Hi Guys, I dont know what is up with my braking system, It has poor pedal feel and requires a hard push to stop. Before you all jump to the booster it has been replaced new in 04 and has no cracks. No air leak noise behind the dash like before when the booster went. Rotors are thick well above minimum with expensive bendix pads. Good tyres(re92) Fluid changed 18 months ago and is clean. Weired thing is when brakes have heated up a bit they grab better and stop much better. Pedal feels soft and spongy. It still stops ok but not as good as other ELs ive driven. Vehicle also fitted with ABS that works ok(if i push real hard on the pedal). Sometimes under hard brakes i get a real loud thump noise on RHF Any suggestions

Sounds to me as though you have the wrong pads. You say expensive Bendix? Try Bendix "Standards"



Air in system, re-bleed.

) buy some quality brake fluid

2) jack up all wheels and remove wheels.

3) starting from the left rear bled the brakes thus:
a) get a glass or plastic jar
b) secure a piece of plastic hose that is about 600mm long, and fits over the bleed nipple
c) if you a bleeding by yourself, place about 20mm fluid into the jar, and attach one end of the hose to your brake nipple, and immerse the other end in the fluid in the jar (this stops air being drawn back into the caliper)
4) loosen your brake bleed nipple (10mm ring spanner) jump into the drivers seat and start pumping the brake pedal. If all is well, the pedal will go to the floor*. Do this about 10 to 12 times.
5) leap out of the drivers seat, and look into your brake reservoir. It will be low on fluid. Open a bottle of fluid and top it up. Empty jar but leave about 20mm in the bottom (see 3c)
6) repeat for all wheels, starting furthest from the brake reservoir and finishing closest to the reservoir.

If you do a good job, you should use at least 2 bottles of fluid.

Road test the vehicle. Sometimes the brake warning light in the dash stays on. This is because, while you were bleeding, you activated the warning "pin" . Often after a few brake applications it will go off.

* If the pedal remains hard after you have loosened the nipple, it probably means it is blocked, usually by dirt. This will mean you will have to remove the nipple and clean out the holes. Don't worry about taking it right off the caliper, you are bleeding the brakes anyway, and if you have enough fluid in the reservoir, by the time you clean it out and put it back, not much fluid will have escaped, and you can continue bleeding. (Escaping fluid stops air going into the caliper)

Been doing it this way myself for 30 years and works fine




Needs another change by now

Thanks mate, will give it a go and see if it helps. I think they were Bendix ultimate from memory for better stopping power than the standard ones. Cheers

the THUD could well be from the lower control to K-frame bushes,(from memory is it the "Z" bar??) if the bushes are passed there prime, when you brake hard, the front wheel moves forward a cm
Also, check your wheel bearings, and when you put the pads in, do you make sure you put the metal shims that sit on the spindle where the brakes go on?? ... if you don't have those, the pads can move forward a few mm back and forward......

Hope this helps.

Laticia.