Any method could help the soft brake padel feeling????

[ej22t]

I am really feeling sick and tired for the brake padel feeling in my 92 turbo.

I did put a SS brake lines, re-build all 4 calipers, using Mutol 600 brake flude and semi racing pads(PBR pads all 4 corner and new bermbo rotor in front and eurotor at rear) and bleeded all 4 corners but those feeling still remain, I also flash the brake booster vaccum line too! I tried all the method but the first step on the pedal still goes soft then the second step become more higher and sensitive.

Does the ABS have to be bleed ??since I never did anything on the ABS just disarm in winter time.

Could anyone help this out?
Ben

[Legacy777]

I would probably recommend against the motul fluid. I ran it......honestly it absorbs too much moisture to be worth a damn on the street. Run Valvoline synthetic brake fluid. It is an excellant fluid, readily available, and cheap compared to motul and ate.

If you are sure you bled everything correctly.....then you may have problems some place else. Tell me exactly how you bled your brakes.

ABS shouldn't really have to be bled unless you ran the MC dry. If you pull the ABS fuse and stick it back in when the ignition is in the ON position but not started, it should cycle the ABS......other option is to find a snow covered parking lot and slam on the brakes to work any air that may be worked in there.

Explain to me what you did to the brake booster vacuum line?

[vrg3]

The ABS system does indeed need to be bled. I don't know the exact technique, but there are one or two bleeder valves on the ABS unit behind the passenger side headlight. Some people think you should bleed all four calipers, then do a hard stop on a wet surface to activate ABS, and then bleed all four again.

What exactly do you mean by the following?

the first step on the pedal still goes soft then the second step become more higher and sensitive.

Do you mean that the pedal is first soft and then hardens during one single stroke of the pedal, or that the first stroke is soft and subsequent ones are firm?

I believe our cars do have two separate stages in the brake booster. There are two diaphragms, one which operates for the first part of the pedal stroke and one stiffer one which operates with it for the rest of the stroke. I think some Subarus do have single-stage boosters, which give a stiffer feel, but I don't know which ones. They should be swappable, although you might need to change the master cylinder and stuff with it too.

[ej22t]

Hi Josh, I just spary some Cab or Tholtte body clearner to clean the vaccum line, just spay in side the hose and let them soup about 5 mins but it seems no use on it, but just try.
I did my brake bleed as like the repair book said, do the Right front first then Left rear, then Left front and Right rear.

Vrg3, I mean when you driving on the hwy go off ramp then you apply brake to slow donw the car, the first step you apply on the padel are soft most time(in my car) then I will then apply second step and the padel goes more firm.
I did drove on other Legacy but it doesn't have this kind of the feeling, maybe the one I drove wasn't turbo????

Any idea to fix it?

Ben

[Mark Ward]

Cheap and very good brake fluid is still the Ford DOT 3..

I usually always had a consistent feel to my brakes.
Mark

[Aaron's ej22t]

the 95 impreza L has the single stage booster, which i believe should work in our cars and will definately provide a firmer pedal feel.

oh yeah, ATE super blue brake fluid is good!

[Legacy777]

vrg3, The brake booster is a tandem booster.....not dual stage.

All that the tandem means is that there is more surface area because there are two diaphragms, which provides more assist.

Like Aaron said, you can get a single stage booster from a 95 impreza L. The MC should fit that booster with no issues. However the booster swap I've heard is a bitch.


Ben, if you have to pump the brake pedal twice......you still have air in the lines some where. That is why your pedal is mushy. You need to bleed them again. It can be a little tricky to get tough air out. Energize the ABS system a couple times.......then re-bleed the system......if you still have mushy pedal, post again, and I will give you a procedure that should work.

[boostjunkie]

Is there any difference in the brakes between the 91 turbo and a 97GT? I just noticed that the brakes are MUCH better in terms of feel in this 91, even after I changed out the brakes on my 97? I know it's a 4-channel ABS system instead of 3-channel, but I don't think that would change pedal feel . . .

Anyone know whether it's a single-stage booster?

[Legacy777]

You do have a tandem booster in your 91. Don't really know why it would feel better then your 97 though....

[boostjunkie]

My GT was all about mushy . . . Adam threw in a buncha new brake components, including some stainless lines . . . I wonder if that'll make things even better. *shrug*

[frood]

I had the mushy feeling and could not figure it out. SAME thing,I would pump once, and it would go nearly to the floor before even getting a bit stiff, but if I double-pumped the pedal and held it, it was great.
-I bled the lines, no better.
-I bled them again accorgind to the 4-point order, no better.
-I replaced the master cylinder, no better.
-I finally broke down and gave it to my favorite garage. They pulled the brakes to bits and this is what they found:

Both front calipers were more or less completely frozen. I looked at them after they pulled them and the guide sleeves were totally rusted so that the claiper wouldn't slide freely as the piston increased pad pressure.

What I think happens, is after they freeze, the piston can extend more and more to kind of make up for the wearing pad, until it is extended quite a lot. It manifested FIRST as a 'low brake fluid" situation about 4 months before the problem was -really- bad for us. For your own safety, check for the smooth operation of the calipers. We just got 2 reman jobbies for $35/ each and the problem was no more. Just like night and day.

best of luck,
Chris
Pittsburgh, PA
1993 Legacy Wagon