thus applying the brakes.
If air is in the lines, the air will try to compresss or disolve itself into little bubbles allowing the brake pedal to slowely go to the floor when pushed.
Or will leak fluid out onto the ground.
I guess then, it raises a question as to actually how you blead the brakes. It usually is a two person job when done in your own garage, one person to apply the brakes and hold them on while the second loosens the bleeder on the calipare or wheel cylinder allowing the Air to Bleed out of the system and be replaced by brake fluid and then tightened again BEFORE the brake pedal is released.
I have a power bleeder I use to make things a one person job.
At face value this is a bit of a mystery, further information could be helpful.

I have no leaks or puddles on the ground. i checked all the lines and see no leaks. what does paint have to do with the problem? i do have someone helping me and i've tried many different methods of bleeding, each one leaves me with no bubbles, and still with a sinking pedal. i got a new master cylinder as well. bled that and then all the wheels twice and it still sinks. I've asked many many people that i know, all with a good amount of knowledge on cars and they're all stumped

Longshot ----

Raise the vehicle and see if you can confirm whether the front or the rear are at least partially braking

How is the pad wear? Rotors?

Is your emergency brake properly adjusted?
After replacing a rear caliper on my 95 SC2 ( seized ebrake lever and piston) and pads and rotors I had to adjust the e-brake anyway. I followed the supposed method and ended up with an ebrake that sorta worked and a pedal that went way too close to the floor.

Further adjustment of the ebrake addressed both ebrake and pedal issues, presumably becasue the rear caliper pistons were moved that much closer to the pads and therefore less fluid/pressure was then required.

what does paint have to do with the problem?
================
Nothing other than if brake fluid dribbles on it, the brake fluid will eat the paint all the way down through to the body.

Where in this sequence of events (and maybe why) did you change the master cylinder?
Also derf's question is sort of valid. If a caliper is hung up, it is remotely possible that getting it to move my require both time and cause the brake pedal to go to the floor although that is hard to imagine. So
when applying the brakes while bleeding, does the Piston actually grab the rotor keeping it from spinning?

unc, aside from the "do the wheels actually stop" ? I also asked, point was that the caliper piston travel was reduced with a properly adjusted e brake so less pedal travel. I'd edit the post but then your ref to my earler post would get messed up.....etc....

I can see where caliper movement can cause a problem with the pedal going to the floor because it has to move too far although I really did not know that could happen with disc brakes. There usually is a residual pressure that keeps the puck close to the rotor so that can not happen. However on the Saturn, (and others,) it seems to me that my Fiero worked somewhat the same with rear disc, the adjusment of the E-brake could screw around with things. I did not have that problem with my Saturn but there is a distant memory about my Fiero that sort of rings a bell, but that was a long time ago. My T&C has a seperate E-brake drum brake built into the rear hubs so the function of it is seperate from the disc brakes.
But isn't the symptom that the Pedal Sinks to the floor? Seems to me that would be different than the pedal going to the floor when applied which might be expected if Caliper movement was too great?
I did work on a Toyota once that had a master cylinder leak thus problems but the leak forced fluid into the passenger compartment under the rugs. So it never got to the ground and the car was just old enough and dirty enough to hide the fact that the foot well rug backing was soaking up the brake fluid.
But
if he is not loosing fluid, which means he has to put in fresh every so often, than it can not be leaking?
So the E-Brake out of adjustment makes the only logical possibility, seems to me.
Typing while thinking and all.