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89 BII Spongy Brake Issue-Failed Inspc.


cmccul002

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Greetings All,

Just acquired an 89 Bronco II 2.9L 4x4 5 speed.

Took it through inspection and failed for brakes.

Tech said front left failed, didnt have enough "Pressure lbs." He said it probably needs to be bled.

Pedal does feel a bit spongy. I checked fluid, it was actually a bit overfull.

Should I just bleed the front left, or all of them?

Is there anything else I need to do, like bleed ABS valve or anything?

Also, after all this searching, it has me second guessing bleeding procedure, should the cap be on the MC or off when bleeding?
 


adsm08

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I don't know where you are taking this thing for "inspection" that someone is telling you a particular wheel doesn't have enough "pressure pounds", but I'd find a new inspection station.

Speaking from the position of being a state safety inspector, if I ever took my truck somewhere for inspection and someone tried to feed me a line like that I'd have his QAO and a state cop down there in 10 minutes to watch the step-by-step, by the book complete reinspection.

Now if the rotor is not wearing evenly that could be a lot of things. I find that new pads and rotors and cleaning up the slides usually fixes it.

Check your brakes all around, make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly. If you use your parking brake regularly like you should they should stay self adjusted. You may have a master cylinder that is starting to go bad.

And the cap should be off for bleeding. The rubber boot of the bottom of it is supposed to form a fairly air-tight seal.
 

cmccul002

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I don't know where you are taking this thing for "inspection" that someone is telling you a particular wheel doesn't have enough "pressure pounds", but I'd find a new inspection station.

Speaking from the position of being a state safety inspector, if I ever took my truck somewhere for inspection and someone tried to feed me a line like that I'd have his QAO and a state cop down there in 10 minutes to watch the step-by-step, by the book complete reinspection.

Now if the rotor is not wearing evenly that could be a lot of things. I find that new pads and rotors and cleaning up the slides usually fixes it.

Check your brakes all around, make sure the rear brakes are adjusted properly. If you use your parking brake regularly like you should they should stay self adjusted. You may have a master cylinder that is starting to go bad.

And the cap should be off for bleeding. The rubber boot of the bottom of it is supposed to form a fairly air-tight seal.
It was the Delaware State Inspection Station, run by DelDOT.

The test is you accelerate a short distance, then brake on these "plates".

It prints out a graph, and it showed the front left was not within the range it should be.

Anyway, today I did this:

Okay I went to bleed the brakes, couldnt get the passenger rear bleeder to open, started to strip.

I bled all other 3, didnt seem like any air.

Took it through inspection again, now they say the front brakes are good, but they say there are no back brakes whatsoever. All my stopping power is from front brakes.

WTF?


Could the back brakes need adjusting?

There is a "squishing" sound when pressing the brake pedal, sounds like it is coming from brake pedal or power booster.

It only makes the sound while pressing, once pedal is down, no noise.

And it doesnt seem like parking brake works at all.
 

Bronco Bob

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Why is your brake system warning light not telling you your proportioning valve needs centering.
When you bleed system the valve worked as it should. Just search out "Center proportioning valve".
 
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shadow88

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Move to northern Minnesota, no inspection of any sort required
 

cmccul002

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Why is your brake system warning light not telling you your proportioning valve needs centering.
When you bleed system the valve worked as it should. Just search out "Center proportioning valve".


The ABS light comes on for a second while starting then goes out, I believe this is normal.

The repair guide says this

After any repair or bleeding of the primary (front brake) or secondary (rear brake) system, the dual brake system warning light will usually remain illuminated due to the pressure differential valve remaining in the off-center position.

To centralize the pressure differential valve and turn off the warning light after the systems have been bled, follow the procedure below.

Turn the ignition switch to the ACC or ON position.
Check the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoirs and fill them to within 1 / 4 in. (6mm) of the top with brake fluid, if necessary.
Depress the brake pedal and the piston should center itself causing the brake warning light to go out.
Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position.
Before driving the vehicle, check the operation of the brakes and be sure that a firm pedal is obtained.


No lights came on when I bled my brakes.

I did this, no help.

So I took it to a local shop to have them look at it, they called and said both back wheel cylinders were seeping, and saturated everything ( I had the wheels off both sides, did not see this, but thats another story.)

Also said parking brake cable was dryrotted causing the shoes to rub on the drums.

They wanted $500 to fix all that. Lol, I declined, I can do all that myself.
 

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