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Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:20 am

On my latest bus the brake pedal is very, very hard to push.

I can push appr 1/2 inch on the pedal and that is it!
The car is not really braking, just slowing down even with me pushing as hard as I can.

All brake material (pumps, hoses, lines ...) seems new (but I do not know from when) but I still need to check the master cilinder (will take of the bottom plate this evening).
I though some line was blocked so I placed the car on axle stands. All wheels rotate free and block when the brakes are applied, come free again when the pedal is released. So I guess no blockages of the flexible tubes or anything.

I still want to change to brake fluid, but I do not think this can cause the problem.

Would it be worthwile to blow through all the circuits?

Any ideas anyone??

Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:55 am

Bleed it a few times.

Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:48 am

i just ahd a brake problem with my bus, it would have good pedel
then as i drove, it would get vry hard. turned out that the rear
brake return spring had broken, and was not pullin the shoes/cylinder
back in.

Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:39 am

Are the shoes adjusted?
After driving it for a while, are the wheels hot? Do they still turn freely then? Sometimes if there's pressure building up in the system, it takes a while for the wheels to bind up, so if it's been sitting, the wheels would spin freely.

Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:52 am

The drums are not getting hot after driving so all the return springs are working.
The shoes are adjusted correctly.

I just drained all the fluid and replaced it with new fluid + bleed. I did not drive the car yet, but from just pushing the pedal there does not seem to be a difference. I still need to push very hard to only push it in max. 1 inch.

What else could I check?

Thanks

Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:33 pm

one of the wheels may be adjusted too tight. i think i had something similar happen while i was adjusting my brakes the first time. i think it was one of the front wheels.

Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:36 pm

I will recheck the shoes adjustment tomorrow, but I think this should be OK since they are not running hot while driving...

Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:48 pm

The pedal moves nice and easy when you bleed the brakes, right? If it does, the problem is not in the master..

Tue Oct 26, 2004 1:46 am

Yes, when I'm bleeding the pedal moves easy till the end of the stroke. It is also a new mastercilinder so it should be OK.

I will recheck the shoe adjustment, mount the wheels and take it for another testdrive...

Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:28 am

Are the flex hoses new? If not, I'm thinking that one or more of them has collapsed inside.

Tue Oct 26, 2004 3:05 am

All hoses are new.

At the start I also thought of a plugged/collapsed hose, thats is why I tested the brakes and if they released immediately after braking and that works.

eveythings bleeds OK so it is not plugged...