After a hard breaking to avoid a road hazard my 89 Ranger 4cyl began losing power. Engine continued to run fine but the truck began to lose ability to maintain speed. As though there were no power to the transmission. Also noticed the breaks seem to be gone, pressing the break pedal goes alway to floor. checked break fluid and transmission fluid both were full, no leaks. Had no problems before having to hit breaks hard (did not lock breaks or skid) to avoid an obstacle in the road. both problems seem to be related but can't figure out how.
Anyone have any suggestions as to what may have happened???

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.....

 

How much mileage do you have on your truck? The first thing I would check is the vacuum hose to your power brake booster to make sure it is not loose, cracked or leaking. Otherwise, it sounds to me that you may have suffered an internal problem in your brake system. It could be that the master cylinder has an internal leak, i.e. the fluid is pushing by the piston. The two conditions you cited may or may not be related.

 

Mileage is approx 98K. Thanks for the reply. I've not seen any leaks and fluid levels are ok. How would you check for an internal leak in the master cylinder? I see no visable signs of leaking from the master cylinder?

 

I don't kknow if there is a specific test for a master cylinder with an internal problem. I have had cars with similar problems. after checking everything else in the brake system I finally installed a new master cylinder and it solved the problem.

 

Thanks for the reply....I'll check vacuum hoses as best I can. Possible that there is a loss of vacuum in the system that would account for both problems?
Thanks again!!

 

The way I check master cylinders is to pump the pedal up to firm, then lightly push, release, push release... several times but never completely let off. If the pedal begins to drop(eventually to the floor), it indicates fluid leaking past the seals. At that point I condemn the master cylinder. Your emergency pedal slam may have contributed to an aged master cylinder giving up its final ghost. If it does that, don't stop there. Get all four wheels off the ground and take a look at the rest of your brake system. Check your wheel cylinders for leakage in the rear, pull each boot back on the wheel cylinders and check inside for brake fluid. Look at the break shoes... thickness and the friction surface for cracking, flaking etc.. Look at brake hoses. Just a general look over of your system. There's no time like the present to fix it, since you're already interested in getting it back to normal. Waiting just costs more money.

As far as the engine/trans performance issue since the hard stop goes, there's not really enough info to go on. An earlier post said check vacuum lines and such. I suggest the same.

 

Thanks to you both for your suggestions and tips. I now have a better idea what to look for. Looks like I have a project for this weekend.

Thanks again!!

 

Is the truck veering off to one side. I ask because there may be a brake sticking. Would explain the hard to keep up speed problem. Probably not it. Just a thought.