still fighting my brakes

[shawnkfl]

ok, i had soft brake pedal. i bled all four starting from the right rear and worked my way closer to the master cylinder. all went well. or so i thought. still had a soft pedal. so, i replaced the master cylinder. i bench bled the M/C and then rebled the lines. still a soft pedal. the front calipers looked questionable, so i just replaced those today. bled the whole system. again. still a soft pedal!! WTF?? what else can i check here? could the booster be shot? there aren't any brake lines broken, i know that for sure. could the ABS module be the culprit? i'll figure out how to bypass that POS if i can. i've been fighting this brake issue for a month and i still can't drive my truck. short of a match, i'm at a loss.

 

[clean95]

how are the pads and shoes?! also u could have a vacuum leak and the booster could be goin out, see if that big black hose goin to ur break booster is bad or cracked and check ur vacuum lines....

 

[Sepiroth]

Have you adjusted your rear brake shoes? That may be a problem.

Also you might need a Tech2 or equivalent to open and close the valves in the ABS unit the appropiate amount of times to help get, if any, air outta the system.

 

[bowhunter22]

Have you set up the back brakes??

Tightening them up even just a little makes a big difference on the pedal.

I changed out the master cylinder as well and fought with the soft pedal for and hour after we bled all corners. Frustrated we pulled the back drums off , the adjusters were seized. Freed them up, put the drums back on, set them up through the backing plate and the pedal came up higher and a lot firmer.

 

[Backon4]

mine has the soft pedal too. I was told by a gm tech that it is "normal"

 

[shawnkfl]

mine is more than just soft. i actually have to pump it to get it to do anything, and even then, it's not right. i did pull off a rear wheel last night. the shoes looked brand new but they crumbled when i touched them. so, i'll be replacing those and adjusting them. the wheel cylinder looks like it has been leaking too, so those will get replaced as well. what is the tech2? never heard of it. i'll check the vacuum lines this weekend and see if i can find any bad ones. may just replace them anyway just to be sure.

 

[mross]

if you have wheel cylinder leaking,that could definately cause a low pedal and the rear brake shoes after you replace them need to be adjusted.i would also plan on replacing the other wheel cylinder too,thats the way they taught us at school replace in pairs

 

[shawnkfl]

i will deffinatley replace both wheel cylinders. for only $14.00 each, it's not worth it to leave on unchanged. i need to get a picture posted but for now, maybe i can explain this with words....on the front side of the drivers side fender well, under the hood, there is an electrical box of some sort. there is a red wire coming from it and it runs through plastic loom from there straight back and behind the brake booster. from there, it runs across the fire wall over to the passenger side and it is coiled up, not connected to anything. it's a pretty large wire and it's the only wire running that direction. at the end is an eye connector and it has a 30 amp mini fuse in it. what is this and should it be connected to something? battery maybe? the wire box that it comes from sits just in front of the washer refill tank.

 

[peterey2]

had the same problem, had a pass. side wheel cylinder leaking, fixed it fer like 12 bucks and its been great ever since. although all tahoes ive driven, including my own seem to have a soft pedal compared to other vehicles. Im thinking about a 6 piston caliper set up or somehthing to help. good luck!

 

[SS5800]

My truck is having the same problem, After bleeding the lines for an hour i still have a soft pedal. Both my rears were off the ground and i was able to spin them with my hand while my dad was pushing the brake pedal. Any ideas guys?

 

[mross]

sounds like rears brakes may need adjusted ss5800.if they are nit adjusted close to drum they will never work

 

[Slammed]

Dont forget the rear brakes are self adjusting put the truck in reverse and back up hit the brakes softly 2 times and on the 3rd press harder and the pedal will firm up

 

[mross]

yes the rear are self adjusting but they have to be in the ball park of the drum,not designed to self adjust real far,or your self adjuster could be froze up

 

[Sepiroth]

I have never trusted the whole self adjuster thing. There is too much room for error. IMHO, you're better off adjusting yourself.

 

[GreyFox_00]

hi, new here.

Sounds like what i went through with my 99 tahoe (4 door). i eventually replaced the hardware on the rear drum brakes. including the self adjuster. doing that actually made a differnece. still soft but abs light now longer comes on when i brake.
Now i gotta replace the rubber lines in the front.

 

[SS5800]

Can someone give me an idea on how to adjust the rear brakes? Ive never taken the drum off or anything. Anyone have pictures or video to help me out. It would be much appreciated.

 

[shawnkfl]

i havn't looked at miner very close yet, but there should be a small hole throught the dust shield on the inside of the brake hub. stick in a flathead screw driver and turn the little gear to adjust them. it should only go one way. be sure to use jackstands if you have to jack it up. on mine, i can just crawl under there.

 

[SS5800]

Hey guys, Is this something like what i need to do to my truck?

I have bled my brakes, Pumped them, And Im not losing fluid so now i think ive narrowed it down to a actual rear brake problem.



I believe these are the steps i need to take,

Remove the tire,

Smash the drum cover with the hammer to remove it.

Then inspect it, (Not really sure exactly how i tell if somethings wrong with it)

And do what this video here shows,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNMBUaUofTQ&NR=1

Sound about right?

 

[Sepiroth]

Yea, that about sums it up. I, however, like to adjust with the drum on from the access hole. Either way though is sufficient.

 

[SS5800]

So is it normal for that to happen, The brakes just come out of adjustement? My truck had been sitting for a year and i have been starting it and driving it in my yard frequently until now i have finally got my license.

Why would the brakes all of a sudden go like that?

And would that cause my red brake signal light in the dash to light up telling me there is a problem? Because its lit.