Kempo

Wife drove the car recently and commented that she had to put her foot way down hard on the brake pedal every time she wanted to stop at which point it was ok. Normally, she gets in and almost ends up through the windscreen because they're so strong.

Had a look round and the brake fluid level is halfway between min and max. Would this cause the increased pedal travel?? I think I might have to get some Goodrich hoses, have the system flushed and topped up with some good synthetic fluid.

Paul

TBMeech

Sounds to me like your brakes need bleeding, you may have some water or air trapped in there somewhere along the line, shouldnt get excessive pedal travel if it's filled up 1/2 way....

Kempo

Sounds reasonable - the other thing is that when breaking hard at the moment, at speed, there is a wobble from the steering wheel, but the tracking and balancing is spot on as the car stays straight at speed.

Maybe there is air in the system on one of the calipers only???

Thanks for the reply

Pete Croney

It would cause more pedal travel.

As the pads wear down, the pistons extend out of the calliper by the same amount, so the pads are always just touching the discs.

This means there is a lot more fluid in the system. As brake fluid is slightly spongy (its very good, but not perfect) then there will be more pedal travel. Assuming your reservoir was full when the pads were first fitted, then it will be again when you have new pads re-fitted.

Don't re-bleed it, but do check your pads. Its amazing how a bit more fluid behind the pistons can increase pedal travel.

[Edited by Pete Croney - 1/21/2002 3:24:19 PM]

Mike Tuckwood

If you are getting steering wheel wobble when braking, your discs may be warped? If they are they will be knocking back the pads/pistons and inducing a bigger gap between the pads and disc which accounts for the pedal falling away or having a longer travel before the brakes start to work effectively.


Mike.