Brake problems

I have a 1987 honda civic wagovan 4wd. The master cylinder ran dry when car
was sitting for a few years. Anyways I replaced master cylinder and pressure
bled the system and the peddle still feels mushy. The brake booster seems to
pass its test according to manual. Would appreciate any help about getting
air out of system.

 

I advise you to take it to a mechanic or the Honda dealership and have
them drain the system and add new fluid. It's my guess that you have air
in the lines. Have the mechanic take it on a test drive after he has
finished.

 

For the master cylinder to have been the culprit and leaked, all of the
brake fluid from the reservoir would likely wind up in the brake booster.
If this was indeed the case, then the booster should be replaced. However,
this scenario, though not impossible, seems unlikely since you've tested the
brake booster. I would suspect that you may have leaking rear wheel
cylinders which would explain the loss of brake fluid. Have you inspected
all of the brakes? Note that it's often necessary to pull back the the dust
boots on the wheel cylinders to find leaks though I suspect since the volume
of fluid loss was so great it should be easy to locate.

Also note that it's best to bench bleed a master cylinder before putting it
on the car to help insure that you get all of the air out. Did you do
this? If not, then you'll need to keep bleeding the system until your
certain that all of the air is out but only after you've verified the source
of the initial leak.

Eric