94t brakes went out and crashed

[jose310]

I crashed my 94 q45t, my breaks went out and my emergency break didnt work so i couldnt stop and crashed into a acura, my car is fine , just a lil scratch , but why would my breaks go out like that? i towed it to a mechanic and they told me it was the master cylinder, so i got that replaced , the car is just fine now, but wen at idle and stepping on the break i could hear a clicking sound coming from the middle cosol were the shifter is at? wat can it be??

[maxnix]

Hope you really flatbedded it to your mechanic as any tow with the rear wheels on the found can seriously damage the transmission.

Hope it is only the brake switch relay.

[jose310]

nope it wasant flatbeded, it was towed from the front wheels...

[Q451990]

Front wheels on the ground is OK... not ideal but OK. It may stress the rear subframe a little. Front up and rear down can toast a transmission in no time. The clicking you hear is the shift interlock. Pretty normal if the car is in park... in any case the clicking noise and brake failure isn't related.

Was your master cylinder leaking badly? The only other catastrophic brake failure I've heard of was caused by a broken flex line feeding one of the front calipers.

Heath

[jose310]

nope i dont think my cylinder was leaking, 5 minutes before i had crashed i was on the freeway going around 70 and i had to make a quick stop, some lady cut infront of me, and i had to pressed down the brake till i couldnt anymore, beyond, after that , i was trying to slow down and it wouldnt so i got off the ramp to check it out , my car wouldny stop and crashed.

[Q45tech]

14 year old brake components are just asking for wrecks !!!!We recommend total caliper rebuilds [the fluid retaining o-rings] and master cylinder replacements every 10 years.

When was the emergency brake last adjusted and the shoes replaced?Was the brake fluid flushed and replaced at regular intervals to avoid destroying master cylinder seals?

[maxnix]

Not to mention ABS pump and accumulator.

[goody90q45]

nope i dont think my cylinder was leaking.....

The brake master cylinder and individual wheel brake cylinders don't have to be leaking externally (dripping) to go bad. They also have internal seals that leak so you don't build up pressure or have to pump the pedal to build up pressure.

Unless you work on the Bonneville Salt Flat get that "emergency" brake adjusted. There's a reason they call it that. It's part of the redundancy built into any safety system (if the foot pedal doesn't work the emergency brake should) to make sure you don't crash and burn. Good luck.

[jose310]

yeah im getting it fixed next week, but now wen im stopping in a intersection i have to push a the break pedal a lil futher down to be able to stop. is it time for new break pads? or can it be the master cylinder??

[AlabamaDan]

Answer some of Q45Tech's questions. I've heard that just having bad fluid will cause the pedal to be soft.

[maxnix]

yeah im getting it fixed next week, but now wen im stopping in a intersection i have to push a the break pedal a lil futher down to be able to stop. is it time for new break pads? or can it be the master cylinder??

break - verb transitive or noun meaning beginnig or interupption.

brake - verb intransitive or noun referring to a device to slow motion.

Homonym - Homonym, homophone, and homograph designate words that are identical to other words in spelling or pronunciation, or both, while differing from them in meaning and usually in origin.

homophone - Homophones are words that sound alike, whether or not they are spelled differently.

Man, that hurts.

[1990Q45'r]

Odd........ Front and rear brake systems are separate! No brake light indicator? Proportion valve defective? Low on fluid? Contaminated fluid? Hard braking could have ruptured internal seals in master cylinder.

[elwesso]

the brake system is a pretty simple system, not much to go wrong besides the flex lines and the master cylinder from infrequent fluid changes!

[foamcup]

Does this apply to manual 240sx as well? towing it from the front wheels and the rear wheels on the ground, would damage the transmission?

[elwesso]

Does this apply to manual 240sx as well? towing it from the front wheels and the rear wheels on the ground, would damage the transmission?

3

no manual transmission cars are different, since they are splash lubricated vs having an internal pump to circulate the fluid.

[foamcup]

Phew!, cool I just tow my 240sx today like that haha..

thanks

[bullittandy]

Its pretty rare for a modern car to lose its brakes entirely. So rare as to be unheard of-even with poorly maintained brakes.

Much more common for people to not pay attention.

[maxnix]

3

no manual transmission cars are different, since they are splash lubricated vs having an internal pump to circulate the fluid.

As long as it is not in gear, i.e. - in neutral, you are fine with a manual!

[Q45tech]

Unfortunately shops and owners put oil, ps-atf, and coolant in the master cylinder frequently enough for us to keep spares on hand.

One even had windshield washer fluid. You never know what you'll find.

Like the 98 LS400 that was so sludged we are not sure it ever had an oil change just a few quarts added every year.

[jose310]

the brake pedal dont feel right ..it's to soft and i have to press it futher down to be able to completly. can it be air? or do i have to replace the cylinder again, i got a 3 month warranty on the job, so anything goes, my brake pads are kinda gone and begining to squeek, can that be the problem why the brake pedal is so soft?

[maxnix]

First, you must use OEM parts from Joe.

Then you have to have a Consult to exercise the ABS to flush it also.

Shade tree amateurs coupled with 3rd party American retailed Chinese parts are a sure disaster for any imported luxury V8.

[Q45tech]

If you are not spending $3,000 per year [50/50 labor and parts] or are not spending 25 hours of your personal expert time and $1000 discounted parts per year you are under maintaining an old Q...........Pure and Simple fact of life.

There is always some rotten plastic or an intermitent connection or a bulb to change.............just yesterday I went to change a front turn signal bulb and the mounting tab for assembly cracked and failed..........new [junker] assembly 1.3 hour for a bulb...............18 year old plastic.

25 hours is 2 hours per month, I probably spend 4 per month prorated[eqivalent to your 8-10?] and still have to get an expert YOUNG tech for 4-6 hours per year to do the things I can't...........I'm 60 and an ex smoker and 30 pounds overweight with a bad back.

[Haitian_King]

Tech,

Sorry to be off topic, but I'd really like to become a Q expert. I'm 20 with absolutely no mechanical experience. I'm armed with fresh-faced enthusiam, youthful exuberance, a NICO membership, and an FSM. I take it more is needed?

[jose310]

yes i agree im only 19, and im learning something new everyday about my Q

[Haitian_King]

How cool is it to be so young and drive such a wild car? I must say, it's better than tooling around in a civic. You certainly stand out with one of these.

I love leaving work and everyone is going out to their cars, and they see me getting into my Q. I love the stares I get when the driver's window and sunroof are opening and neither of my hands are near their controls. No one expects that from my '92.

[jose310]

yeah ...and when they see the features a 94q has man they get there panties wet. . i have always loved big body's. with some balls under the hood, but my q lost alot of power since i got it 9 months ago. but i get alot of stares because theres only like 4 in my city and most of them 90-93.

[Q45tech]

After you've owned and maintained and repaired one for 10 years and read the 100,000 posts on NICO and spent $30,000 you should be quite qualified on your Q.

Read the FSM so many times you can QUOTE page and verse just like that other BOOK or Books.

[Haitian_King]

Tech,

I'm still trying to decipher the FSM. I know where to go to get information in it. But dissecting the information and applying it to my Q is another matter altogether.

I've gotten into some more reading on the board, and I'm well on my way into sinking that $30K into it. I've spent quite a bit over the last 2 months.

[elwesso]

Remember the FSM was designed for use by a factory trained INFINITI TECH. he does not need all of that stuff that explains everything out since he already understands it.

[Haitian_King]

Is it possible to enroll in an Infiniti Tech course? I'd love to do it.