So I had someone replace the brake master cylinder and rear brake lines on my GTA and the brakes work fine now, but the feel of the pedal is what concerns me. I've been driving my friend's cobalt which has power brakes and my 300zx had ABS also so I'm used to the pedal slowing the car down as soon as I apply the slightest pressure. On my car, the pedal travels some distance (about 35%) before brakes start slowing the car down. Is this normal on these cars with no ABS? All 4 brakes work fine again it's the feel of the pedal. There some way to adjust this or is this how it simply is?

 

No it's not normal.

What does 35% mean? 35% of what?

 

sounds like air in the system. Who installed the master? did they peoperly bench bleed it before install? if they did not you can bleed 100 gallons of brake fluid through the system and you will never get the air out of it.

 

ABS only prevents the brakes from locking up.

If you have to press the pedal down quite a ways, then there is something wrong, probably air in the lines, or worn rotors and pads.

 

The difference in braking between my 2011 GTI with 4 wheel discs and my '86 Camaro with rear drum brakes that weighs several hundred pounds more is quite noticable. The Camaro is a little spongy compared to new technology of course. However, you still shouldn't have to depress the brake pedal down a significant way to get some braking. Air in the lines is the most likely culprit. Most significantly there is a sequence to how all four brake lines should be bled. According to my shop manual it goes something like this:

Right rear.
Left rear.
Right front.
Left front.

You may still have air in the master cylinder, too. The shop manual suggests filling the reservior as much as possible to expel as much air as possible prior to installing on the car.

 

If your pedal is spongy it means 1 of 2 things:
1: There is air in your lines and your system needs bled
2: (this only applies to drums, but most thirdgen fbodies have rear drums) your rear brakes needed adjusted.

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have it properly bled but right now the brakes are still doing their job. I have rear discs so I'm going to have to follow the sequence given to me.

 

It's also possible that your rear calibers need to be adjusted, what year is the car?

 

They use the same technology.

 

My '83 brakes are tighter than my new cars. And I have drums in the rear. Wish my newer cars had the stopping power and brake pedal feel my 3rd gen has.

 

It's an 89 GTA with 4-wheel disc brakes.

 

Ya, just bleed them real well. Make sure the Caliper bolts (sliders) are well greased. And make sure your brake booster is working properly.

If you have a big cam that creates little vacuum the pedal will feel really stiff. But that wouldn't change how far the pedal goes down, that's usually from, worn pads/rotors or air in the lines.

 

Yeah I'll just have them bled by another shop....I was only forced to go to the shady one a block away from my house....recently I haven't had time to work on the car myself, working 80 hours a week :\

 

Gotta get them hours while you can.

Get them bled out and post back here with your results.

 

Will do.

And one more thing, you guys said it could be caused by worn pads/rotors as well? Shouldn't I be hearing the dreaded brake squeal if that were the case?

 

That doesn't always happen. If the pads are extremely worn, you will have a nasty metal on metal grinding sound. If the rotors are really worn, you could see a big step in the braking surface. Or you can measure them for the minimum thickness.

More than likely it is they just need bled.

 

Sounds like my pedal, there is a bit of play before the brakes actually engage, but I'm quite sure it's because my rear drums have almost no pad left in them.

 

Also if the 5 rubber flex hoses have several thousand miles, you should have them replaced because over time they will expand and feel spongy when you push the pedal.