2000 Saab 9-3 con. se brake pedal to floor

[nkdwpn40]

OK so one day I get in the car, and the brakes work fine. Now th peddal goes to the floor, but the car still stops,but now pulls the the right when I stop, and when I go to a complete stop the car kinda wobbles loosely side ways the the left.
What ive done so far
-(didn't have a lot of time) bleed to front lines, there was some air
!this worked awesome brakes came back.........20 mins later they went away again!
- second round....I basically used 2 quarts of fluid flushing all lines out. This however did not work, another problem happened after this....the clutch peddle now stayed to the floor and I had to pump multiple times to get it to work again.

-brakes kind of work better now, if I do a quick stop they sorta harden uP again, and if I pump the clutch the brakes become hard for a second the fade away.

What could it be? And please be specific,and share stories if its happened to you.

[roblistens]

You've had a few views in the hour since you posted..... and maybe others are thinking about your issue.... but I will venture my "guess:" brake master cylinder. I haven't had to change a BMC on any Saab newer than '98, even if it had over 300K; but that doesn't mean they can't fail sooner than that. If you're not finding a leak/leaks anywhere in the brake system (on the lines to each wheel, or at the calipers themselves), and you've checked just behind and below the BMC itself, I would be baffled too. But checking between the BMC and the booster may reveal the leaking fluid you seek.

[nkdwpn40]

Hmmm the thing is there is no loss of brake fluid anywhere lol so why is the clutch master connected to the same oil resivour as the brakes? Do you think it's possible this is where the air is coming in? Why would the clutch peddal go to the floor after bleeding the brakes?

You've had a few views in the hour since you posted..... and maybe others are thinking about your issue.... but I will venture my "guess:" brake master cylinder. I haven't had to change a BMC on any Saab newer than '98, even if it had over 300K; but that doesn't mean they can't fail sooner than that. If you're not finding a leak/leaks anywhere in the brake system (on the lines to each wheel, or at the calipers themselves), and you've checked just behind and below the BMC itself, I would be baffled too. But checking between the BMC and the booster may reveal the leaking fluid you seek.

[roblistens]

yes, the two systems do share the same resevoir. (Which works out well... most of the time!) Not seeing any source of fluid leak makes this a puzzling situation. As far as your clutch pedal is concerned: I've had older 900's where the only way to restore clutch action after CHANGING the master or slave cylinder (because one of these, or both, were known to be defective) was to push fluid through the slave cylinder UP into the fluid resevoir. The reverse of the usual bleeding method. But one, rather small air bubble is all it takes to disable the clutch response. (And the reverse method will push that bubble out.)

You may have air in your clutch line.

As for your braking issue (!): I would want to let others weigh in on whether brake lines should similarly be bled in this reverse fashion. I haven't had occasion to try doing it that way.

[nkdwpn40]

Well can the clutch line transfer the bubble of air to the brake line?

[nkdwpn40]

I'm going to try And block of the clutch fluid line on the resivour and bleed again.

[nkdwpn40]

Found the problem, the line going to the front right brake was crimped behind the rear hydraulic engine mount. Leaking brake fluid all over it. Links are pics of the issue

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/43/Ntmk2f.jpg
https://imageshack.com/a/img538/2294/2GEdiW.jpg

yes, the two systems do share the same resevoir. (Which works out well... most of the time!) Not seeing any source of fluid leak makes this a puzzling situation. As far as your clutch pedal is concerned: I've had older 900's where the only way to restore clutch action after CHANGING the master or slave cylinder (because one of these, or both, were known to be defective) was to push fluid through the slave cylinder UP into the fluid resevoir. The reverse of the usual bleeding method. But one, rather small air bubble is all it takes to disable the clutch response. (And the reverse method will push that bubble out.)

You may have air in your clutch line.

As for your braking issue (!): I would want to let others weigh in on whether brake lines should similarly be bled in this reverse fashion. I haven't had occasion to try doing it that way.

[roblistens]

progress! any sense of what was "hammering" the line so as to crimp it that way?

[nkdwpn40]

Yes it was get caught between to engine mount and as there was load on the engine it got caught between it.

progress! any sense of what was "hammering" the line so as to crimp it that way?

[Icemant23]

All- I have been having the same issue with my clutch! I have read through the forums at length, and appreciate everyone's input. I recently had the brakes replaced and asked that they bleed the lines, hoping that would fix the issue. It did not unfortunately, but all of a sudden the problem went away for a month. This morning on the way to work it returned. SO odd. After reading through the forum on the issue I have come up with the following possibilities, and would greatly appreciate any clarity anyone may provide: AS a note: There has been ZERO brake fluid leakage that I can identify.

Possible Causes for clutch going soft, not fully returning or "on the floor"
Master Cylinder-
Slave Cylinder
Question: For both of these, can the issue be intermittent as described or is it one of those situations where "when it goes it goes"?

Return spring-Meh seems pretty tight to me.

Air in the Clutch Line- Since the Saabs have the same reservoir (Brake) but different lines for the clutch, is there a process for bleeding the Clutch line only?

My gut response due to the intermittent nature of the problem tells me that one of the lines might be loose but I have checked and cannot see any issue. Perhaps the metal housing that connects the Clutch line to the slave cylinder is loose?

-Hope this doesnt violate the forum rules but perhaps dropping a little blue pill made by Pfizer in the Brake fluid Reservoir would work?

Greatly appreciate those who have contributed, you have been a great help to me and my new 2002 9-3 Convertible.