Chevy S10 pickup brake issue

230

Asked by Chevyissues Jun 05, 2017 at 05:22 PM about the 2003 Chevrolet S-10 LS Extended Cab 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2003 chevy s10 pickup. I just lost my brakes the
other night but managed to make it back home after they
went out. I installed new brake lines and new vacuum
hoses to power booster. I bled all brakes and have fluid in
lines. When the truck is off and brake is pushed, its very
stiff and hard to push down. If I start truck and push brake
it sounds like a burst of air coming from under dash and
it's very easy to push to floor. I tried gravity bleeding the
brakes to make sure I had all the air out and it's like the
fluid won't circulate through pipes. I tried manually
bleeding brakes one more time and still have same result.
Does anyone know what I should do to fix this? I'm at a
loss!

18 Answers

3,540

Was anything leaking before you changed lines. Are your rear wheel cylinders leaking. Or do you see any fluid running down from mastercylinder. Was mastercylinder still full of fluid

7 people found this helpful.
230

Yes, there was a leak before I changed lines which is what cause the brakes to go completely out. No fluid running down from mastercylinder, at one point in time the fluid was drained out of master cylinder before I realized it.

12 people found this helpful.
3,540

Ok get someone to help you to bleed mastercylinder. You can do it while still on truck. Just pump up and crack the brake lines loose. Do each one a couple of times and do you have access to a scan tool. You will need to do a power bleed on the abs motor. Purge the air from and pump and then bleed brakes starting with furthest one away from mastercylinder. Might not have to do a power bleed. Might be fine without doing power bleed

10 people found this helpful.
230

I also tried bleeding mastercylinder and then did the rest in that sequence all except the ABS module. I don't have the scan tool, but my guess was there's air stuck in it that I can't get to.

5 people found this helpful.
3,540

There should be two bleeders on motor. If so, you'll need someone to help you. Whoever is pumping. Apply pressure to brake pedal like holding at stop light. The other start with bleeder closest to engine. Open bleeder and push brake pedal to the floor and hold until bleeder is tightened. Don't shove to floor push lightly until fluid is clear. Once that one is done. Repeat process with other bleeder the same way and then rebleed brakes all the way around again

11 people found this helpful.
40

Worn Front brake pads can be a part of the problem on the S10

4 people found this helpful.
30

can lights of on dash without repairing abs brake system

3 people found this helpful.
150

I am having the same issue. Hard brake pedal with truck off. Start it and pedal go directly to floor

15 people found this helpful.
270

The S10 is a special animal. To all you that say the traditional "Have a friend pump the brakes, hold the pedal, while you crack the bleeder screw...etc". That won't work on these trucks, I'm not sure how GM configured this system but it defied every technique I've ever used on dozens and dozens of cars/trucks. Successively, I tried the "bleed at all four corners", replaced the master cylinder, replaced all calipers, replaced all the lines, replaced the booster, took off the freakin' ABS, none of it mattered. Pedal still went to the floor. Sick of it and mad, I took it to a shop. THEY couldn't get it to work either. But then I read one gent that said that on an evening, he cracked all the bleed screws a little, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, he topped off the reservoir, closed the bleeder screws and then he had pedal. I tried that and it worked. Still confounds me that nothing else worked. Like others have said, pumping the pedal with the bleeder open often saw NOTHING in the way of brake fluid passing to the caliper. There has to be a design by GM that makes this different.

27 people found this helpful.
60

Yes. The ebca unit must be computer bleed to remove the air within. Then bleed all four wheels again. You will need a computer bleeder to pluge into the diagnostic connector. Take it to a shop.

6 people found this helpful.
70

Does anyone know about. Why my driver rear tire would stick after I just put breaks all the way around on my s10???

7 people found this helpful.
160

Can anyone tell me what’s the c022 anti-lock brake system mean that code show up when my brother put on the reader code

2 people found this helpful.
10

DTC C0022: RIGHT FRONT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR SIGNAL MISSING

1 people found this helpful.
10

Regarding the initial post, Miguel's answer is correct. You must replace your brake booster.

1 people found this helpful.

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