I have a 2002 E-250 extended that I just finished brakes on. I replaced the calipers, pads, rotors in the rear, and well as everything required for the 2008+ front brake upgrade. I bled everything as I was installing, and then went back and flushed, re-bled everything starting the with the RR, LR, RF, LF. Everything seemed to bleed pretty well, and smooth. The problem that I'm having is that the pedal still feels soft. If I push it down slowly there is quite a bit of travel at first, but then a secondary pump it will firm up. Other than an intermitten rear sticking caliper, the brakes worked well before this.

While I was installing the new brake hoses to the line in the front, I may have let the reservoir on the MC go dry. I disconnected the brake line from the old hose and then struggled to get the new one fitted up while the line dripped. Eventually it stopped dripping. I made sure the reservoir was full before any bleeding or pumping of the brakes took place. Would this introduce air into the ABS module, thus it needing to be bled? If so, how would I do that on this vehicle?

A couple other things I'm wondering about is the front passenger caliper bleeder valve leaked slightly while I was bleeding and my wife was pumping the brakes, however it tightens up and does not appear to leak afterward. It was the only one that did that, not sure if air can get sucked back in. I've read no. Lastly the wheel bearing adjustment seems kinda of a janky process, I followed it the best I could but I've read that, that could cause a soft pedal as well. Right now I'm pretty confident there is air in the system somewhere, and I'm guessing maybe the abs module or somewhere else? The van drives and stops well, its just pretty soft initially.

Is there a way to bleed the module without special tools, or any other thoughts or ideas to alleviate the soft pedal? I appreciate it!

 

I'm sure you realize you did in fact let the master cylinder drain brake fluid until it was dry. At this point you'll probably need to do (or have done) what's known as a "service bleed" which does require an electronic device connected through the DLC port to operate the ABS module during this process.

You'll want to check if a bench bleed of the master cylinder is called for at this point as well.

 

Thanks! I've seen some of the handheld scan tools have the abs auto bleed feature, so maybe I can purchase one of those and conduct the test. I'm not sure on the bench bleed of the MC, I'm guessing the MC has to be removed in order to do that? Or can it be left in place? Also, if I were able to get one of the scanner tools to bleed the abs module, I'm curious would I have to have the MC bled first, then the abs module, then bleed again at all four wheels starting with the RR? I'm assuming the air in the ABS module just moves down the lines? I'm trying to understand how it all works. Thanks for the reply.

 

Here maybe this will help you out.

 

I'm not actually 100% certain that it got dry, I was parked on a slope and I think some fluid might have still been in the reservoir, either way I wasn't minding at closely as I should have been. This has been a little confusing to me because the van stops great, but the pedal just feels softer than it did before. I didn't really think about it but the reason why I replaced everything in the rear was because one of the calipers was sticking. I called a shop today and they informed me that if that was the case I would have a higher/firmer pedal. I also let them know about the 2008+ brake upgrade and besides giving me a little bit of a hard time for doing it, they said that a larger front caliper would lower/soften the pedal a bit.

Did you notice a softer or lower pedal when you upgraded to the 2008+ brakes? My brake pedal stops at about the gas pedal, which I was informed that is normal. I didn't read anywhere of anyone upgrading the master cylinder for the front brakes either..I'm guessing that has no bearing on the upgrade. The mechanic I spoke with today, told me that I would probably burn up my rear brakes by adding the upgraded larger front setup, as I'm likely using most of the rear brakes to stop vs the front? I have no clue. I'm learning as I go. I will probably just drive it, and call it good.

I appreciate it, thanks!

 

Whatever shop you're using or relying upon are kinda dumb---I've never noticed any adverse effects as you describe.