MY97 suffers from excessive brake pedal travel.

I've just had the fluid replaced and Mintex 1155 front pads fitted with no change at all to the problem.

I would like to know what other owners get from there brake pedal.........
With the engine off, my pedal will go quite hard on the second pump of it.
With the engine on, it will press all the way down to the end stop without an almighty amount of force.
My brakes will work and the ABS will cut in, but the pedal travels an awful long way under heavy braking.

My garage rebled the system - no change again. They then increased the length of the pushrod which made a very small improvement, but this adjustment can cause the brakes to stick on if overdone!

They suggested that my hoses were bulging under the power of the servo and that braided hoses would solve it. But maybe they won't and I'll be out of pocket.

Has anyone got any details/experiences for braided hoses on a 97?

Many thanks.

Dave

Hi DG
I have MY97 also and have the same problem.
I had it in the garage four times with no improvement. Five weeks ago they changed the master cylinder and it got better, but now it's back to the same feel. I'm thinking of changing the hoses to braided ones as this is all that's left to change on the standard system. Failing that its a compete upgrade.
cheers
Jack C

Braided hoses cost about £42 + vat, + fitting.So it's not too bad.The people who have changed,say it does help,but if you have the two pots,it seems to be a common problem.

Mark.

Hi,

I have a 96 which has the same brakes and, yes, they are spongy. Partly crap caliper design, partly rubber hoses, partly master cylinder movement. I'm actually going to change the complete braking system over to Aps or something but one I have done in the meantime with a good improvement is fit one of those brake support brackets from MRT (in Australia). Makes a big difference to pedal travel/sponginess.

Mail me if you can't get the web site.


Cheers

Dave

Thanks for the replies.

I've had someone press the pedal all the way to the floor and watched and felt all eight of my rubber hoses (two at each wheel). They don't visibly bulge and they don't feel as if they bulge.

PTS do a reinforced eight line and four line kit. The difference they say is that the eight line comes with proper brackets to attach to the suspension. The four lines are longer hoses that get tiewrapped to the suspension and are therefore cheaper.

I suspect the problem could be with my servo. When the engine is off the pedal is hard after a reasonable amount of travel. This sugests that there are no leaks, air bubbles or excessively bulging hoses. With the engine on, the pedal is easily pressed to the floor with the sound of escaping air coming from the servo.

Does anyone else get this escaping air sound from their servo when they pump their pedal?

My dealer is going to talk to Subaru, so I'll keep you posted.

Cheers

Dave