I've got a 97 f150, it sat for 2+years before I bought it, I've got it running good now my last issue is spongy brakes, I've put new pads and rotors on it and not loosing any fluid but the brakes are still really spongy. Pedal goes almost to the floor still. Any recomendations on what I should check into next would be appreciated

 

I had this issue, search in the brake forum for results. I replaced the master cylinder however it ended up being a computer. Once the computer was changed, I had nice firm brakes again.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ressure-2.html

 

Go to the REAR BRAKES and adjust them MANUALLY. I bet they will firm up quick. Mine are this way right now because I need a NEW rear brake drum kit which replaces all those springs etc.
I plan on replacing as soon as the shoes wear out.

 

In 03 all F 150's had moved to 4 wheel disk brakes, no drums or springs except for the parking brake inside the hat of the rear rotors.
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Op, bleed the brakes as you normally would, then you'll have to either go to the dealer or find a shop with an IDS/active subscription to Ford's service and have an electronic service bleed performed. The HCU for the ABS likely has air trapped inside it and that's the only way to get it out.

The above mentioned procedure is only AFTER you have run a pressure test to see if the master cylinder is doing it's job and all other components have been checked for leaks/(seepage) and have been repaired.

Always manually bleed the system before and after the service bleed.

 

OP stated he has a 1997....just like mine.
Probably, just like mine, the REAR hardware is WORN OUT but he can still MANUALLY adjust the REAR shoes which will give him a FIRM brake....just like mine. He/me can also just buy all new rear hardware and then the brakes should adjust on their own....if properly installed.

 

My bad, I mistook the 1st reply post signature as the op's.

 

Thanks for all the advice, I went ahead and replaced the shoes and hardware and bled the lines out real good, one of these things fixed the problem! Now to start on the cosmetic issues lol. So far I've got around $600 in this beast and I'm loving it.

 

Not only does he have drum in the rear but no need for the dealer this is a Two wheel ABS truck easy to bleed. I do use a power bleeder

 

No where does the op state what system he has and in 1997 there were two, one was 2WABS the other is 4WABS which was equipped on some models. The latter requiring the electronic service bleed.

I was working for Ford during that time as a line tech.

 

I am also a Ford Master tech
There is no Ford electronic bleed for trucks in the shop manual
You may find aftermarket scam tools that offer the option
The Ford Kelsey Hayes systems did have a bleed box that you plugged into the HCU to properly bleed those CARS
Trucks = no
Maybe Later, Much later, Now maybe
Those of you that have taken the ASE exams and the Ford masters classes know the format
For ASE it's like spy VS spy and mechanic A VS mechanic B "who is right" type questions
The correct answer to most questions, " both technicians are wrong "
Opinions are like A holes, everybody has one

 

You'll notice top left corner of pics what manual I'm getting this info from. It's a dealer supplied Ford service dvd. I was a dealer line tech 93-2004 and have performed said procedure many many times on trucks back then with 4wabs using a Ford scan tool you may not be familiar with, it's called NGS. It is post super star II tester, pre WDS. IDS handles all these functions now. I have my own NGS and IDS.

I skipped posting steps 1-4 as it's just a description of a normal system bleed.









This is what the NGS looks like, well it's what mine looks like anyway. The one I used at the dealer was much cleaner and didn't have the rubber boot around it.

 

I stand corrected< I forgot about the special service bleed card but...
Plug that NGS into your truck and show me the screen
Don't show me a book and a bunch of aftermarket software for your NGS
Bleed the brakes like a master tech and be done with it
Why are you on this site asking questions if you have the answers
I have not ever used service bleed and have replaced HCUs on quite a few Broncos (they are the worst to bleed)
Trucks easy

 

Every piece of hwdr you see in that pic came straight from Rotunda, don't know where you get aftermarket from. Those were some of the dealer supplied special tools Ford required dealers to use.

Perhaps your dealer, if you actually worked at one, didn't maintain training like mine did or perhaps it's before your time, don't know don't care.

The NGS was used back when that's all Ford had to give us, mine is updated to 2010, that's where Ford drops support for it as we had been using it's replacement WDS since 1999 IIRC, which is why I also own IDS as it is the successor of WDS.

This is what mine looks like...



Since NGS won't interface with anything newer than 2010 I can't access my 2013 truck with it to show you where the service bleed function is but the ABS service bleed function is included in IDS as well. Since IDS has all instructions on screen the only mention of the service bleed in the 2013 shop manual simply states,... well here see for yourself. Highlighted for ease of discovery.



Above pic is the ABS service bleed function for my 2013 and likely still in use to this day, matter of fact even FORscan has the service bleed function.

If I ask questions in this or any other forum it's because I don't know everything or have the answers to everything, are you saying you do? That's some arrogant thinking right there.

The pics were to show you exactly where the procedure is located in FORD literature that you obviously had no clue about. It was an effort to show what I stated was 100% accurate. I get it, your feelings are hurt because I proved you wrong, that was not my intention however you challenged my knowledge so proof had to be posted, get over it and become a more productive member of this online community or go back to school and stay awake for ALL of the classes, then come back and claim your master tech status.

 

I saw the Hickok, that is good enough
I walked away with mine
Mine is very well cared for (clean)