I have this odd symptom in my car that I've been trying to figure out. My pedal travel seems like it gets about half-way and is dead stopped. If I need to stop quickly, I usually don't feel I have enough braking power. Hell, I can't even brake hard enough to lock the wheels without even having ABS.

Currently, I have 2 piston fronts from a 3000gt SL and stock single-piston rears. Front pads are nearly new. Rear pads still have plenty of life. Fluid isn't topped off, but still plenty in the reservoir. Literally, it feels like I push the pedal so far and it cannot go farther. Its been like this since I had the car, but most other cars you can push the pedal to the floor and it really never feels like a hard stop, where-as mine it feels like it gets half-way and it won't go further.

Ideas?

Bad power brake booster.

Where does your brake pedal sit when not being pressed: higher than the clutch, even with the clutch, or lower than the clutch?

I want to know if your lack of travel is due to the pedal starting low or stopping early.

No clutch, its automatic. Not entirely sure if the pedal is too high or not, I may just be used to it.

As for the brake booster, that may be the case. I tried testing the check valve and could only blow air through one direction of the line, so I'm not sure how else I could test it other than replacing it.

Also, been pricing them online, for some reason almost all sites I find list a different (and cheaper) part for the 1999 model vs 98 for some reason? Mines a 98, but I don't see why they would be different.

rkcstr said:

As for the brake booster, that may be the case. I tried testing the check valve and could only blow air through one direction of the line....

Click to expand...

That's exactly how a check valve is supposed to behave. Put it back. Just be sure to back in the right way.

Measure the distance of the pedal from the floor and post it. Someone will hopefully see your new post and tell you if the pedal is anywhere near where it should be. Or, don't bother to wait: try adjusting the pedal. There's a problem (that doesn't quite match your symptoms) that is caused by a misadjusted pedal.

Yeah, I know, I meant to get across that the check valve was working properly.

Anyway, I measured the height of the bottom of the pedal to the floor with the ruler perpendicular and no floor mat, it was just over 6-1/4". With the pedal fully depressed and measured from the floor before it starts to angle up, it was 5-1/2".

Also, I didn't see anything in the pedal travel that would be binding it up or pre-maturely stopping it. It sounds like it is bottoming out in the power booster, actually.