having problems with brakes

[piper1495.]

have a 94 ford explorer have a lot of brake problems, bought the can it had no brakes. we have changed out 1 wheel cylinder front brakes and the master cylinder,but still have no pedal. any ideas??

 

[trashtruck]

first thing I would do is to check fluid level and make sure there are no leaks. repair any leaks and try bleeding the system.

 

[5spdman]

Bleed the brakes...when you're done, bleed them again! ANY air will make for a soft pedal, and if any parts (master cylinder, new calipers) weren't bench bled, it can take a while to make sure it's just fluid in the lines...

Don't forget to watch the fluid level when bleeding...might be a good idea to have two helpers with you; one person to pump and press the pedal, one to bleed at the brakes, and one to hold a bottle of fluid to keep the reservoir full.

And yes, watch for leaks; follow the lines from the MC to each of the brakes.

 

[Number4]

If someone let air into the ABS unit, this may be your issue. And it's almost impossible to bleed. Ford has a special tool as you have to activate the ABS to bleed it.

 

[malohnes]

If air is in the RABS module you can tap it with a rubber mallet while pumping and bleeding the brakes also. A faster and light tapping mixed with firmer slower raps worked well for me. That's why it really important to never let your fluid level drop so low. It's a pain to bleed.

 

[Ford(BuiltTOUGH)]

My parking break light is on. Breaks are squishy. Hardly work at all. Not sure of the problem..?

 

[swshawaii]

My parking break light is on. Breaks are squishy. Hardly work at all. Not sure of the problem..?

Parking brake light is usually a low fluid level warning. Worn brake pads will cause the level to go down,
but not necessarily cause a "squishy" pedal. Thoroughly inspect the system and avoid driving until then. GL

 

[trashtruck]

My parking break light is on. Breaks are squishy. Hardly work at all. Not sure of the problem..?

check brake fluid level, look for leaks in the brake system.

 

[smegun]

brakes bleed me

mushy mush

just replaced a flexable link front drivers and tonight the rear center flexi assembly

the front rubber seperated in my driveway spewing ..evidently the most ive had to hit my brakes in a few seasons the rubber end was hanging from the wheel mount its a rusty oily muddy with broken down rubber particulate inside hose ....looked like a button rivet that rusted apart changed it still had mush but the link was ok one of the lines was spewing after i tried to free it from the little block above the rear diff got more brakes than ive had since i bought the truck ...all fittings need to be tight and your flexi pieces may be letting in air check there condition ..... to make things easier i bought 2 rear one way bleeder valves ther about 9 bucks or so ....still have to bleed the fronts though but seem to be working easyer than small vacuum pump

yea i changed my master and vacuum can as well as tried new bleeders but originally missed the flexi link they werent leaking fluid but probably sucking in air an moisture enough to mush

 

[smegun]

brakes that are bleeding my wallet

new bearings new rotors new calipers new pads new flex links new master and vaccum unit easy installs to the most part ...when i bought the truck the brakes were tight and touchy i had to find a reason to investigate a grind at the rear the guy said he did the brakes you could tell he ran a new line but when i got back to the drums they were old and worn i began with new shoes pistons and spring gear and one drum I made my way to the front same problems worn parts replaced everything but the electronics ...just could never get the brakes back to the top always mushy replaced master and vacuum ..i started to have a clunk turns out its not the calipers i changed them tonight no rebuilds probobly have a bad ball joint or something but trying to bleed again is somewhat of a P word so im here trying to get reason behind not being able to get the right method to get my brakes tight i had a flimsy tool to produce vaccum while bleeding no go ...should be a switch to set for the abs unit or a jumper or method to put 12 volts on it ... im going to have to take it to ford for retrofit unless i can get a clear method seems funky cant think about brakes need to drive not think ...

 

[jmdirk]

A lot of people neglect to bench bleed the master cylinder. This needs to be done any time the fluid in the master cylinder gets low enough to allow air into the piston (master cycinder piston - not caliper or rear wheel cylinder piston). This includes replacing the master cylinder.

you can google for videos and instruction on how to bench bleed - but here's the basics:
- get two length of brake lines with flares and nuts to fit the ports on your master
- leave the cap on the master and disconnect your brake lines from the master cylinder. Leaving the cap on will help slow the leak of fluid when you disconnect the lines
- connect your two short lines and fittings to the master. Position the open end of the lines at a height above the top of your master cylinder. Again this is to prevent leaking too much brake fluid
- remove the reservoir cap and move the open end of your lines into the reservoir so that they are submerged in fluid
- For this part it helps to have two people. Slowly pump the brakes. This will cause fluid and any air trapped to flow out your lines and back into the reservoir. You should see bubbles come out of the lines as well. The Explorer master cylinders have mechanical stops built in, don't worry about over extending the master cylinder.
- continue to pump the pedal, once you have all the air out. Once all the air is gone, release the brakes and lift the lines out and leave them at a level above the master. Top up the reservoir if necessary. Replace the reservoir cap. Again, this part is mostly to minimize how much fluid will leak out.
- reconnect your brake lines to the master and then rebleed the lines using normal procedures. Ford's procedure is to perform conventional bleeding and then bleed the ABS unit last. Sequence for the Ex is RR,LF,LR,RF. So I've do a normal bleed and see where you're at