1990 Ford Tempo brakes went out

FIXITMR

MECHANIC
1990 FORD TEMPO
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Was done changing a wheel bearing drivers side and tried brakes and they went soft. Drove it and second third push they work good. I had taken caliper off of hose when doing wheel bearing. I did this because prior to doing wheel bearing I had replaced pads(that side only) which wore out prematurely and rotor looked like it had gotten hot!
the bleeder is broke on the caliper but I just pumped it way out and then pushed it back in figuring that was like bleeding it backwards. I've done that before and it worked. Also tried bleed from hose bolt. I also I tried bleeding opposite rear and still no change. I did open/close type bleed and fluid bottle type bleed on both rear. I hate brake problems! I dont wanna just replace parts, it was working before I tore it apart! Thanks

1 Reply

FIXITMR

MECHANIC
9,990 POSTS

Got it! Had really resist new parts urge! It was a bleeding problem. Couple of tricks to pass on. To find out which wheel it is you unscrew line at master cylinder and insert flat head nail with 1/4 to 5/32 diameter head. Put the pointed end in line and screw line back in tight. Then step on brake to test. If pedal stays up and hard you've found the line that needs bleeding/fixing. This trick also comes in handy for gettin by till you can find time to fix. Better than no brakes at all. Also on rubber lines where caliper is hard to push back in check that hose bracket is not rusty. It's crimped on hose and can rust inside crimp and pinch hose till it wont flow or flows hard. This can be noticed when pads wear out prematurely as caliper does not fully release. You can save hose by uncrimping bracket. I usually clean rust and repinch just enough to grab. Anyway my master cyl test said it was the caliper I had removed so I just kept rebleeding by manually filling caliper and reattaching dripping line. Then pushing in caliper to push fluid up into master. Last try before dark was the charm!