Getting rid of the mushy brake pedal; share your tips

[Supercharged111]

I totally understand and agree with your reasoning for removing it. To be honest the only abs iv had experience with is on a 1994 Burb, i dont remember using it though but those brakes worked fine after I replaced everything LOL. and then in my 97 Burb and 98 Sierra..... so ya my experience with abs is very limited and I have not experienced a failed abs system.

Al

Failed ABS is no ABS, that's how my dually is with the bad reluctor.

 

[Pinger]

Even with winter tyres more modern ABS systems are still slow and cumbersome on snow. On wet and greasy roads that are slippier than you expected is where they excel.

The ESP (stops it spinning when its arse has let go) on my smart probably saved me from two massive accidents - but there wouldn't have been a second if there'd been the first one. Rearward weight bias and 72'' wheelbase can get tricky. The way it stabs the brakes on different wheels to straighten it up is pretty brutal - and mighty effective. All the brakes have to be spot on for it to work though.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

My 98 k1500 has the worst break pedal I've ever felt in a modern roadgoing vehicle (I've driven clapped out tractors and old bikes that were worse but thats hardly a fair comparison)

I couldn't even tell you how much time my dad and I have spent bleeding those brakes, but I've only ever been able to take it from "obviously more air than fluid, pedal falling to the floor" to "Is it really supposed to be this bad?"

The only mod I've done so far is a NBS 1500 master cylinder swap. It was cheap and easy and made a noticeable difference, but it's still mushy.

I want to do a hydroboost swap and HD calipers, but I havnt found the time/mental capacity to do such a big job on my daily driver. I want to do it all at once so I only have to bleed it once, but thats a lot of parts to collect and coordinate.

 

[Pinger]

Last week I got the opportunity (layby with wet leaves) to exercise the ABS pump. After 5 or 6 stabs at it the pedal now feels better.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

Even with winter tyres more modern ABS systems are still slow and cumbersome on snow. On wet and greasy roads that are slippier than you expected is where they excel.

The ESP (stops it spinning when its arse has let go) on my smart probably saved me from two massive accidents - but there wouldn't have been a second if there'd been the first one. Rearward weight bias and 72'' wheelbase can get tricky. The way it stabs the brakes on different wheels to straighten it up is pretty brutal - and mighty effective. All the brakes have to be spot on for it to work though.

On every vehicle I've had with ABS (1994 Grand Am, 1991 Mark VII, 2011 Colorado) I've loved it. I'd go around testing it against my cars which didn't have it, they always stop better, never noticed anything slow or cumbersome about 'em. You just jam down on the pedal harder or maintain existing brake pedal effort (like the owner's manual says to do) and good tires are a must.

Now, the only vehicle I've driven with traction control was my Colorado. I hated that. It was indeed too slow to react and felt hazardous to me so I'd always turn it off if the roads weren't dry. I'll moderate & correct wheel spin & over/understeer myself, thank you very much.

 

[Chevy-SS]

My 98 k1500 has the worst break pedal I've ever felt in a modern roadgoing vehicle (I've driven clapped out tractors and old bikes that were worse but thats hardly a fair comparison)

I couldn't even tell you how much time my dad and I have spent bleeding those brakes, but I've only ever been able to take it from "obviously more air than fluid, pedal falling to the floor" to "Is it really supposed to be this bad?"

LOL, I had exact same truck, and I had EXACT SAME FEELINGS ABOUT BRAKE PEDAL on that truck. Like you, I bled (and replaced things) on that system time and time again. I even took it to local service station (where the guy was a total genius old-school mechanic) and he could not get it any better. Two trips to dealer netted same result. That truck just had terrible brake system.

 

[df2x4]

Found this video while searching around for general GM Tech 2 scan tool information. This is the first thing I would recommend to anyone experiencing a mushy pedal. I'm still running 100% factory brakes on both of my '97s (except upgraded pads and rotors) and I have no issues.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[thegawd]

Well that was he first time iv seen that procedure with the tech 2. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Schurkey]

Found this video ...

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Setting aside my well-publicized disgust of "garden sprayer" brake bleeders, I see two mistakes he makes.

1. He doesn't bother to remove the contaminated fluid (looks black!) from the reservoir, wipe the dreck out of the inside of the reservoir, then re-fill with clean fluid before bleeding. He's bleeding the contaminated fluid into the ABS system. Is this catastrophic? Probably not, the ABS will have contaminated fluid in it already. The best I can say about his procedure is that the worst, most-contaminated fluid in the entire system is usually the stuff in the wheel cylinders, which he bled out...eventually.

2. He uses an incorrect adapter to pressurize the master cylinder, even after looking at the service manual where the illustration clearly shows that the plastic reservoir isn't supposed to be pressurized--the proper tool fits down inside the reservoir, inside the master cylinder inlet ports, so the plastic housing isn't stressed by the pressure-lid hold-down chains, or by the fluid pressure. Aftermarket adapters function the same way the GM Special Tool does--allows a pressure bleeder to pressurize the master cylinder without stressing the plastic reservoir.

I'd have cleaned-up the reservoir, flushed the contaminated fluid first, then bled the ABS, so the ABS gets the cleanest, purest possible fluid during the automated bleeding. True enough, the contaminated fluid in the ABS mixing with the fresh probably means you'd want to flush the fluid again.

Nobody working on commission is going to flush the system twice. Damned lucky if they flush it ONCE. This is why I bought brake-bleeding tools.

 

[df2x4]

Setting aside my well-publicized disgust of "garden sprayer" brake bleeders, I see two mistakes he makes.

1. He doesn't bother to remove the contaminated fluid (looks black!) from the reservoir, wipe the dreck out of the inside of the reservoir, then re-fill with clean fluid before bleeding. He's bleeding the contaminated fluid into the ABS system. Is this catastrophic? Probably not, the ABS will have contaminated fluid in it already. The best I can say about his procedure is that the worst, most-contaminated fluid in the entire system is usually the stuff in the wheel cylinders, which he bled out...eventually.

2. He uses an incorrect adapter to pressurize the master cylinder, even after looking at the service manual where the illustration clearly shows that the plastic reservoir isn't supposed to be pressurized--the proper tool fits down inside the reservoir, inside the master cylinder inlet ports, so the plastic housing isn't stressed by the pressure-lid hold-down chains, or by the fluid pressure. Aftermarket adapters function the same way the GM Special Tool does--allows a pressure bleeder to pressurize the master cylinder without stressing the plastic reservoir.

I'd have cleaned-up the reservoir, flushed the contaminated fluid first, then bled the ABS, so the ABS gets the cleanest, purest possible fluid during the automated bleeding. True enough, the contaminated fluid in the ABS mixing with the fresh probably means you'd want to flush the fluid again.

Nobody working on commission is going to flush the system twice. Damned lucky if they flush it ONCE. This is why I bought brake-bleeding tools.

Good info and I did wonder about some of this stuff. Mainly point number two. Thanks for chiming in. I was mainly sharing the video for the sake of his demonstration of the Tech 2 procedure to cycle the ABS, which I feel many people overlook completely.