1996 Chevy Tahoe?

Question

The original problem was I burned up my brakes coming down a mountain with my boat. Every since then they have never been the same. When this happed the pedal went all the way to the floor and the brake light came on. I had the truck towed home and started with the front rotors, calipers, and so on. The fluid was burnt as well so I flushed the lines as best as I could after replacing the booster and the master cylinder. Then I moved to the rear and replaced everything there as well. Like I said before I replaced everything that I could. This system should not be that complicated. But I'm out of ideas.

Yes the truck does have ABS in the front. The rear is just drum, no ABS

Answer 1

When you say you burned up your brakes, do you mean you burned them up? When going down a mountain your brakes will heat up and cause the fluid to boil. This fills the system with tiny air bubbles. What fluid did you go back with? You need to go with at least a DOT 4 fluid. The wrong fluid will boil at a much lower temperature, and your brakes won't work properly. If you don't get all the air out of the system, you will continue to have problems. Try putting some good fluid in it, and stay away from those hand bleeders with your brakes. Bleed them the old fashioned way. Pump the brakes up, and open the bleeder and keep your foot on the pedal all the way to the floor, and hold it there until the bleeder is tightened up. Then pump them up again, and repeat this until the air is all out of the system. Don't let the master cylinder get too low or you will get more air in the system. Start by bleeding the master cylinder first at the lines where they come out of the cylinder. Keep bleeding them for about 4 times on each line. This will insure all the old fluid is out and you have all new fluid in the lines. Oh I forgot to tell you to remove all the old fluid from the master cylinder with a pump, and replace it with the DOT 4, or 5 fluid before you start to bleed them out. Once you are done with the master cylinder, start with the closest wheel cylinder to the master cylinder and bleed it at the bleeder valve. This should be the drivers side front wheel. Now go to the passenger side and bleed it the same way. Bleed them a good 4-5 times to make sure you get all the old fluid out. Go to the rear wheel on the drivers side and bleed it the same way, and go to the rear wheel on the passenger side and repeat the process. Once you have completed this bleeding without letting the master cylinder get too low, then you should have some real good working brakes. DOT 3 fluid has too low of a boiling point for mountains, and must be gotten out of the system along with all the air that's trapped in there before the barkes will work right. I know this because I live in the mountains, and deal with this all the time. A word to the wise! Have some trailer brakes installed on your boat trailer, so you don't over work your brakes the next time you are going down a mountain. If this don't resolve the problem, then you might need to replace the rubber hoses that go from the frame to the wheels, especially on the front brakes, as they get the hottest, and can melt the hoses enough to make them act like directional valves not allowing the release of the pressure back to the master cylinder, thus causing more over heating problems.
I'm glad I could help you, Good Luck!!!
Part 2:
I know you said you have ABS brakes on the front only, but you must think of this. If the rear brakes are allowed to slide the wheels, the rear end will come around with you if you lock the brakes down. The way to be sure is to look for a sensor at the wheels and a recluctor (a wheel looking ring with many teeth on it). Unplug the sensor for each wheel and use a meter to test the sensors. The sensor is nothing more than a generator that makes electricty but its on the low scale since its very low voltage. I think you may have to use the lowest scale on your meter to test them, and it may even be the AC scale and not the DC as one would think. Try both as I don't remember which it is. Either way; hook your meter leads to the terminals that come out of the sensor, and spin the wheel to see if you are getting a voltage reading. Brake dust is metal, since the pads are metalic, and this dust will build up between the reluctor, and the pick-up (sensor) and not let the computer see the signal (voltage) thus causing the brakes to do funny things. Clean all this dust out of there in order for the wheel sensors to send the correct signal to the computer. Also; on your vacuum booster, there should be a directional valve that lets the vacuum move one way but not the other. It (usually) is the black plastic elbow looking thing that the hose attaches to. It should be checked by removing it, and sucking on one side and then the other to see if the air will move one way and not the other. If it moves air both ways, then replace it. Check the hose for leaks also. Look for it being cracked where it plugs onto the intake, and the directional valve at the booster. Make sure this is a reinforced quality hose that won't collapse when it gets under a good vacuum load.
If all of this don't resolve your problems, then take it to the dealer, and have them reset the computer, and clear out the codes. You can try to remove the (-) negative battery cable for about 20 seconds to see if they will re-set on their own. Some will and some won't. I feel very sure this will resolve your problem. New brakes will feel spoongy or funny until they break in. Do the 45 mph thing and do some hard stops for about 5-6 times, and then drive it normal for about 3-5 miles to let them cool back down. This is called burning in the brakes, and all good mechanics know to do this in order for the brakes to work right. Once you do this, the pads and the rotors will wear their patterns to match each other, and the brakes will start working real good. Going down a mountain the brakes heat up real hot, and the wrong fluid will actually boil in the cylinders creating air bubbles in the system if you have the regular brake fluid, so go ahead and spring for the good stuff, as it won't boil, and you'll be glad you no longer have that problem.
Have fun, and again, Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Being a parent is tough enough, not worrying if your underage son is drunk driving will be a lot easier tonite. Being a parent of two teenage sons now 18 and 21 i do not worry. their life insurance will have to cover the funeral costs for drunk driving. I'll have to put up with the loss of life due to a stupid decision made from an idiotic attitude it can't happen to me. By the way if you would like to look up recent stats we buried 8 teenagers this year due to alcohol use, its only july NC Parent without drunk drivers

Answer 3

email me with the type of ABS system you have and ill see what i can do to help you and your right it shouldnt be this difficult