brake pedal goes to the floor

2008 CHEVROLET EXPRESS
185,000 MILES • 6.0L • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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BUD BOWLER
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Brakes worked fine, pedal just barely starting to get spongy. Mechanic said master starting to go bad. tried to replace master cylinder, new one had wrong size fittings. put old master back on and mechanic bled the brakes. the pedal went to the floor at this point. It did not go to floor before original master cylinder was removed and reinstalled. still stopped van. replaced with proper master and bled brakes. still went to floor. replaced master second time with another new one, bled brakes, pedal still went to floor. breaks stop van but go all the way to floor. no air in lines, no leaks anywhere. any ideas would be great. thanks
Dec 6, 2021 at 7:54 PM
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SQM
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Hello,

It is possible to still have air in the brake system as the ABS brake system does have a different process of bleeding. Typical procedure will not work and air will stay trapped and the pedal will go to the floor.

Here is a helpful video:

https://youtu.be/nQRnKyVyMuQ

I have also included the procedures below.

Please let me know of any questions.
Dec 6, 2021 at 9:07 PM
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BUD BOWLER
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The work was done by a mechanic shop. I asked them from the beginning if they bled the brakes properly. they said they did. even when they put my old master cylinder back on is when the problem started. it was never fixed. Even after two new master cylinders.
Dec 7, 2021 at 11:17 AM
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BUD BOWLER
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great video. I don't think the shop I used has the electronic tools needed to do this ABS bleed. Thank you. I will get a mechanic that can do this properly.
Dec 7, 2021 at 11:24 AM
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SQM
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You are welcome. Let me know if you have any questions.
Dec 7, 2021 at 12:31 PM
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BUD BOWLER
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Thank you for all the great information. Keep up the good work.
Dec 11, 2021 at 10:51 AM
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SQM
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Much appreciated. Thank you!
Dec 11, 2021 at 8:49 PM