I've not been real happy with the brake feel. It's a bit spongy or rather, take a bit more pedal to initiate the brakes. I was reading the F-150 forum and stumbled across a fix. ( https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-resolved.html )

Here's the scoop.

Remove the Master Cylinder from the booster by removing the two 14mm nuts.



Pull the assembly off the booster WITHOUT disconnecting ANYTHING! You will need to split your air cleaner housing to create room for it to pull off. I put the assembly on the passenger side bolt using the driver's side hole.

You'll reveal a shaft with a threaded rod coming out of it.



Hold the shaft with pliers or something...gently! Use a 7mm closed end wrench to back the rod out. Mine came out nearly 2 turns until I was happy with the pedal feel. Too far and it will actuate your brakes all the time, so do it in 1/2 to 3/4 turn increments. Take it for a drive up and down the driveway to test.

It took me 3 tries but now my brakes feel SOLID! This was a 20 minute mod. This is in the V10 forum because I don't know if it is applicable to PSD powered trucks.

 

Nice! I'll be trying that this weekend. I just bought Russell braided brake lines to improve the feel (and just because I like the look ). I'll try this mod first and then the brake lines.

 

But it DOES apply to 5.4L trucks!

Moved to the SD forum.

 

Excellent find. I've never liked the pedal feel on mine. I'll try it tomorrow, last chance I'll have before we go to....Hawaii. Not visiting the big isalnd though. PM me for any must see locations. Oh yeah, rep points your way.

 

Might not be the same on your '08 Brad. My '08 has crappy brake feel unless you give them a quick pump, then it's got great feel and progression.

Had it to the dealer in Dec and they said it was computer programming. That the computer now controls the brakes. Ford was working on a fix.

Back to the dealer last week. Now they have a new booster on order. I'd heard good things about this dealers service dept but I'm starting to wonder.

 

Thanks Monsta! I'll have to try that out. Rep 2U.

Now, about the wishy-washy cruise control...

 

I wonder if this is a similar fix for the 07 Explorers.

I tried looking for the TSB, but I could not find it on the FTE TSB section.

I do not like the soft feel in my Explorer.
With this, I may still do another TSB search elsewhere.

 

If you pump the brakes and they get better, it's either air, or too much clearance at the pads from a wobbly rotor or bearing.

Or not, I'm not batting a 1000 lately...

 

If I appply the brakes hard a few times, I'll get better pedal feel, but it wont last long. In my opinion, there is too much travel in the pedal. When my daughter drove it the other day, she thought it required too much pedal effort. My '05 would stop on a dime and give you change.

This trick is worth a try. If it doesn't work, no big deal. The only thing it will cost is about 30 minutes of my time.

 

Too much clearance is exactly what it feels like. It's like a older rig with drum brakes that the shoes weren't adjusted up properly. Had to pump them once to get them to the drums.

Brad, on mine if you just push the pedal once it takes more pedal travel and more preasure to stop good. After the quick pump the brakes are great. Best I've ever had even. Don't have time for the pump when you really need the brakes though. Hope they can get it right without too many tries.

 

I know what you mean... Thinking about it, it could still be the pushrod like Monsta posted... there's always some "dead pedal" even without any slack that comes up when you pump 'em.

 

My initial contact was soft. A quick stab at the pedal and a subsequent braking action provided better feel. With this mod I now simply touch the pedal and the brakes actuate. It now feels like the subsequent brake feel after the quick stab. MUCHO better!

Thanks for the rep points.

 

I just bled mine the 'ole fashion way, except with the truck running. All is nice 'n firm now

 

Good info - if anyone tries it on a diesel let the rest of us know.

 

This looks great. My wife complained about the brakes the first and only time she drove the truck. But this looks interesting. What exactly is this "threaded rod", and what is it doing that by rotating it, the brake pedal play gets better? I'm probably going to try it anyway, but just curious what all is happening "behind the scenes"!