Brakes......

[Jerm]

Ok, guys and gals I need a little help here please....

Just finished changing my brake pads, rotors, shoes, drums, drum springs and, bleed it all correctly as well. My problem is the brakes still feel like crap. I've read that R50's have a "soft pedal feel" but normally work rather well regardless of that. Mine on the other hand do not. From a 60mph roll I can stand on the pedal and she'll sluggishly come to a stop with no ABS kicking in or any of the four locking up. This just doesn't seem right to me. This is my DD baby hauler so it needs to be safe. The only thing that was fixed was the squealing has gone away understandably.

I'm not new to working on cars and this isn't my first brake job. Any ideas? Thank you in advance!

[Jerm]

So no ideas then? Would anyone agree that it could be the master cylinder? Or brake booster?

[disallow]

Could be a balance issue between front and rear, if your too focused on the rear brakes, stopping distance could be affected.

Are you sure you bled properly? Master Cylinders are pretty cheap, it make be worth trying. If it were me, I'd take it to a shop and pay $50 for a diagnosis.

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[azaizai]

How does the pedal feel in general? Usually a leaky master cylinder seal will allow the pedal to hit the floor (brake fluid seeping past seals, offering no resistance/pressure). Even a minor leak there leaves the pedal feeling very spongy/no resistance.

If it doesnt hit the floor but you're not getting the brakes you want...you might have an air pocket stuck somewhere that is taking all your pressure. Sometimes ABS HCU's have their own special bleed techniques to ensure that air finds it way out. You might take it to a good shop with a bleeding/flushing machine and see if they can force it out. Did wonders for my Ford Explorer.

[Jerm]

Pedal feel remained the same before and after the brake change. I used a mighty vac bleeder to ensure no air is in the system. The brakes do work just not as advertised and i can not seem to get the ABS to engage.

The reason I am leaning towards the master cylinder is the pedal feel and noise that I forgot to mention before. It can be best described as a squeal or screech most prominent in the cool mornings. Coming from the drivers side. Also while bleeding and diagnosing there is a tapping or clicking noise coming from the master cylinder as well.

I have since drove a friends R50 and his pedal also feels like soft but no where near as bad as mine. His does only have 80k when I am at 190k. He also drove mine and is now scared to ride in it. HA! But as far as noise he hasn't experienced any since purchasing new..... His master cylinder makes no noises ether.

[azaizai]

Gotcha, well sounds like you're headed down an appropriate path. I work today and I'll see if I can find anything online about the ABS unit and bleeding or if there are any TSB's out.

I'd like to get one of those might vac's, dont they have adapters where you can do coolant fills easier too?

[Jerm]

I believe they do. It's not mine and I've never researched that. But, they do go through a lot of fluid!