'00 E250 4WABS, 252K miles; new master cylinder, front flexible hoses, rear wheel cylinders and Ford rebuilt calipers with Ford pads-----the only thing not changed is the booster chamber. Booster is not leaking vacuum, hose and check valve seem to be leak free too. Rear brakes adjusted properly and working just fine.

I have more than enough brakes but they seem to "take up" much further into the pedal travel than does my '99 E250 with only 140K miles. The '99 seems to "grab" within the first 1 1/2" of travel giving me a much more firm feel under the foot.

I'm told the "mushy" pedal on the '00 is somewhat normal yet contrasting it to the '99 its very different. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions what might cause this sort of difference?

Thanks in advance!

 

There is an rod between the cylinder and booster that can be adjusted to compensate for different master cylinders.

Remove the M/C and adjust it. No need the crack the lines.

 

Thank you Stuart------this might be the very thing !'ve overlooked! A friend posed this as a question to me but nothing in my factory manual shows or suggests this unless I've just missed it there too!

 

Try adjusting the rear brakes, then bleed the whole system again, untill all the bubbles stop, and the brake fluid comes out clear.On the f 250's there is a bleeder on the rabs most people forget, it's inside the frame rail on the left side near the back of the front tire

 

JWA, Stumbled on this old post - did you resolve the mushy pedal? In case you didn't here is what happened to me. If you did, what did it for you?

Couple of months ago I bought my '05 E350 and noticed that the brakes felt mushy. I took it in to a Firestone shop as I was getting ready to drive the van home to Alaska and wanted the brakes to be AOK before I left. The guys told me that this was normal while the engine was running. When the engine is off they should be hard not mushy. If they were mushy with the engine off they needed bleeding. I had them flush the brake system and check it all out anyway. The fluid needed changing but did not change the feel of the brakes.

 

Hey DT---thanks for the reply! Here's an update and observation to my brakes.........

I have access to two E250's, a '99 & '00, both similarily equipped. '99 has about 140K miles, the '00 255K. The '99's brake pedal seems to apply noticeable force to the system within the first 1 or 2" max of travel; the '00 travels much further. Both trucks have plenty of brake but the marked difference made me curious.

As luck had it both trucks were available at the same time so a trusted bonafide mechanic friend test drove both reporting back it was fine as is, nothing noticeable of concern. After driving the '99 his observations were the '00's braking action felt "new" as opposed to the as of yet untouched '99. Since most of the truck's hydraulic system has been replaced, no ABS or other codes are showing the general consensus is all is fine, operating as expected. My description of a "mushy pedal" isn't how others have described the '00's brakes but they did understand my observations.

Your ideas about bleeding and fluid renewal are great---that's been done and re-checked as well. At this point I have to accept what I'm noticing is more a personal quirk of mine, that the truck whoa's up just fine. I guess sometimes we look for problems where they don't exist?

Thanks again DT----'ppreciate your input!