Soft brakes


tony314

tony314

15+ Year Member

Firefighter
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
1,376
Points
3,101
City
St.Louis Mo
Vehicle Year
1998
Transmission
Automatic
I've had this truck a week now. When I first got the truck the brakes were fine but the past few days the brakes seem soft and the pedal travels further to stop. I'm not loosing fluid and the truck does stop, it's just soft and the pedal travels further. The pads were replaced a yr and half ago ( paper work on the truck from the former owner ). Minus a drooping Ebrake cable, I don't see anything wrong. Bad master cylinder?
 
If the master is bad.. your pedal will hold pedal and slowly drop to the floor.. confirm by having someone check to see if fluid is rushing back into the resivoirs before you release the brake pedal.


Have you visually inspected no leaks? you could simply be leaking air into the system.. visually inspect the wheel cylinders - actually pull back the rubber boots to check for wetness

Also have someone hold the brake pedal while you inspect the front flex lines. inspect for bulges in the flex line.
 
One other thing.. what condition is the brake fluid in.....
 
It's not in bad condition. Fluid level is good and no leaks I could find anywhere.
 
Last edited:
Then i suggest inspecting the flex lines and testing the master - fortunately brake systems are very simple fluid power systems. But just dont overlook the simple - checking for wetness and low fluid level does not always verify leaks
 
I did have the front ball joint replaced a few days ago and it's been soft sense then.
 
Then my bet would be lean towards checking the flex lines.. if no bulges then go from there
 
Drove it in reverse and you could feel the rear brakes working.
 
Unless your diagnosing the performance of the brakes driving it in either direction wont really diagnose a soft pedal.. it needs a proper visual inspection.. that means removing the wheels and rear drums, and probably a second person to operate the brake pedal
 
Check the wheel bearing on the side the ball joint was changed.
 
Friend is coming over Friday with a jack and jack stands so we can jack the truck up. My jack and stands are for a small car, not a truck lol
 
Check the wheel bearing? Mais pourquoi criss? lol
I would first try bleeding the calipers. Is your parking brake and abs light lighted in your dash?
 
Turned out to be the rear shoes are wasted. everything else was fine and working right. So off to get new shoes and a new drum :)
 
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