1998 Ford Escort Brake pedal low, not effective

JUANITO15

MEMBER
1998 FORD ESCORT
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
155,000 MILES

I have a 98' ford escort with a little bit of a problem. The pedal has a lot of travel before the brakes engage and I feel they're not effective the rotors and pads were changed recently and are still in great shape. I bled the brakes but all that did was turn my warning light for the brakes on. I did not check the adjuster on the rear drums. Could the adjuster be the problem? I don't know how or why the light came on and now how do iget rid of it?

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 8:38 PM

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
110,176 POSTS

Hi:
Yes, if the rear brakes are far out of adjustment, you could have poor braking and a spongy pedal. I would check them. Safely lift the rear of the vehicle, and spin the tires. If there is no drag from the brakes, they are out of adjustment.

As far as the light, when you were bleeding the brakes, if you allowed the fluid in the master cylender to get too low, it will set the light. Try disconnecting the battery for 5 or 10 minutes to see if that resets it.

Let me know what you find.
Joe

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Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 AT 8:54 PM