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Brake pedal sinks

Bucketheadben

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pensacola, FL
Hey Guys.
In the last couple of days my brake pedal would sink 3/4 of the way down and then begin to stop the jeep. It had plenty of stopping power though. I found that one of my front rubber brake hoses had a pinhole in it and was leaking fluid. So i just replaced it and bled the brakes.
Now it stops fine if I a slam on the breaks or if I stop it normally. But, if I very gently put pressure on the pedal it will sink down 3/4 of the way and then start to stop.
So I'm wondering if there is still air in the lines and I should try to bled them again, or do I need the start suspecting the MC is the problem.
Thanks
Ben
 
It never hurts to bleed your brakes again, but you might want to try adjusting the rears. Get the rear wheels off the ground.
Shine a light into the hole @ bottom inside of drum. You'll see the adjusting wheel.
Turn wheel(flathead works) until drum starts to drag when wheel is spun. Do both sides.
It's free and worth a shot.
 
what year? listen for hissing noise from under the ddash, mine started intermittently hissing once in a while and the pedal would go spongy
 
Sounds like air in the lines. I'd recommend a vacuum bleeder. I actually don't mind doing my fluid changes on my Jeep now. In fact once a year I crack open my bleeders and flush the old fluid out of them.
 
So the pedal travel is less when you hit the brakes quickly, versus much longer if you slowly hit them? That sounds like maybe a bad master cylinder or you still have a leak somewhere.
 
threading in 1/2x20 and 7/16x24 plugs to the front and rear master cylinder ports will show if the master cylinder is bypassing. But if your pulling the lines off, might as well replace the master while your in there. But slow pedal sinking is a dead giveaway for bypassing cup seals.

You likely have air in the lines too.
Leaky wheel cylinders can also soften pedal feel in the first inches of the pedal stoke.
 
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Also look for the aluminum replacement master cylinder if you go to replace it. I got an aftermarket iron one, and it's rusting like crazy. So I painted it with "plastikote cast finish" for master cyls. The brake fluid ate the paint anyway, now its ugly as hell!
 
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Well I adjusted the rears and bleed the brakes again, but the pedal still sank.
So I went and bought a new MC and installed it.
Now it works great. Thanks to everyone who helped.
Ben
 
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