stryped wrote:
I have a brake question. I have a 1996 chevy Silverado. I have had it
for about 4-5 years. I bought it from my dad. It has 315,000 miles on
it. It has always had a soft spongy pedal. Brakes seem to work, but
like I said the pedal sinks when holding it.

This weekend was a nightmare. I replaced one side of my back drum
brakes. I will have to finish the other side this weekend as I ran out
of time. I noticed when I was trying to force on the pads in the back,
I developed some liquid at the master cylinder boot.

Do you mean it leaked because you pushed fluid back into the MC and it
overfilled it, spilling out the top?
Or is it leaking out the rear bore of the cylinder, where it bolts up
the vacuum booster? If the latter, you will need to replace the master
cylinder.

This weekend is a long one so I plan on doing this right. Replacing
the other set of rear pads. I guess I need to replace that wheel
cylinder now too. (Will I hurt anything by driving the truck this week
with one set of new pads on one set of old pads?) For the record, the
pads had a lot of life left on them but there were some superficial
cracks so I attempted to replace them.

Also, for the last year my antilock brake light has been on.

Anyway, Part of me is afraid to replace the master cylinder and re
bleed everything. I have heard of people doing this and somehow
getting air on the anti lock module? Have you heard of this?

MC will come with directs for bench bleeding. Also should have some
plastic fittings and hoses to do it with. If not, buy them separately.

I'd also suggest you buy a hand vacuum pump/brake bleeder.
If you have to bleed the whole system, you can do it correctly by
pulling new fluid through the system and bringing air bubbles out with
it. Do RR, LR, RF, LF in that order. Don't skimp on brake fluid, and
don't let the MC run dry. A helper pouring fresh fluid and keeping the
MC topped up while you work the vacuum pump is a big help.

It's not rocket science, but it takes care and the proper tools to do it
correctly and safely.