cbleakly

I have a Class C motor home on a 1995 E-350 chassis. I use it once a month for a weekend camping trip. I went to get it off the storage lot after it had been there for a month and immediately noticed a difference in the brakes. The brake pedal used to be very stiff - stopped me on a dine without much pressure. But now, the brakes are "soft" - requiring more pressure to stop the vehicle. And after it stops I can continue to press the pedal almost to the floor. Also, the brake pedal doesn't "pop" back like it used to but comes back slowly after pressing on it. I had the master cylinder replaced and the brakes all bled. No change in the brake pedal. The Ford dealer can't find anything wrong with it, but now when I press on the pedal, in addition to the softness and the slow return of the pedal, there is a "whoosh" sound. They all tell me to stop worrying, everything is fine but something is different and I don't like that. Any ideas? Another mechanic has said that the calipers aren't releasing and that is why the pedal returns slowly but they can't explain the other 'symptoms'.

Bert

How does the pedal feel with the engine off? If you pump the pedal until the vacuum is used up, !or 2 pumps, does the pedal feel solid? When there's no vacuum in the booster, hold your foot on the brake pedal, and start the engine. The pedal should drop some. You could have air in the lines yet. There's a procedure for testing the system out when it's a dificult diagnosis. We plug the fittings in the master cyl. to see if ther's a problem in that area. If not we connect the front brakes to see how the pedal feels. Then the rear. The calipers don't push back very much. I believe the rear has shoes and they push more fluid back.

williamftucker

I have exactly the same problem and have also replaced the master cylinder. Ford also tells me that nothing is wrong, although I know that there is. I have 4# wheel ABS and in addition to the soft pedel (No whoosh sound) my break pedel sometimes feels like the ABS is engaging. Did you ever find out what is wrong with your breaks? Thanks !!!

Bert

If your ABS is engaging early, it might be a wheel speed sensor problem. Try cleaning them with air and see if any are bent from road debri.