F150 Brake Problem
03-11-2007, 11:54 AM
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F150 Brake Problem
I have a 97 F150 4x4 with ABS rear brakes. I just put on new pads, shoes but then the pedal was really soft despite bleeding the brakes a few times. I replaced the master cylinder and now they will pump up but as soon as I start the motor the pedal goes to the floor. Also the ABS and emergency brake light now stay on. Any ideas?
03-11-2007, 06:30 PM
#2
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I have a 97 F150 4x4 with ABS rear brakes. I just put on new pads, shoes but then the pedal was really soft despite bleeding the brakes a few times. I replaced the master cylinder and now they will pump up but as soon as I start the motor the pedal goes to the floor. Also the ABS and emergency brake light now stay on. Any ideas?
I have come across this problem numerous times and it was lack of lubricant on the slides for the calipers.
03-11-2007, 06:32 PM
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Oh yea when you re-install your original master cylinder find someone with a pwoer bleeder to bleed the brakes. Also look for a brake hose swelling when the brakes are applied, possibly a leak.
08-12-2007, 01:44 AM
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97 F150 4X4 all wheel ABS
I believe your 97 4X4 has all wheel ABS. I also have a 97 F150 4X4 and it does have all wheel ABS. I thought I read some where all wheel ABS was standard on the 97 4X4 however have not been able to confirm it. Word of caution to those that have a vehicle of a few years. When changing out front or back brakes pads or shoes one usually, have to collapse the slave cylinder to make room for the new brakes. Open the bleeder valve at the brake calipers at the wheel you are working on before forcing the calipers open. This will allow the brake fluid to squirt out the bleeder valve making it easer to collapse the calipers. This will prevent any contaminants from being back forced into the ABS valve modulator. These contaminants can get trapped in the accumulator valve in the ABS valve modulator. This can give you a mushy pedal. More than likely having brakes however, the pedal may slowly go to the floor. With this condition, you will not get a brake fault and the light will not come on. The only fix is to replace the ABS modulator. If you have all wheel ABS only Ford sales the valve modulator $400 plus. Bleeding the valve modulator is a whole other story.
Last edited by Don W 1; 08-12-2007 at 02:06 AM. Reason: Spelling
08-17-2009, 08:36 PM
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I have a 97 F150 4x4 with ABS rear brakes. I just put on new pads, shoes but then the pedal was really soft despite bleeding the brakes a few times. I replaced the master cylinder and now they will pump up but as soon as I start the motor the pedal goes to the floor. Also the ABS and emergency brake light now stay on. Any ideas?
08-19-2009, 12:21 AM
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whoooooooo!!! I said whoo!
More often than not if you have not been working on your brakes to the point to allowed air into the brake lines, not leaking brake fluid or not having to add fluid and gradually end up with a mushy pedal it is the master cylinder leaking past internal seals.
If you have replace the mater cylinder with one of the Pep-boys or Auto zone or that type of parts store and it has a warrantee I would return it for another one and try it again. It does happen to get one out of the box with a problem. With the reinstall and bleeding the brakes and still have a mushy pedal it could be the ABS modulator. The modulator will have problems usually due to debris that end up in the system over the years. If this is the case the only fix it to replace it. If when you did replaced the pads you may have ended up forcing the calipers open to create enough clearance for the new pads to go over the disk. It is very important more so with ABS to open the bleed valve at the wheel you are working on before forcing the calipers open. This will allow the old fluid to bleed out at the wheel instead of forcing it back into the system. If this was not done back flow debris can make it back into the modulator which means a replacement of the modulator. I could not find an after marked one ended up going to the dealer and it was over $400. You might be able to pick one up at a junk yard however you are taking a chance that it is no good. Bleeding the modulator correctly takes a switch assembly that allows you to open and close the valves. I can not remember if I ever found the switch assembly to buy or if the cost turned me off. There is a way to bleed the modulator with out the switch however not very handy. After bleeding the brakes as normal making sure the reservoir is full find you a road where you can get up to speed no more the 35mph should work and slam hard on the brake making the ABS work as it would in a panic stop and it will get the air out of a newly installed modulator. You will have to bleed what air came out of the modulator which will move into the system by bleeding the brakes as normal again. At this time the brakes might be working somewhat but pulling strong to left or right meaning you need to do a few more panic stops. I ended up doing two sets of panic stops and break bleeds. All worked well.
If you have replace the mater cylinder with one of the Pep-boys or Auto zone or that type of parts store and it has a warrantee I would return it for another one and try it again. It does happen to get one out of the box with a problem. With the reinstall and bleeding the brakes and still have a mushy pedal it could be the ABS modulator. The modulator will have problems usually due to debris that end up in the system over the years. If this is the case the only fix it to replace it. If when you did replaced the pads you may have ended up forcing the calipers open to create enough clearance for the new pads to go over the disk. It is very important more so with ABS to open the bleed valve at the wheel you are working on before forcing the calipers open. This will allow the old fluid to bleed out at the wheel instead of forcing it back into the system. If this was not done back flow debris can make it back into the modulator which means a replacement of the modulator. I could not find an after marked one ended up going to the dealer and it was over $400. You might be able to pick one up at a junk yard however you are taking a chance that it is no good. Bleeding the modulator correctly takes a switch assembly that allows you to open and close the valves. I can not remember if I ever found the switch assembly to buy or if the cost turned me off. There is a way to bleed the modulator with out the switch however not very handy. After bleeding the brakes as normal making sure the reservoir is full find you a road where you can get up to speed no more the 35mph should work and slam hard on the brake making the ABS work as it would in a panic stop and it will get the air out of a newly installed modulator. You will have to bleed what air came out of the modulator which will move into the system by bleeding the brakes as normal again. At this time the brakes might be working somewhat but pulling strong to left or right meaning you need to do a few more panic stops. I ended up doing two sets of panic stops and break bleeds. All worked well.
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03-09-2010, 09:45 PM
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More often than not if you have not been working on your brakes to the point to allowed air into the brake lines, not leaking brake fluid or not having to add fluid and gradually end up with a mushy pedal it is the master cylinder leaking past internal seals.
If you have replace the mater cylinder with one of the Pep-boys or Auto zone or that type of parts store and it has a warrantee I would return it for another one and try it again. It does happen to get one out of the box with a problem. With the reinstall and bleeding the brakes and still have a mushy pedal it could be the ABS modulator. The modulator will have problems usually due to debris that end up in the system over the years. If this is the case the only fix it to replace it. If when you did replaced the pads you may have ended up forcing the calipers open to create enough clearance for the new pads to go over the disk. It is very important more so with ABS to open the bleed valve at the wheel you are working on before forcing the calipers open. This will allow the old fluid to bleed out at the wheel instead of forcing it back into the system. If this was not done back flow debris can make it back into the modulator which means a replacement of the modulator. I could not find an after marked one ended up going to the dealer and it was over $400. You might be able to pick one up at a junk yard however you are taking a chance that it is no good. Bleeding the modulator correctly takes a switch assembly that allows you to open and close the valves. I can not remember if I ever found the switch assembly to buy or if the cost turned me off. There is a way to bleed the modulator with out the switch however not very handy. After bleeding the brakes as normal making sure the reservoir is full find you a road where you can get up to speed no more the 35mph should work and slam hard on the brake making the ABS work as it would in a panic stop and it will get the air out of a newly installed modulator. You will have to bleed what air came out of the modulator which will move into the system by bleeding the brakes as normal again. At this time the brakes might be working somewhat but pulling strong to left or right meaning you need to do a few more panic stops. I ended up doing two sets of panic stops and break bleeds. All worked well.
If you have replace the mater cylinder with one of the Pep-boys or Auto zone or that type of parts store and it has a warrantee I would return it for another one and try it again. It does happen to get one out of the box with a problem. With the reinstall and bleeding the brakes and still have a mushy pedal it could be the ABS modulator. The modulator will have problems usually due to debris that end up in the system over the years. If this is the case the only fix it to replace it. If when you did replaced the pads you may have ended up forcing the calipers open to create enough clearance for the new pads to go over the disk. It is very important more so with ABS to open the bleed valve at the wheel you are working on before forcing the calipers open. This will allow the old fluid to bleed out at the wheel instead of forcing it back into the system. If this was not done back flow debris can make it back into the modulator which means a replacement of the modulator. I could not find an after marked one ended up going to the dealer and it was over $400. You might be able to pick one up at a junk yard however you are taking a chance that it is no good. Bleeding the modulator correctly takes a switch assembly that allows you to open and close the valves. I can not remember if I ever found the switch assembly to buy or if the cost turned me off. There is a way to bleed the modulator with out the switch however not very handy. After bleeding the brakes as normal making sure the reservoir is full find you a road where you can get up to speed no more the 35mph should work and slam hard on the brake making the ABS work as it would in a panic stop and it will get the air out of a newly installed modulator. You will have to bleed what air came out of the modulator which will move into the system by bleeding the brakes as normal again. At this time the brakes might be working somewhat but pulling strong to left or right meaning you need to do a few more panic stops. I ended up doing two sets of panic stops and break bleeds. All worked well.
03-13-2010, 12:18 PM
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Same mushy brake pedal problem
Hi All,
I've got a 2000 F150 that I bought w/22,000 mi. on it back in '01 or '02. I replaced the master cylinder, front pads and rotors and the front left (driver side) caliper. The brake lines were replaced a couple of years ago by my Ford dealer. Should I try to 'panic brake' and bleed or is that just wishful thinking?
I really don't want to spend another $400. for a part that may or may not fix this problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanx! Rick
I've got a 2000 F150 that I bought w/22,000 mi. on it back in '01 or '02. I replaced the master cylinder, front pads and rotors and the front left (driver side) caliper. The brake lines were replaced a couple of years ago by my Ford dealer. Should I try to 'panic brake' and bleed or is that just wishful thinking?
I really don't want to spend another $400. for a part that may or may not fix this problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanx! Rick
11-04-2011, 09:55 PM
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Your post seemed interested so I myself thought that I should share some thoughts of mine. I am a regular customer of an automobile repairer because I use to get my vehicles checked on regular basis. The guy from whom I use to get my vehicle checked uses a roller testing machine named VIS-Check from www.vischeck.net., I was amazed when I regularly got my SUV monitored with this device because it pointed out many small problems in the axle and braking system that I wasn’t aware of. So do check this one out.
