Brake Pedal "feel"

Alright, i've been fighting this issue for well over a year now on the Escort.

Simply put, the pedal feels awful. There's a lot of free travel up top, and it never really feels that firm. (Compared to my other cars.) The MX6 is rock hard at all times (oh baby), and the Celica isn't as hard as the MX6, but has a great progressive feel to it. Hell, even the Jeep feels better.

The car DOES stop fine, though. It's got new pads and rotors all around, and two new calipers. I've bled the system until i'm blue in the face, and i've flushed the entire system as well.

My only complaint is with the feel. I've asked about this various times at ClubProtege and FEOA.net, and the accepted answer is that "That's normal."

I don't care if it's normal or not, i hate it, and i want to "fix" it.

To add insult to injury, the MX3 i have with all OEM junk has a GREAT pedal feel, rock hard, and i'd be surprised if it DIDN'T stop faster than the Escort with it's aftermarket stuff. (close to same chassis)

The only things i haven't replaced on the escort are the remaining two calipers, the master cylinder, and the rubber lines.

Would the rubber lines really make that much of a difference? The car is rapidly approaching 300k miles, if that makes a difference. I'm less concerned about the free travel at the beginning of the pedal than i am with the fact that it feels like i'm sticking my foot in a bucket of mud.

Ideas? I will be swapping these pads out for something with more initial "bite," but that shouldn't affect pedal feel much.

In my limited experience with it, even a "properly" functioning master cylinder that is old won't feel nearly as nice as a fresh one. Same with all the worn out bushings in those calipers as well.

I've done the lines on both sportbikes and cars......never really could tell a difference.

replace the lines. Rubber lines will swell before applying any usuable pressure to the calipers.. double or triply so if they have 300K miles on them.

If you can find braided.. it's worth the edtra money

Yeah, i was planning on doing braided lines anyways, i can get them for about $80, or make my own like i did on the Celica.

Basically, you guys think that if i replace everything that's left, there's a good chance that it'll feel good? I'm just worried that these cars maybe felt like crap from the factory.

Any Protege or Escort guys, what do your pedals feel like?

Master cylinder, brake lines, and booster in that order.. Might want to check and see if the pedal itself can be adjusted as well.

I do understand how you feel though. The Classic 900 has a very hard pedal.. I almost thought the booster was dead when I got it.. but that is how hydraulic boost is.. when jumping fromit into the 318ti, I almost feel like it has no brakes the first time I touch the pedal

My roommate (corbeybaby on here) has stainless lines on his escort. I certainly wouldn't describe the feel as soft. That'd be the first thing I'd do in your situation.

Ditto on the rubber lines. Besides swelling under pedal pressure, I've found old rubber lines swelled completely shut on the inside while looking normal outside.

I actually thought the stock brakes on my old '96 Escort were quite good.

Thanks everyone, i just added MC and stainless lines to the shopping list. I'll look at the booster if it still feels bad.

On my 2000 ZX2SR I installed braided lines and the pedal was very solid. There also are a couple things to check. Pedal height and the push rod adjustment. Make sure the calipers are free to slide on the pins. If you have rear discs, the calipers have to be manually adjusted when installing new pads .

Quality/brand of pads makes a difference too. I have seen techs battle for days with a mushy pedal after a brake job. A simple swap to another brand of pads solved the problem.

But a set of SS lines is always recommended, especially on a 300K car.

Might want to take some measurements of the MX3's brake system and compare them to the Escort.

Rotor diameter, master cylinder bore, caliper piston bore, pedal ratio.

You might find that changing the pedal ratio by drilling a hole in the brake pedal to change the ratio might garner you the feel you're looking for.

There are articles on the net describing how to determine pedal ratio.

Of course this is after you determine that the system is working well (new Master, good lines, good pad material that is bedded properly)

Firewall flexing?

4wheel disc, or drums on the rear?

Escort GT has 4 wheel discs.

Ben, My ZX2 with stainless front lines only and stock rear drums has less than stellar pedal feel also, mostly in terms of engagement position. They need some attention this season.

iceracer wrote: Pedal height and the push rod adjustment.

plus 10,000

Streetwiseguy wrote: Firewall flexing? 4wheel disc, or drums on the rear?

I don't think the firewall is flexing... the pedal simply isn't stiff enough to do that.

I can bottom the pedal out on hard stops. Never had another car do that. Now that i think about it, that reeks of tired brake lines and MC.

Should be able to adjust the freeplay at the master cylinder side of the booster.

For the sponginess, some new lines maybe or a set of braided lines.

I would check to make sure your front caliper slides are free and moving. They like to seize on escorts and proteges. Done enough caliper slides and boot kits to let you know that. If they are stuck new calipers are cheap enough

Go ahead with the lines, it's simply a good thing to do.

Then pull the wheels and have a friend slowly pump the brakes, hard. Watch the way things move at each corner.

More than once I've found a cocked caliper or angled pad or stuck piston seal and such that caused a lot of soft pedal travel.

huggybear626 wrote: I would check to make sure your front caliper slides are free and moving. They like to seize on escorts and proteges. Done enough caliper slides and boot kits to let you know that. If they are stuck new calipers are cheap enough

Yeah, the calipers are all working correctly. I've replaced two already, the others were gross-looking but functional. The remaining two will be replaced before i race it for sure. Thanks!

I put an MC in my Jetta at ~157000 miles. Woo-wee! One of the best pay-offs on a repair ever. Of course, the old one was gone.