troutspinner
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I want to preface this with PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) as a possible coincidence. I also want to add that I am not crazy as this could possibly go down as this dude is crazy. Bear with my long post, it is all relevant if you are having brake pedal feel issues.
My Ranger came with the typical 44lbs of tire pressure and the antenna in the glove box so I question how much attention was spent pre-delivery. With that said, I too had brake pedal feel issues. The top quarter to third of the brake pedal press did nothing, after that, they grabbed hard. I got use to them and accepted it’s just how the Ranger is but one thing that alarmed me is that while sitting at a stop light, at times, the pedal would give a ¼” or so, almost like a master cylinder leak, yesterday it happened again.
I have experienced master cylinder leak on a couple of vehicles I’ve owned and this led me to try something. I pressed the brake pedal slowly but firmly and it went all the way to the floor. If you’ve ever experienced a master cylinder leak and were in this situation, it is worrisome as you know your vehicle is going to start moving soon as the brakes will just give until you can re-pressure. That was not the case though, it held and when the light went green, I went and at the next light the brakes felt MUCH better. Interesting?
So while stopped at the next light, I did the same thing with trying to press the pedal to the floor but this time it would not go all the way to the floor. Brake pedal feel for the rest of the ride was what I would label as normal and the top quarter to third of the pedal felt correct and applied stopping power as expected from any other vehicle. I immediately thought, yep, there is air in the system and these brakes need to be bled. When I got home, I checked my brake fluid level, the level had not changed. I don't know that I would have expected it to change but it was worth taking note of.
Fast forward to this morning’s ride, the brakes felt great. The top quarter to third still applies stopping power. If there was air in the system, I would expect the air to move and the pedal to have a similar “sloppy” feel I’ve experienced previously. This is where I am thinking PDI “may” be involved?? or maybe even something that is done at the factory that was not? Is there something the dealers do during PDI to electronicly “set” the brakes? That would be something I’ve never heard of but modern vehicles with electronic and safety controls who knows?
FWIW, I am not a mechanic but I was taught by my Dad that you fix and maintain what you can on your own vehicles. I have worked on brakes on Ford, Chevy, Subaru and Hyundai Cars, Ford, Chevy, Ram and Toyota Pickups so I do have a better than average understanding of brakes which leads me to the part of being crazy. How could my brakes now feel that much better after what I did and how is it a day later that they are still performing nicely. If this were a case where bleeding was required, the brake pedal feel should have changed for the worse after sitting 12 hours. Nonetheless, I felt this was worth posting as a possibility of helping others or information discovery…..or for you guys to make fun of me.
. I have big shoulders, I can take it.
To conclude, if you are having brake pedal feel issues, try what I did and see if you have a similar result and also let us know if your PDI was similar to my PDI to see if there is a possible link.
My Ranger came with the typical 44lbs of tire pressure and the antenna in the glove box so I question how much attention was spent pre-delivery. With that said, I too had brake pedal feel issues. The top quarter to third of the brake pedal press did nothing, after that, they grabbed hard. I got use to them and accepted it’s just how the Ranger is but one thing that alarmed me is that while sitting at a stop light, at times, the pedal would give a ¼” or so, almost like a master cylinder leak, yesterday it happened again.
I have experienced master cylinder leak on a couple of vehicles I’ve owned and this led me to try something. I pressed the brake pedal slowly but firmly and it went all the way to the floor. If you’ve ever experienced a master cylinder leak and were in this situation, it is worrisome as you know your vehicle is going to start moving soon as the brakes will just give until you can re-pressure. That was not the case though, it held and when the light went green, I went and at the next light the brakes felt MUCH better. Interesting?
So while stopped at the next light, I did the same thing with trying to press the pedal to the floor but this time it would not go all the way to the floor. Brake pedal feel for the rest of the ride was what I would label as normal and the top quarter to third of the pedal felt correct and applied stopping power as expected from any other vehicle. I immediately thought, yep, there is air in the system and these brakes need to be bled. When I got home, I checked my brake fluid level, the level had not changed. I don't know that I would have expected it to change but it was worth taking note of.
Fast forward to this morning’s ride, the brakes felt great. The top quarter to third still applies stopping power. If there was air in the system, I would expect the air to move and the pedal to have a similar “sloppy” feel I’ve experienced previously. This is where I am thinking PDI “may” be involved?? or maybe even something that is done at the factory that was not? Is there something the dealers do during PDI to electronicly “set” the brakes? That would be something I’ve never heard of but modern vehicles with electronic and safety controls who knows?
FWIW, I am not a mechanic but I was taught by my Dad that you fix and maintain what you can on your own vehicles. I have worked on brakes on Ford, Chevy, Subaru and Hyundai Cars, Ford, Chevy, Ram and Toyota Pickups so I do have a better than average understanding of brakes which leads me to the part of being crazy. How could my brakes now feel that much better after what I did and how is it a day later that they are still performing nicely. If this were a case where bleeding was required, the brake pedal feel should have changed for the worse after sitting 12 hours. Nonetheless, I felt this was worth posting as a possibility of helping others or information discovery…..or for you guys to make fun of me.
. I have big shoulders, I can take it. To conclude, if you are having brake pedal feel issues, try what I did and see if you have a similar result and also let us know if your PDI was similar to my PDI to see if there is a possible link.
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