Well if it ain't one thing... Brake Problems now

So I was going to move the TC out of the garage to work on a different car for once. I had it idling for a few minutes before I moved it and while it was idling all of the sudden the idle starts going crazy. It would bog down and shoot back up over and over again. This is similar to what was happening before I changed out my VAM, but it didn't feel the same. I could also not correct it and shutting of and restarting the car didn't help.

Well I moved it and finished what I had to do on the other car. When I went started the car up to move it back to the garage it did the same thing. I took it around my driveway and when I got close to the street and hit the brakes the darn pedal went all the way to the floor with almost no resistance whatsoever before it even started braking. Brought it back up the other side of the driveway and when I got back to the garage it did the same thing.

It has been parked since then. Tonight I cracked open the master cylinder and the fluid reservoir for the rear brakes (the front one) was a little less than half full of fluid. I just flushed and filled the brake system a few months ago and I know there is no air in the lines. It definitely should not have been low at all. There are no external leaks either that I can find.

So I'm thinking I got a bad seal in the master cylinder, but I have a couple questions.

1. If fluid was leaking into the brake booster, could it be sucked into the intake and cause it to idle the way it was?

2. Anything else I should be looking at here?

I can't imagine any good reason for it to have idled like that all of the sudden. Almost all of the engine electronics are new and the IAC is clean as a whistle.

I think the ol' TC is getting her revenge for being forced to sit dormant for 10 years!

Take the vacuum hose off the booster and plug it with your thumb with the car running. See if it smoothes the idle out.

My master cylinder went out while I was driving but my pedal became very stiff, not soft like yours.

Also check your brake lines at your caliper and what not. Mine use to pop off on my truck and do exactly what you're describing.

Good luck!!

Sir Yes the engine can suck in Brake fluid from the booster and master. Sometimes the booster seal will blow and this can happen. But you pointed out that your front reservoir was low. This condition normally will effect the rear reservoir first. And normally the cylinder will balance off the fluid to the divider and then empty the rear. All master cylinders that are DUAL have a divider. Sounds like you popped a line or caliper and lost one of the rear systems. Are your brake lines rusty? You will have to check that entire system out thoroughly. Good luck sir.

I went to bleed the brakes today and after I did the they are back to normal. I did notice what looked like a tiny amount of fluid had leaked from the right wheel cylinder inside the brake drum and the inside of the left brake drum had a fair amount of leakage from the cylinder.

So I guess that's my problem, but what I don't understand is why one minute the brakes worked fine and the next they were all jacked up. could it be that the seal in the cylinder allowed a load of air to get sucked in that one time? The lines are all fine. Yes they are a bit rusty, but not significantly - and all of the connections are tight and have no leaks.

Either way I suppose it's time for a couple new cylinders.

Now I don't have any idea why the car was idling the way it was yesterday. Today that's back to normal too. Just your average quirky TC I guess.

B it does not take much air to cause the brakes to get SOGGY. But if i were you i would throw a new master cylinder in that car. Sometimes the pistons will contract and not hold preasure. Its called the RED light syndrome. Customers would complain of a pedal that slowly drops at red lights. This is common and does happen with old cars or cars that are stored. Hope this helps Sir. Good luck.