Soft brake pedal - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Jerryb · 02-03-2005, 03:12 PM

[FONT=Arial]The brake pedal of my 95 Camry is soft and goes almost to the floor. I bled the brake lines and checked for leaks. Then I replaced the master cylinder. Still have soft brakes and long travel of the brake pedal. Any suggestions?

chronoti · 02-03-2005, 04:05 PM

steal braded brake lines

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

karazy · 02-03-2005, 06:23 PM

Bleed them again. There's still air in the system. Make sure you keep the reservoir full.

kenny1773 · 02-03-2005, 06:31 PM

The steel lines will help, I got mine frm NOPI.com

I actually had a state saftey inspector fail my 95 camry for the pedal being too soft. I took the car to a trusted mechanic as I thought the pedal had always been that way. The trusted mechanic agreed it was fine and even documented that for me to take back to the inspector (the mechanic did a bleed on the brake for me just to be certain)

The state inspector still failed me.

I put the steel lines on and I passed.

bottom line I found out, the brake pedals on camrys are a little soft. If you notice when you put new pads on all 4 wheels, the pedal will not go down as far. I think this is by design as the pads have a lot of 'meat' on them and as they wear the pedal moves down lower.

just my .02 cents

fredk · 02-03-2005, 07:38 PM

check the back brakes if they are drum brakes be sure they are adjusted up, the air is in the rear lines, be sure your getting a good squirt out of all 4 bleeders

GaviN · 02-03-2005, 08:18 PM

My are low too. I thought it was just me but my aunts brakes on her 2000 Camry are "airy" feeling I should stay. They still get the job done though.

anuthaCamry · 02-03-2005, 09:46 PM

after bleeding and adjusting my 93 with brakes/drums it felt exactly the same as an 05 1mzfe disk^2

compare with a similar car, adjust the shit out of your drums if applicable

csaxon · 02-04-2005, 02:54 PM

That's probably it. Your rear brake shoe clearance is out of adjustment.

If you've checked for piston leaks, hose leaks etc and replaced the master cylinder (I assume you bled the master cylinder) that leaves rear brake shoe adjustment and the least likely problem..booster push rod out of adjustment.

mescalito · 02-04-2005, 08:46 PM

i tightend by e-brake cable and that helped too

it brough the pedal up...you can try that but its a pain in the ass...you have to remove the center console thing and tighten with like a 8mm

anuthaCamry · 02-04-2005, 09:32 PM

the drums should be adjusted properly before even touching the e-brake adjustments -- that's why it's so difficult to get to because the e-brake may never need to be adjusted

joandjo · 02-04-2005, 09:53 PM

My 92 V6 never had that problem. After I bled, it's even better.

A few months ago, my friend who owns 95 Avalon complained the same thing; his brake is too soft and deep. I bled his brake.... zero improvement!! I'm not sure whether the brake design (or part) is different in 95 model.

toysarefun · 02-04-2005, 10:55 PM

Does the car stop?, the soft pedal syndrom is common on aging toyotas. Deal with it or bring it to a reputable brake shop and ask them what the hell the deal is. Sometimes bleeding the system and putting in OEM brake fluid can help. Mine are soft to but thats because my IACV is shot which means when I let off the gas the motor lags.

Jerryb · 02-05-2005, 01:39 PM

Thanks for the advice. I looked for leaks and checked all the brake lines and even felt the rubber brake hoses while a neighbor pumped the brakes. Still soft and long travel. I may have to bring it to the dealer. I'll let you know what he finds.

anuthaCamry · 02-05-2005, 01:59 PM

oh, so you replaced your master cylinder? I did that on another car (there was a chord-shaped void on the piston's rubber ring).

Bleeding the master cylinder took about an hour, on that car.

You should disconnect the brake lines and bleed the master slowly.

Attach the lines and bleed frontL then rear right, then front right then rear left. do this for about a quart to flush it out in 3 passes.... I was able to do so with my camry with a simple $7 one-man bleeder kit.

Now for the rear drums.... remove the wheel, install 3 wheel bolts backward onto the drum face to keep it from coming out of alignment (e-brake released) remove rubber plug with the line on it. align it to the adjuster wheel get up in there with a flat head screwdriver and adjust it so the wheel cannot move freely anymore, until it is difficult to move in one direction, and impossible in the other. repeat for other wheel.

in proper condition the e-brake should require 5-7 clicks at about 70lbs pull, if it only goes 0-3 clicks then the e-brake is improperly-adjusted and ought to be completely loosened and the drums adjusted again before adjusting the ebrake