brakes freeze

[ksbs2007]

hi i got 2003 ford escape and i am wondering if anyone has had this problem that the brake pedal freezes up like a rock?

[mudseeker]

could you be a little more specific with the symptoms. i'm leaning towards a vacum leak at the booster, but need more info to be sure.

[ksbs2007]

well you could be drivin along and when you press the brake pedal its hrd as rock and then after pushin and pushin on the brake pedal it finally releases sometimes it could take 3 blocks before it lets go. usually its on a cold day and high humidity. like it could be workin and when you press it again its hard. buts it so intermitent. but this is a safety issue i don't feel like gettin in a accident.

[mudseeker]

you can still stop when the brake pedal is hard, right? if so then you most likely are not getting any assist from your brake booster. if you also have bad engine performance i would look for a vacum leak from the booster to the intake. also remove the check valve (plastic elbow) from the booster, while still connected to the hose and notice if your engine stumbles. if you have no stumble then replace the check valve. if all those check ok then you may have a bad booster. due to the size of your car, you may not have a vacum booster though. it may run off your power steering, i will look into that later.

if you are unable to stop at all, then i would look at the linkage from the brake pedal to the booster. you mentioned high humidity, it could be possible that you have a leak in your system and water has entered, causeing the pistons to seize up in your master cylinder, but that is a long shot. i will look into this more and write back.

[ksbs2007]

no i have no brakes at all when the brakes are hard. and the elbow that goes to the booster is just an elbow. i just took it to ford and they just put in a new booster which has the check valve built in the booster. and i got a brake flush too. so far the brakes have not froze up yet. we will see what happens.

[ksbs2007]

well i got the new booster in but this mourning the brakes froze up a gain. and the check valve is in the line just before the elbow.

[mudseeker]

with out being there in person, my next step would be checking the master cylinder. i would also check for any TSB's regarding to your symptoms.

[ksbs2007]

whats tsb"s?

[crabtruck]

TSBs are service notices put out by manufactures that may or may not preceed a recall.
They identify known problems with a vehicle and the remedy if known.
Sometimes these include free fixes the dealerships can perform.
You can find info on them on the net for free, though the details cost money at some sites.
If you find one for your ride, you can ask your local dealship for more info.

Reading your posts above, I think you have a problem master cylinder.
A totally frozen, won't push at all, pedal that occurs intermittently
doesn't seem possible to cause from farther down the system.
You might try just repeatedly pushing the pedal until you get the lockup,
and I realize it might take a hundred pumps, then not releasing the pedal.
Have a helper open a front bleeder, and I bet the pedal stays stuck.
You can examine the alignment of the linkage at pedal at same time.
Probably won't find a problem, but then you can be sure.
If you have the background to open the master, you will probably
find evidence of the lockup, but as Mud said, not being there ...