brake questions

[lilred67]

my brakes work good, the problem is i have to push on the brake pedal 2-3" before they start working. they are not hard too push,and the rear brakes are setup good.i'm thinking its either the master cylinder or the booster but having trouble deciding which one.its a '97 1/2ton 4x4 no hydro boost. thanks for the info.

[Yohan]

Did you bleed 'em?

-yo

[lilred67]

yes

[Yohan]

Hmmmmm..........
I'm just learning mechanics so I'm not sure.
Just wanted to make sure you bled em.

-yo

[BigE]

lilred67,
I have the same truck and it does the same thing. When I replaced my brakes, I take them to get bled and fluid change. The mechanic has always told me that it has always felt that way with that model/year Tahoe/Chev. He said it was normal. I replace the master cylinder with no change. I'm about to replace my booster because it has a leak. You can hear the hissing sound from the vacum pressure inside and it's also making my truck idle a little rough. I was told that it will not change the play in the brake peddle. As long as it stops me, which it does. I will let you know if the booster change makes any difference. I've gotten used to it.

[GM-TECH]

Be sure that the rear shoes are fully adjusted out ( as in snug to the drum ) because the less that the wheel cylinders move on application the quicker the front calipers start to grab = sooner pedal action....just my 2 cents worth.

Rich

[tcoop68]

When you pump up the brakes and someone relieves the line fitting does it seem to have a lot of pressure? It should sometime you can get air in the lines,they make a tool that will vacume the fluid from the master cylinder.Goodluck

[papawswrench]

Also check the flex lines from the frame to the calipers , they need to be replaced quite often . They can get soft inside .