'98 Ranger, sticky brake pedal

[lithiumbomb]

Stay with me, throwing in some background first.

I've got a '98 Ranger that I acquired a few months ago after it had spent most of the past two years sitting idle. One of the problems I'm tackling is the ubiquitous rear window leak, which has made the interior smelly and stinky.

Anyway, as perhaps a side effect of the cab being damp for quite some time, most of the unpainted metal in the cab has some surface rust.

So, to my actual problem. The brake pedal doesn't always return to rest position. It will get most of the way, but the brake lights stay on, and you can tell the brakes are dragging. Pushing in the clutch allows the brake to return, or I pull it up with my toes.

Any hints on what to do here? The best I can guess is I try and get some grease into all of the moving parts in the pedal box. I'm sure it can be taken apart (I see a bushing or two in there) but that doesn't seem like an easy task for non-contortionists.

thanks

 

[97RangerXLT]

Find a 5 year old that is mechanicaly inclined and listens well to instructions and direct him with a can of Wd-40 to all of the pivot points on the brake pedal.. no weird body contortions needed

Check the linkage in and to the booster and master cylinder. Also check the master cylinder itself, it might not be returning all the way. you might be able to work it out by pressing the brakes and pulling up on the pedal several times, but to be honest, I would look to find what part is binding and just replace it.

AJ

 

[enjr44]

It has bushings in there. Probably wore out. Replace. Put out seat so you can get in there. Or find that 5 year old.

 

[RonD]

Yes to the above.
The booster actually has the spring return for the pedal, it isn't all that strong so bushings on pivot point could need some attention.
There is also an atmosphere valve on the cab side of the booster, when you press on the pedal the rod pushes open this valve letting in the 15psi air pressure(at sea level), the engine vacuum(-20psi) in the other half of the booster then "assists" you in applying the brakes.
Because pedal is not returning all the way the atmosphere valve is not closing all the way so brake assist would still be active.


And just a heads up that the 3rd brake light on the cab is a common leak point, rear window not so common, but leaking into the cab is the same.

Google: ranger 3rd brake light leak

 

[lithiumbomb]

Thanks everyone for the responses. While the brake light gasket isn't in the best shape, the worst was definitely the window. The gasket had failed in about a dozen places across the top and I would get a pretty uniform soaking across the headliner after just a minute with a garden hose. On the list is new window gasket, new brake light gasket, and new carpet.

The seats are out of it at the moment. I'll lube up all the linkage components I can see and then start examining the master cylinder functionality. I should have a couple of weeks of a bare interior to play around in.

 

[lithiumbomb]

Oiled linkages, hopefully resolved

I've oiled all the pivot points for the pedals in the cab, and that _seems_ to have resolved the issue. Time will tell! Thanks again everyone.

 

[aspevacek]

For lubing the linkage I would use a synthetic grease as it will last way longer then something like WD40.