EYE_WHY Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I know I haven't posted in awhile, but whatever. I had been suffering from the soft brake pedal syndrome ever since I got the car (brake pedal suck to within an inch on the floor, not much stopping power). Now, all along I thought well, I must have a bad MC or bad gaskets or a leak in the brake lines somewhere and I never got around to fixing/investing any of these things. I had bled my brakes 5+ times and nothing came of it so I figured it was a hold in the brake line somewhere and just said eff-it. Now fast forward to tonight, I picked a set of front brake pads today ($15) and a buddy and I set off to replace the pads. The pads were rusted on there pretty good, but we got them off and they were worn out to oblivion. After putting the new pads on and takin her for a test drive, the difference is INCREDIBLE and I havent even done the back drums yet. The pedal is now firm and strong and braking power is amazing. So,.... just because you have a soft brake pedal (if I recall, this was pretty common around here) dont assume that it will be something as intensive/costly as replacing all the brakelines/replacing MC/replacing MC gaskets, it could be something as simple as your pads, and $15 and less than an hour could fix your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 It could be that you do infact have a bad master cylinder, but since the piston is now in a different position its sealing better. Also, don't assume that you have to replace components if you have a mushy pedal, a brake bleed will do wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank B Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I suspect that when you get to the rear drums, you'll find that they are out of adjustment. That and when your pads wear down, that space is taken up by fluid in the caliper. Fluid that was in the reservoir, thats' why it's there. You may have been low on brake fluid to begin with, and you ended up with not enough in the master cylinder for it to work properly. Once you turned the caliper pistons back, that fluid was pushed back into the MC, and it effectively bleed out the system too. But you should still bleed it out to replace that old nasty brake fluid! That and adjust and grease the rear. And good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebisko Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I just did the rear shoes and springs(all but one were borken), and when I was adjusting them, I originally thought I broke the adjuster! But they work good now, a large amount less travel in the pedal. I'm going to bleed them when I get done with my ball joints, and see where I am at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 glad to hear you have yours sorted out - but it isnt always the case. did a total brake job on the other half's wagon, including new rotors, pads, shoes and the flexible lines. bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed some more, and it still suffers from the "soft pedal" syndrome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyromanic Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 most of us already know this, but for any noobs that find this thread whilst seeking a remedy for the mushy pedal, the ever so easy conversion of the rear drums (which totally suck) to disk makes a world of difference. Try it, you'll like it! Pyro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgd73 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 hey eye_why glad it is fixed. A bad MC is just that, no inbetween. to the floor and no brakes means bad simply. The hubs are the champion here in the backend, especially 4wd- not to mention the true heavier steel in a light wagon back end being a better gyro. Where it is sunny and dry much of the time, the rotors are fabulous like the area they are "hanging out" in. (pun intended). If it is good enough for a tractor trailer, its good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 glad to hear you have yours sorted out - but it isnt always the case.did a total brake job on the other half's wagon, including new rotors, pads, shoes and the flexible lines. bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed some more, and it still suffers from the "soft pedal" syndrome... My wagon has been through the same thing..replaced rotors pads..etc and bled bled bled..might do the rear disk swap once the car is off the road ..if I can get the bugs worked out of the XT6..All I know is something is screwwy in the rear brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Soft brake pedal or if you have to pump them once or twice.. check pads, bleed brakes and GET rid of the drums in the back.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slideshow86 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 sorry im new to this whats the rotor and caliper swap out of for the conversion? I have an 86 gl10. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Roberts Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 I went through all this stuff (search for |"goes to floor" -- that ought to find the old thread) and finally fixed it by insisting the mechanic replace the vacuum booster. (Can't do much mechanical work myself). Three mechanics had worked on the brakes over several years, it'd had repeated bleeds, three master cylinders one after another, etc. etc. and never fixed the intermittent weak pedal. It'd be fine after pumping a few times, then I'd drive half a block and apply the brake, and most of the time it'd slowly lose pressure and go down to the stop at the floor. No problem at all since the vacuum booster was replaced. What I heard is they can inhale a little bit of dirt and it can partially block a valve internal to the booster, and the dirt may move around varying how much it lets the pressure leak. Dunno, that's what I was told by a rebuilder. Now I don't recommend doing this, because I think there are only two or three people in the world for whom this might fix the problem and you're probably not them. But, it worked for me. 1988 GL 5-speed dual range wagon. Still trying to get it reliable enough to take to the woods, coming up on 2 years after I bought it -- but that's one fix that's held up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revbill Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 There's a procedure for checking the brake booster that I don't know off the top of my head, buy you can probalby find it by searching and it should be in any repair manual. It's very simple and only takes a few minutes. I had the soft brake syndrome and it turned out to be a MC in my case. It's always a good idea with brakes to check everything to be sure you're fixing the right thing, and that you're not overlooking another problem. And bleeding the brakes on these cars takes and insanely long time (compared to other cars I've worked on) so it's important to make sure you really got all the air out before you start replacing other stuff. (This wasn't directed at any particular post, just some more input on the brake issue.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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