i have a 95 saab 900s, with 95,000 miles, 2 years ago while driving on the highway I had no brake pressure, pedal to the floor did nothing. pumping the brakes restored pressure & the brakes. the local saab dealer found nothing wrong. last month same problem & another dealer found nothing wrong. suggested that i replace the brake drum. any thoughts?
Sounds more like an intermittent problem with the master cylinder to me.
“replace the brake drum”
Huh?
I am quite sure that a Saab has disc brakes, at least on the front wheels, and most likely on all 4 wheels. If it has 4 wheel discs, there is not a brake drum to be found on the car. If it has front disc/rear drum brakes, there are brake drums on the rear, but a bad brake drum is not going to cause your brake pedal to go to the floor.
In any event, if I experienced the problem that you experienced, I would have replaced the brake master cylinder the first time that this situation occurred. A master cylinder that was then 11 years old could certainly have been worn out, and now that it is 13 years old, it is definitely a candidate for replacement, especially given the symptoms. These symptoms are the classic description of a bad master cylinder.
My thoughts, quite literally, are that you are courting disaster if you continue to blithely drive this car without it being repaired. Take it to an independent mechanic who has a good reputation in your area, and don’t go back to that dealership whose mechanics don’t recognize the symptoms of master cylinder failure. Have the master cylinder replaced and have the mechanic use new brake fluid (any good mechanic will know to do this). Also have him check the condition of the brake pads and check for leakage at the wheel cylinders.
Drive VERY SLOWLY to the mechanic’s shop!
Unless there’s some misinterpretation here, VDC driver is correct on all points.
SAAB has not used brake drums since the 70s. They’ve been 4 wheel discs for decades.
A brake drum or brake disc is not going to cause the problem you have anyway and I have no idea why that suggestion was even tossed out to you.
Sounds like a faulty master cylinder. If the master cylinder is failing, and if the car has a manual transmission, then don’t be surprised if a clutch master cylinder fails sometimes. Age and lack of regular fluid changes can contribute to both the brake and the clutch master cylinder failures.
Got confused too… Good to clarify things out. Its just that I dont get. How is it that they didnt see any problem? I was actually thinking maybe its sort of brake pad set replacement. If its the pressure then maybe there might be something under the pads. That’s all I can say…