Brake Pedal Whats Yours Like

[zorgman]

heres the test with my brakes.

no engine on and pump pedal it goes rock hard as it should with pedal at top

engine on the pedel seems to travel 2/3 its full travel so its right down.

my brakes are spot on but dont like all this travel ive got, any thoughts are is this just the way gals are

[big_kev]

It sounds fine to me

[Justice]

If you pump with the engine running do they come up at all,

[big_kev]

Only if there is a load of air in it.........but the brakes would feel spongy and performance would be rubbish

[Andrew T]

Ours always had a hard pedal until the Master Cylinder failed. After it was replaced the pedal was very mushy with a long travel. I complained to the garage that had fitted it and they ran it through the brake performance test of the MOT which showed a pass. Subsequently it

[zorgman]

hi

well thats answered the question thanks guys it must just be be as andrew t has the same exactly new master cyl. ive pressure bled them 3 times the ford way as in tis but still lots of travel. suppose ive been spoilt for last 7 years ive been driving diesel xantias, oh if that engine and brakes where in a galaxy it would be heaven.

anyhow had a look at the brake pedel and noticed that there is a adjusting bar so methinks ill mark its length and play with it see if i can get the pedel higher when the brakes start to work.

[big boy stevie]

our brakes on our gal are superb had test about a month ago and old girl flew through her mot, tester was suprised brakes registered 400lbs on his machine and it only goes up to 500lbs, he said one of the best gals he has tested in a long time drop link bars are very tight and no sign of rust underneath had her 6mths or so now and gave

[Bandito]

When the pedal is pumped up with engine not running the pedal will go hard, with your foot still on the pedal when you start the engine the pedal will sink to the floor a bit this is normal and lets you know that the servo is working correctly.

[zorgman]

hi

well i know theres no air in system and the pedal is rock hard without engine. it concerns me that the servo is pulling the pedal way down to the point i can touch the floor. the brakes work fine and flew thru the mot its just i want the starting point of braking to be higher on pedal.

ive not played yet but there is an adjuster on the pedal rod and no mention on the tis cdrom, anyone know what will happen if its adjusted please

[oafcowl]

Mine are the same, My handbrake seized and was only working on one side. The cable had frayed and jammed. After freeing it off the caliper witha hammer and some WD40 I fitted a new cable and replaced the rear pads as they looked about 65% worn. I bled the brakes until they were "rock hard". I started the engine and pumped the pedal a few times until hard again. I kept my foot on the pedal and I could feel the pedal creeping to the floor. I decided to bleed them again and the same happened. I took the car out for a drive and tested the brakes, the car stopped but with a bit more pedal travel then what i am used to. Hopefully they will get a bit better when the brakes bed in!!.

[Damo]

Have had our first Galaxy a month now (3 yr old 60k miles) and I'm still surprised at the lack of 'feel' and sensitivity in the brakes. Nothing untoward though - it stops OK.

[Stevoo]

Get braided hoses that will stop the spongey-ness

 

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/Pro...e=GDRSCN0600-2P

[richyrich]

The rear brake caliper pistons gradually turn and moves out as the pads wear - this is operated by the use of the handbrake lever. So if new pads or calipers have been fitted the piston will be right inside and will need more movement on the brake pedal to operate. With new pads this should take no time at all. When changing pads on the rear the best thing to do with the caliper is to clamp the brake pipe and remove to a vice so that the caliper piston may be moved back in, however, I've done mine twice now and I've found that the piston needs to be screwed all the way out first, then all the way back in. Remember that there are 2 brake circuits and both will need bleeding, always use brand new brake fluid and never use tha fluid collected in your jar of the bleed kit. Hoses can cause a problem with sponginess/overtravel of pedal but I have always found the real problem to be either the master cylinder leaking air, air trapped in a brake cylinder, or loss of air going to the master cylinder-remember on a diesel this is fed via a pump which I believe is part of the fuel pump(correct me if I am wrong).

[oafcowl]

Get braided hoses that will stop the spongey-ness

 

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/Pro...e=GDRSCN0600-2P

Ive just looked on their website but the galaxy is not listed! (nor is the sharan or alhambra!). Oh well never mind.

[oafcowl]

The rear brake caliper pistons gradually turn and moves out as the pads wear - this is operated by the use of the handbrake lever. So if new pads or calipers have been fitted the piston will be right inside and will need more movement on the brake pedal to operate. With new pads this should take no time at all. When changing pads on the rear the best thing to do with the caliper is to clamp the brake pipe and remove to a vice so that the caliper piston may be moved back in, however, I've done mine twice now and I've found that the piston needs to be screwed all the way out first, then all the way back in. Remember that there are 2 brake circuits and both will need bleeding, always use brand new brake fluid and never use tha fluid collected in your jar of the bleed kit. Hoses can cause a problem with sponginess/overtravel of pedal but I have always found the real problem to be either the master cylinder leaking air, air trapped in a brake cylinder, or loss of air going to the master cylinder-remember on a diesel this is fed via a pump which I believe is part of the fuel pump(correct me if I am wrong).

I wound the pistons back in when I changed the pads with a pair of grips and a G clamp, (turning both at the same time was a bit tricky!). I just hope they bed in OK and brake pedal will feel a bit better, or what it was like before.