my brakes suck period. THey are really mushy but i cant figure out why.

1) I have blead the brakes countless times (didnt help)
2) New Front and Rear Pads (didnt help)

my rotors are a little scared from when the pads went bad right after i purchased that car so they are scratched a little..(front rotors) could this be the problem when my brakes feel so mushy. www.nopionline.com has brembo vented rotors for 34 bucks each and 26 bucks if i can use the ones w.o abs. anyway my question is do you think the rotors could be the cause of all this? lines are 134k old.

Hi, you might want to get some steel braided brake lines, they could help a lot. I think SMC sells them.

they may, but that still doesnt explain why my brakes are really mushy...unless my brake lines are completly bad. the goodriche lines are 110, but on back order forever. what is SMC?

Hi, well when brake lines get older they tend to get weak, and they will swell out, when brake fluid is forced to the brake calipers, giving that mushy feeling you where talking about. SMC is a company that sells big brake kits, and steel brake lines, you can get their ph# off the SE-R net, if they don't have the brake lines, you might want to get some new factory lines. I heard that the goodrich lines are not going to be made anymore.

mushy brakes are probably due to a worn master cylinder. Also check for any other leaks. Similar to the coolant system, if the brake system cannot hold pressure, the brake fluid will have a lower boiling point. You might **** also use motul RBF600 brake fluid. boiling point is 600 degrees and it has never boiled over on me since i started using it, the best brake fluid i have used!

If you can't get the goodridge hoses(they seem expensive BTW-I paid £45/$70 for mine)then a hose fabricator should be able to make them up for you.I've had one of mine repaired after it rubbed against the wheel and holed.They wanted only around £10/$15 to make up a new one using stainless unions as opposed to the steel ones goodridge use which rust after a winter's use.It only takes around 15-20 minutes.

Try doing an entire brake flush. I flushed mine and replaced the fluid w/ Valvoline Synthetic, and they feel great now. I also replaced the rotors at the same time. Unless you do real road racing, I wouldn't spend so much on Motul fluid because you'll never tell the difference on the street, and it is more hydroscopic than the Valvoline, so it may need bled more often.

anybody with ABS have good pedal feel??? When i replaced my abs system with non abs and changed mastercylinders my brakes felt a world better. :confused:

thanks for the advice, first i think i will try a new master cylinder with different fluid, nathen said thats what he did as well and could tell a HUGE difference.

Dennis,

You really should do the brake lines first. Old rubber lines will lose it's strength in time and 12 years is a long time. I believe it will also be less expensive and time consuming than the master cylinder replacement. Even if the lines aren't the current problem, they will be soon. What's the use of changing out the M/C if the lines have gone bad anyway.?

Originally posted by bl200sx
Hi, you might want to get some steel braided brake lines, they could help a lot. I think SMC sells them.

yup. i installed that on my car, but were from stillen. felt much better, and with the brembo x-drilled, the diff was day and night.

Steel lines, Carbotech Panther Plus pads (front only), go to a local Ford (yes, Ford) dealer, and buy Ford super heavy duty (or something to that effect)brake fluid. It's rated DOT 3 but is much higher than that. It's good and inexpensive. Flush your whole system. If they still feel like shit, swap in an Altima or NX2000 (w/ large brakes) master cylinder. They should be bolt in affairs. They are larger MC's ,15/16" vs. the 7/8" one you currently have. That will improve pedal feel. If that doesn't work, sell your car.