whats wrong?
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 22
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From: johnson city, tn
whats wrong?
I have a 97 f150 4.6l 4x4 3dr that I bought approximately 1.5 yrs. ago with 64K miles. Since the day i bought it the brakes just did not feel right. The pedal goes approx. half way down before it even starts braking. When stopping it seems that i need to press harder...harder, is it going to stop! I pull a 17' bass boat and i have to really start braking ahead of time. The brakes get a little better when i adjust the rear drums, but still thats not very good. i took the truck to ford and a reputable garage. they just said the rears were out of adjustment. i replaced springs, adjuster wheel, rotors, pads and had shop bleed entire system....still bad brakes. I am seriously thinking about trading...I just do not understand whats wrong! Just the typical 97' f150 voodoo that I've been reading about. It would be nice to have brakes like my 01 f250 work truck.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,506
Likes: 6
From: Puyallup, WA
I know you said that the system has been bleed and all, but do you know "how" they did it? The reason I ask is that I flushed out my old brake fluid awhile back and used a vacuum pump attachment to 'suck' out the old fluid. Worked great, and I got all the old stuff out, but my brakes still felt kinda 'mushy' when it was all said and done.
While I was using the vacuum on the rears (I only have ABS on the rear), I noticed that it was a lot harder to get the fluid to come out, compared to the fronts (no ABS). So, I bleed the rears manually (by myself), by opening the bleeder, pushing the brake and by adjusting my "Club" to the right length, was able to wedge it between the pedal and the seat to keep the pedal pushed in, while I crawled under and closed the bleeder. Let the pedal up, open bleeder, press and wedge pedal, close...... repeat. Did this about five times for each rear wheel, and added fluid as necessary to keep the level up and my brake pedal feel is much, much improved. So much now, that I had to "re-learn" how to stop the thing! I'd say it only pushes in about 1/4 of the way now, where before, it was at least 1/2 of the pedal distance and had that 'mushy' feeling to it.
Only other thing it can be is the booster itself or the master cylinder..........
Give the 'manual' bleeding a try first, it's free (other then needing some brake fluid) and if you can find a buddy to do the pedal pushing, it's much easier!!
Good Luck!
While I was using the vacuum on the rears (I only have ABS on the rear), I noticed that it was a lot harder to get the fluid to come out, compared to the fronts (no ABS). So, I bleed the rears manually (by myself), by opening the bleeder, pushing the brake and by adjusting my "Club" to the right length, was able to wedge it between the pedal and the seat to keep the pedal pushed in, while I crawled under and closed the bleeder. Let the pedal up, open bleeder, press and wedge pedal, close...... repeat. Did this about five times for each rear wheel, and added fluid as necessary to keep the level up and my brake pedal feel is much, much improved. So much now, that I had to "re-learn" how to stop the thing! I'd say it only pushes in about 1/4 of the way now, where before, it was at least 1/2 of the pedal distance and had that 'mushy' feeling to it.
Only other thing it can be is the booster itself or the master cylinder..........
Give the 'manual' bleeding a try first, it's free (other then needing some brake fluid) and if you can find a buddy to do the pedal pushing, it's much easier!!
Good Luck!