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Weird brake feel, thoughts?


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My brakes have never really felt good in my 98 GT Wagon. But as of late, the pedal seems to travel quite a bit farther than it should (I feel).

It's as if there's a leak in a brake line and you have to kind of "double pump" to make it feel better. In my last cars (non-Subaru), that meant a brake line leak...

Not this, though. There's plenty of fluid in the reservoir!

 

Any ideas as to why my pedal sinks in so far?

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either worn out pads or master cylinder.

 

a common mistake after replacing brake pads is to press long pedal strokes to re-pump up the system and take the slack out of the caliper / pads. this can cause the master cylinder to travel into an unused / corroded part of the cylinder and damaging the piston.

 

using short pedal strokes to pump up the system will keep the cylinder in the usual travel area.

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  • I Donated

good point john.

 

Back to the OP -

 

How old is the brake fluid in it? Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and doesn't work as well as it should with age. Try flushing the brake fluid and bleeding the system.

 

Another quick test you can do is to clip off all 4 brake lines right before the calipers. Use needle nose vice grips, or some other sort of clamp to flip them off. Then go back into the car and see how the pedal feels....DO NOT DRIVE IT WITH THE BRAKE LINES CLIPPED OFF because your brakes won't function at all lol. If your pedal still has problems, its likey a faulty master cylinder. If your pedal feels fine, look for a leak at the calipers or possible air in the system. DON"T FORGET TO TAKE THE CLIPS OFF THE BRAKE LINES BEFORE YOU DRIVE IT

-broknindarkagain

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

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The fluid is almost new. I got the car and the brake feel was a bit mushy, so we bled the system, with the exception of the one caliper with the broken bleeder.

 

My mechanic buddy guessed master cylinder as well, but I wanted to make sure that was the issue and not just pay to have it done, only to find out it's something else as well.

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You can also check your rotor thickness. If close to minimum, you will get long pedal travel, mushiness and increased braking distance also.

The min. is stamped on back of rotor.

 

O.

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I think I'm going to nip a lot of stuff in the bud:

 

Master Cyl

Replace caliper w/bad bleeder

Stainless hoses

 

The pads/rotors are okay. They were done not too long ago.

I figure this should take care of any kind of weak brake feel.

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have you checked the calipers ? if you have and all caliper pins slide freely, perhaps its time to look into other ideas posted, and perhaps master cylinder, but would have a mushy pedal at all times even after a double pump. A bad brake booster would have a stiff pedal.
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one of your caliper pins is seized/ sticking, double pump was a give away and mentioning no leaks and master is full.

 

The master cylinder can still have internal bypass though. So no, the master cylinder would not be off the list. If its bypassing, then fluid will still stay full because its still staying inside the master cylinder

-broknindarkagain

My Current Project - Click Here

COME AND TAKE IT

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

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The master cylinder can still have internal bypass though. So no, the master cylinder would not be off the list. If its bypassing, then fluid will still stay full because its still staying inside the master cylinder

 

Kind of a long shot, and if it were to bypass, then it would leak into booster, and once again double pump, if it bypasses, you can pump crazy and pressure exerted in system would cause poor pedal feel all the time.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • I Donated
Kind of a long shot, and if it were to bypass, then it would leak into booster, and once again double pump

 

not all the time. ive seen several MCs that bypass internally without leaking into the booster. Its not very common, but it does happen. With a problem like that, your brake bias is changed, causing weird things to happen

-broknindarkagain

My Current Project - Click Here

COME AND TAKE IT

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

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