Excess Brake pedal travel

[Martin427]

I just know this is a really dumb [basic car maint] question.
I'm having some brake problems..and my brain must have stalled!
Sierra servo front & rear.
Servo working fine.
Brakes very good but too much pedal travel.
I have:-
Bled the system [longest run to shortest] 6-7 times, both manually and using a pressure bleed system.
I'm 99.9% sure there is no air in there.
Pumping the pedal does not improve the brakes.
I've had someone with the pedal down hard while I check all the unions for leaks..OK.

Any ideas please.:'( :'( :'(

[normanh]

This may sound stupid, but your handbrake is adjusted correctly isn't it? I had a granada, similar setup as sierra (same) and when the hand brake needed adjusting the pedal almost hit the floor !

The autoadjusters kept getting stuck from what I remember !

[PeteV]

Are you running Sierra Master Cylinder & Sierra calipers / wheel cylinders from the same vehicle all-round ? Unless the MS is matched to the other bits & pieces you may find you get more or less pedal travel than ideal. Also, new brake linings may take a little while to loose the initial 'sponge' as everything copmresses a bit.

Pete.

[Martin427]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I think it is the rear adjusters, plus new bits settling in - car has only gone 4 miles!x(

[wilf]

Martin - another thing to check out ( and I assume you have looked for lost motion in the brake pedal/clevis pin area) is the run-out on the front discs. If this is excessive, it pushes the pads back into the calipers, resulting in long pedal travel. in really extreme cases you could feel a "pulsing" in the pedal as well.

HTH

WIlf

[Purple Ronnie]

While your in the mood for checking things, I once had replacement callipers and wheel cylinders that didn't have the bleed screws exactly at the top. This caused a pocket of air that no amount of bleeding would remove. Only when the component was removed and slowly rotated was the air freed. Probably nothing to do with your problem but might be worth a look if all else fails.

[Keith Wild]

It may be worthwhile having a look at a site called "hotroadheaven" http://www.hotrodheaven.com

There's an interesting article on brakes and lot's of stuff about the amount of fluid in the system and is the brake master cylinder big enough to move the fluid around, if the brakes are ok with new pads are you going to reach full travel on the brake pedal with worn ones.

I have ended up with a Jag master cylinder and two remote type 6 servos on an AK with a long footwell

Good luck, Good stopping

Keith