They are sideways, going into the frame from the engine bay side. I usually put a wrench straight down on them and loosen them a turn, then the fuse box slides up. Don't have to remove completely.

The ECU plugs have a lever type thing that lifts up and unlocks the connector. As you pull it over it will slide the connector right out.

 

Great info man, thanks!

 

So in between all of the rain ad thunderstorms we've been getting here in Tennessee, I've managed to replace the master cylinder FINALLY. It really isn't that hard, and I learned a lot about my car in the process as well. The only thing I have left to do is bleed the brake system. I am thinking about possibly doing a write up on how to replace the brake master cylinder for these cars, for those that want to know in the future. Oh and turns out the master cylinder that I took out of the car wasn't even the original one, it was a Delphi. So obviously it has been replaced before already. Thanks everyone for all of your contributions to my thread, it is appreciated!

 

that very well is probably the original. i think Delphi was the OEM for cobalt before 08. i know from 2008 and up it was ATE though

 

Okay, so I didn't bother trying to bleed the brake system today due to bad weather, but I went ahead and decided to order the Motive Power Bleeder to assist me. I have a theory of why the master cylinder failed. The brake fluid is dark like motor oil, therefore indicating that it is dirty or contaminated. This dirt and contaminates are what caused the calipers to fail as well as the master cylinder. The Motive Power Bleeder will allow me to not only bleed the system easily, but it will allow me to flush the system of this contaminated brake fluid and prevent future failures due to this issue.

 

I flushed mine at 75k miles and is was pretty dirty a flush every couple years seems to help a lot.

 

Good info. I haven't owned my car that long. I have only owned the car about 7 months, and I have only put about 3,000 miles on it since I have owned it lol.

 

I just did that this weekend, at 72k on an 09 lnf and it was nasty, the reservoir wasn't bad looking a little dirty, but what came out of the calipers and lines were nasty

 

I forgot to mention, if you would do a write up we are always appreciative.

Saving us 2-3hrs of work at the dealership is always great.

 

As far as brake flushes, most manufactures do recommend you replace the fluid, some as often as 2 years. Clean fluid goes a very long way to preserving the rest of the system. The fluid picks up moisture and contamination that makes its way past the seals. That's part of its job, to protect the hard parts from moisture. It can only hold so much before you need to swap it out.

 

Kind of off topic but the previous owner of the car painted some interior and under the hood components and I cannot decide which color it is. I am thinking either laser blue metallic or arrival blue metallic. Which do y'all think it is?

 

Finally bled the brake system, I had been awaiting the arrival of the Motive Power Bleeder. I ended up not using the power bleeder because it is complete junk. The cap doesn't seal very good on the master cylinder, the gauge on the tank was leaking air, and the hose on the adapter was cut and leaking air. I understand getting a bad product every once in a while, but damn this is a lot of problems lol. So I just bled the brakes the old fashioned way, using the 2 man method. I had some air locked in the lines that took a few mins to get out, but after that it went smooth. I'm going to test drive the car today and see if everything is fixed. Thanks everyone for all of your contributions to the thread, they are appreciated!

 

MIne didn't leak but I did notice that it required to use the rubber spacers on the cap to make it work.

 

Yeah it comes with two gaskets, a thin one, and a thicker one for different applications. Mine was leaking at the master cylinder cap, the pressure gauge on the tank, and the hose clamp on the cap. I talked to their technical support team yesterday and they informed me that sometimes the caps get machined too thin and therefore will not seal sufficiently as well. I had multiple issues with this product. I spent more time trying to fix a product that was "supposed" to make the job easier than I did doing the job the "hard way". Maybe I just got a bad one, but still yet damn that's a lot of problems on one product for it to make it the shelves. Quality control must have been on lunch break lol.

 

My motive bleeder worked great, but then again I added fluid to the master cylinder not through the bleeder. They need a design update for it to work correctly as far as adding fluid without making a huge mess. The seal is a little tricky to figure out, but I had 0 issues.

 

I didn't put fluid in the motive, I added it in the master cylinder as well. The seal is tricky, and I spoke to their tech support and they said sometimes you get a cap that is machined too thin and it won't seal up. They need to find a way to become more efficient in their quality, and a way to use the product as intended and not make a huge mess. Also for those that do add brake fluid to their motive power bleeder make sure you clean it out with denatured alcohol.