Badddd brakes!!!

Well I have been chasing this soft brake pedal for a while now. I have 119000 miles on my truck.
Replaced the master cylinder....
I have completely redone the rear brakes/drums/shoes
....
Front had good pads but might have worn rotors. Not sure from last owner
Look like they just put new pads on it only but shouldn't make the pedal soft.


Booster is not bad, I had my buddy look at it which he owns a brake shop.

He thinks it might be something with the abs system just because it make a air leak noise when you mash the pedal really hard.
But I and he didn't think it would have anything to do with the pedal being soft.

If I pump the pedal it gets firm for a min though. If I turn the abs off and go off roading the brakes get really bad to the floor kinda bad.

Please help me guys!! I am about to give up and bring it to the stealership

I bleed the system twice completely!

 

Had the same issue. Turned out that I had bad drums and soon as I replaced them the sponge of the pedal went away.

 

This was all here before I started changing parts.

 

I knew the back brakes needed to be changed and I knew they were completely gone so I was in no hurry to Chang them. Well brake pedal got bad so I started changing parts. I wonder if the back brakes are the problem. I just know that the fronts are 75% of the stoping.

 

A soft pedal usually means you have air in the lines/system somewhere. If you don't find the leak, it doesn't matter how many times you bleed the brakes.

If you're disabling the abs and you get a completely different brake response, then that should be the first place you look....

I did some quick googling - I typed in "tacoma soft brakes and abs" and here's one link that might interest you (or you can search further)
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/199333-fixed-my-low-spongy-brake-pedal.html

 

Well I disable the abs and it just gets a little worse. Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

I did a search and didnt find this thanks....
me and my buddy both think its the abs system...

 

Are your drums adjusted properly?

 

I think so because I had my buddy do them at his brake SHOP..
but you never know....

 

i would readjust the rear drums and see if that works before doing anything else. if theres too much shoe clearance it will do exactly as you describe...from an older fart who know drum brakes

 

Hey fixer5000,

Remember drum brakes before self adjusters? On all four corners?

Another old fart

Jim

 

Ok will try readjusting the rears. All this happens when the rear brakes got really bad. So that kinda makes since. Only thing that I dont understand is the front brakes do 75% stopping.

 

Air in the lines doesn't care who does the stopping. Air in the lines doesn't care whether the abs is on or off. ABS makes eliminating air in the lines more complicated.

And it doesn't take a big volume of air compressing to give a mushy pedal.

Jim

 

Front brakes will always do majority of the braking.

 

A soft pedal typically means that you have air in the lines or system. You can bleed the brakes all you want, but if you haven't found the leaking point, you're not doing anything.
Also, you might try readjusting the rear drums, as fixer5000 said.

 

That what I was trying to say in that post. I totally understand that the fronts do that. And I still have a very soft pedal.

 

Couple things yes check the rears for proper adjustment. Also check your shoes on the rear. There should be a thicker and thiner shoe for each side when you buy a set or 2 thick lining and 2 thin lining shoes. Make sure the thicker shoe is in the rear spot on the backing plate on each side.

Also check your rubber brake lines after a while they can go bad which allows them to swell just a hair when you hit the brakes and can give you a spongy feel to the pedal. If they are dry rotted or have a cracked look to the rubber replace them.

The front carries most of the load when braking because of weight shift. When you hit the brakes more weight is transfered to the front wheels.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

Just so y'all know. I fully understand about the front brakes why and how they work please don't waste anymore time explaining it to me. Thanks lol

 

i got a silly question but it needs to be asked...when you bled the rears was the fluid really nasty looking? if so its possible that a wheel cylinder piston is stuck or seized. they should both float freely in there. if one side sticks the other tries to do all the work and gives you bad braking power too. being on the nice and damp gulf makes me ask this question of you...just a thought

 

I believe I posted that I replaced everything in the rear, wheel seals, spring kit, shoes, drums too and yes the fluid looks good.
I had this problem before I changed all these parts just to let y'all know if I wasn't clear.

I'm going to readjust the rear brakes this afternoon ill let y'all know.