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soft brake petal
#1
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Warren Smith
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when driving braking is good but at a stop light i have the brake on full and the car wants to creep

Posted on: 6/9 17:22
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Re: soft brake petal
#2
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53 Cavalier
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What are you driving? Easamatic brakes? Has there been any work done recently to the brakes? Is this a new issue, or one that has been progressively getting worse? Fluid level okay? Any noticeable leaks? Have you had to add brake fluid recently?

It could be that they are working while in motion because the rotation of the wheels add mechanical force when braking that doesn't happen at a stand still.

Fluid level would be my first check, and then bleeding the brakes after that.

Posted on: 6/9 17:56
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Re: soft brake petal
#3
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56Clippers
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Quote:

Warren Smith wrote:
when driving braking is good but at a stop light i have the brake on full and the car wants to creep


What is “good” braking to you? Can you lock the wheels? When stopped and constant pressure on the pedal, does the pedal stay in the same position?

Posted on: 6/9 22:44
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Re: soft brake petal
#4
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Gary49eight
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Hello Warren. I am guessing your master cylinder is barreled. A test you can do, no need to have the car moving, give the brake pedal a quick hit. I would expect it to be hard and not depress too far. Then release and very gently press the pedal down. If it goes further than previously, then it means the middle of the master cylinder is worn in its middle, and fluid is leaking back past. Hope this helps.
Gary

Posted on: Yesterday 4:24
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Re: soft brake petal
#5
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Pgh Ultramatic
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I’m guessing the fluid got too low, you topped it off, but before that, air was introduced into the system. So they need bled.

Or if you have power brakes, you never changed the fluid and it’s 10+ years old. In this case the master cylinder needs to be rebuilt.

Posted on: Yesterday 4:45
1955 400 | Registry | Project Blog
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Re: soft brake petal
#6
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HH56
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Also, if you have an Ultramatic and the idle speed is set higher or is on a fast idle such as it should be when the engine is cold, it can take a bit of maintained extra pedal force when stopped at a light to keep the car from creeping.

Posted on: Yesterday 9:09
Howard
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Re: soft brake petal
#7
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Pgh Ultramatic
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Good point to consider, and I was going to mention that except the dude is saying his pedal is at the floor. You should be able to floor a 374 CI, 305 HP, 3.25 stall ratio converter 56 Caribbean drivetrain and still have the wheels locked up with your left foot stomping on properly adjusted manual brakes, let alone if he has power brakes.

Posted on: Yesterday 9:23
1955 400 | Registry | Project Blog
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Re: soft brake petal
#8
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56Clippers
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Quote:

Pgh Ultramatic wrote:
Good point to consider, and I was going to mention that except the dude is saying his pedal is at the floor.


I think we need Warren to better define his terms.

He writes “at a stop light i have the brake on full and the car wants to creep”.

I typically interpret “the brake on full” to mean that maximum force is applied to the brake pedal, the pedal will not move, the pedal is within the normal range of motion which means it is not on the floor as that indicates a problem or failure.

Warren, please provide further explanation.

Posted on: Yesterday 10:52
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Re: soft brake petal
#9
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Pgh Ultramatic
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Quote:

56Clippers wrote:
which means it is not on the floor


I meant that figuratively more than literally as even if it's "only" at the maximum range of motion it's still the same problem. BTV it can't hit the floor; manual brakes I think so.

Yes we do need more info. 🤔

Posted on: Yesterday 11:09
1955 400 | Registry | Project Blog
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