Hey everyone,

I have a 2005 1500, 5.3. I only drive this truck on the weekends so constant issues have been frustrating but the ext warranty has helped a lot. I had emergency brake work done less than 3,000 miles ago after I was on a camping trip and lost a bearing. At that time (June) the shop did the following; e-brake cable, rear shoes, turned drums, 2 new calipers, 2 new rotors, RF bearing w/ ABS sensor.

My dad went camping this weekend and borrowed the truck to tow the camper. The brake light came on and the service brake system notification came on the dash as well. He noticed the brake pedal was really soft and would stop no problem but he had to push it to the floor to engage. They camped and drove it home no problem and dropped the truck off to me and I would not even leave the parking lot. I checked the fluid and it was really low. I cant believe he felt ok towing a 5500 lb camper.

What would cause the pedal to be so soft, fluid to be lost and these indicator light to trip? With all of the brake work that was done in June what is left. I have had this truck for two years and have had a lot of things replaced and dont like this trend!

Thanks for your help.

 

It is very common for the steel lines to rust through on these trucks especially if they sit a lot. Trace all the metal lines from one end to the other. I will bet you find you problem. Most of the time all the line are so bad that if you touch one another will leak. We usually replace all the lines with stainless steel line from classic tubes.

 

vacuum booster or master cylinder bad ?

 

Thanks for the reply's I had a brake line go out on my old Cherokee that casued me to total a civic. That is why I sold the Jeep and got the truck. I checked the lines a few months ago when the radiator went and it looked like they had been replaced in the past. I will have to check again when Sandy leaves us alone.

Is there a way to check if the master or booster is going bad? I didnt notice any fluid on the ground but it just started to rain. I guess the fluid has to go somewhere if it is no longer in the reservoir.

 

Fluid has to go somewhere for sure. Pay careful attention beside the fuel tank (almost always fails there). If you still see nothing pull the master cylinder off the brake booster (don't undo the lines)and look inside the booster for the fluid. If you find fluid there you need to replace the master and the booster.

 

Are you sure the brake fluid was topped off after the brake work?

 

I cannot confirm that it was topped off after the brake work but can only assume at this point. I did not check and "trusted" that they did it correctly. If it was not replenished, would this cause the issue? Would adding fluid fix the problem if that is all it was?

I dropped it off at the dealer this morning because it still has the ext warranty but it cost me $100 every time they fix something. I hope that it is nothing major but I dont know what the dealer will charge me to diag the issue.

I have had issue after issue with this truck but I try to stay positive thinking that if the warranty fixes most of the issues I will have new parts that should for all practical purposes last me a long time.

 

Fortunately this turned out to be a problem that is covered under the extended warranty. This truck would have been a nightmare if I didnt have this warranty because I have had a couple of thousand dollars in this truck and I have only put 13K on it.

Brake booster was bad and apparently GM changed the master cylinder style so they had to replace this as well. So in2pro you were right After a long fight with ext warranty company this was approved. They got pressure and then the rear line busted above near the fuel tank (congrats MDTAHOE you were correct also)

They had to drop the fuel tank to replace this line so it should be ready tomorrow. I officially have all new break components.

 

Sweet! thanks for following up