Excessive Pedal Travel To Brake on 99 Ranger

Rangstang · Mar 28, 2017

Truck was hit in front while sitting in the street by a neighbor with a Honda Accord. My 99 Ranger coil spring truck with spindle lift kit was hit on the driver corner mostly fascia and directly on the tire while the Honda was still accelerating (likely drinking involved). Here's a pic of the damage.

Even with the steering locked straight ahead, the wheels both cranked to the left busting the steering rack completely. I replaced the rack and tie rod ends and while doing so, I noticed that the back of the calipers were making contact all of the time in the past and had a significant hit on the driver side during the accident. I hoped it didn't damage the brake hydraulics, but it definitely did something.

Now the pedal has to be pushed well over half of it's travel distance to the floor just to get any braking at all. Just in case, I bled the brakes yesterday to make sure no air was introduced into the system (all 4 wheels).

Today, I removed the master from the booster and measured pushrod travel and found it to be exactly making contact at rest and getting linear movement when pushing the pedal. Full pushrod travel from rest to pedal on the floor is 1.55”.

I then reinstalled the MC and jacked up the front of the truck. I measured the pedal travel distance from rest to just about stopping the wheels and that was 3” of travel. Yes, when pushing the pedal 3” from rest, I could still spin the wheel easily with my hands. At 3.5” of travel, I could no longer spin the wheel, but I’m sure it’s not braking enough to stop the truck yet.

Could the MC have been damaged from the LH caliper forcing fluid back to it so quickly? Could air have been introduced into the system and not have been bled out?

Terry · Mar 28, 2017

Rangstang said:
Truck was hit in front while sitting in the street by a neighbor with a Honda Accord. My 99 Ranger coil spring truck with spindle lift kit was hit on the driver corner mostly fascia and directly on the tire while the Honda was still accelerating (likely drinking involved). Here's a pic of the damage.

Even with the steering locked straight ahead, the wheels both cranked to the left busting the steering rack completely. I replaced the rack and tie rod ends and while doing so, I noticed that the back of the calipers were making contact all of the time in the past and had a significant hit on the driver side during the accident. I hoped it didn't damage the brake hydraulics, but it definitely did something.

Now the pedal has to be pushed well over half of it's travel distance to the floor just to get any braking at all. Just in case, I bled the brakes yesterday to make sure no air was introduced into the system (all 4 wheels).

Today, I removed the master from the booster and measured pushrod travel and found it to be exactly making contact at rest and getting linear movement when pushing the pedal. Full pushrod travel from rest to pedal on the floor is 1.55”.

I then reinstalled the MC and jacked up the front of the truck. I measured the pedal travel distance from rest to just about stopping the wheels and that was 3” of travel. Yes, when pushing the pedal 3” from rest, I could still spin the wheel easily with my hands. At 3.5” of travel, I could no longer spin the wheel, but I’m sure it’s not braking enough to stop the truck yet.

Could the MC have been damaged from the LH caliper forcing fluid back to it so quickly? Could air have been introduced into the system and not have been bled out?

How come you are doing any work if the neighbor hit your truck? If you are not making his auto insurance pay the bill at a shop at least make the neighbor get his friggen hands dirty.

Rangstang · Mar 29, 2017

Terry said:
How come you are doing any work if the neighbor hit your truck? If you are not making his auto insurance pay the bill at a shop at least make the neighbor get his friggen hands dirty.

I charged him for labor and parts and he coughed up the dough on the spot. I didn't anticipate an issue with the brakes though. He told me if there was anything else to let him know, so I may be taking him up on that offer.

adsm08 · Mar 29, 2017

Have you observed the caliper movement with the wheels off while having someone apply the pedal?

Rangstang · Mar 29, 2017

adsm08 said:
Have you observed the caliper movement with the wheels off while having someone apply the pedal?

I have not, I merely observed the ability to rotate the wheel with the brake pedal at over 40% of the distance to the floor. I realize there could be an issue with caliper movement, but wouldn't that likely cause some sort of pulling left or right while braking? It goes totally straight when braking.

Rangstang · Mar 29, 2017

adsm08 said:
Have you observed the caliper movement with the wheels off while having someone apply the pedal?

So I just removed the driver wheel and had my son press the brake pedal. I could see minimal movement on both pistons of the caliper once he pressed the brake pedal 3+ inches.

I then compressed the pistons back 1/2" or so into the caliper with a c-clamp. I was able to freely move the caliper on the mounting bracket with almost no resistance, so there's no binding or anything on it.

I then had my son press the brake slowly again all the way to the floor 2x and then on the 3rd time the pistons were extended enough to make contact with both pads to the rotor and the pedal firmed up somewhat at over 1/2 pedal, so back the problem I had.

Is there anyway the proportioning valve could've failed from this rapid "blowback" of fluid?

Diesel Mechanic · Mar 30, 2017

If the deals inside the master cylinder start to leak it can cause this issue. Pull the cap off the reservoir , mark the fluid level and have an assistant push the pedal all the way down. If you can notice the fluid level go up, you are probably leaking past the seals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rangstang · Mar 31, 2017

Diesel Mechanic said:
If the deals inside the master cylinder start to leak it can cause this issue. Pull the cap off the reservoir , mark the fluid level and have an assistant push the pedal all the way down. If you can notice the fluid level go up, you are probably leaking past the seals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I'll check that out in a few days when I have some time and get back.

adsm08 · Mar 31, 2017

I agree. That seems to be where this is headed.

Another way to test is to get a small section of brake line that will thread to both ports of the master, attach it to itself, bleed quick, and then push the pedal. A good master will have the pedal locked up tight. A bad one should allow some movement.

Rangstang · Apr 1, 2017

adsm08 said:
Another way to test is to get a small section of brake line that will thread to both ports of the master, attach it to itself, bleed quick, and then push the pedal. A good master will have the pedal locked up tight. A bad one should allow some movement.

Do you bleed it by just threading one side tight and cracking the other, press the pedal until fluid comes out and tighten?

Would you keep the pressure control valve on the master while doing this?

adsm08 · Apr 1, 2017

Yes, and no. Just a single line from one port to the other. You don't put tons of force to it.

Rangstang · Apr 3, 2017

Diesel Mechanic said:
If the deals inside the master cylinder start to leak it can cause this issue. Pull the cap off the reservoir , mark the fluid level and have an assistant push the pedal all the way down. If you can notice the fluid level go up, you are probably leaking past the seals.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was like a fountain into the reservoir at the front braking port when the pedal was pushed for the first 3" of pedal travel.

Changed the master out today which improved things significantly, but it's still not as solid as it was before the accident, even after a full bleed. The ABS light is on now, so I know I will need to drop it at the brake shop down the street to bleed the controller out. Hopefully that's the last of it.

Rangstang · Apr 6, 2017

When my wife went to take the truck to the brake shop, the ABS light went off, so I had her bring it back home. I wondered if the fact that I hammered the brakes 4-5 times the day prior to test them and actuate the ABS may have moved the air on down the line past the ABS valve... so I did another full bleed which as of now has provided a firmer pedal as well as the light has not returned.

Rangstang · Apr 10, 2017

Pedal is really solid after that last full bleed.

I also wanted to note that I found a small piece of rubber up against the pressure control valve on the rear brake port of the master cylinder, so I was pretty confident when I found that.

Thanks to both of you guys for your help on this!

Excessive Pedal Travel To Brake on 99 Ranger

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