Hi everyone.

I have a UK spec Voyager 3.3 LE. It has failed the MOT(roadworthy test) due to a "spongy" brake pedal. My mechanic has replaced the master cylinder,replaced the front calipers, replaced the discs and pads and bled the brakes. This has not cured the problem. According to to him, there is not enough spare travel in the brake pedal. He has narrowed the problem down to the front brakes, but says the problem is not repairable. Does anyone have any ideas. I do not want to scrap the car cause I love it very much.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

If brakes have been replaced with bargain price brake pads, this would explain the spongy feeling. I did that on a 2001 Caravan. Replace the pads with OEM quality pads, and you may solve your problem.

 

what year voyager? with or without ABS?
have you bled the ABS system as well?

it's a pain in the neck job, you need special techniques or OBDII computer to do it.

 

1998 model. I have replaced the pads with OEM quality pads. The ABS has also been bled as my mechanic has 3 other voyager that he services. None of them has this problem. if he cuts of the front callipers, the brake pedal is perfect..

 

how does he cut off front calipers?

if you have all the new parts and problem still exists, it may be becouse brake lines are deteriorated from the inside. I mean that short flexible part, rubber tube that's leading pressurized brake fluid to the calipers, just before them.

becouse made of rubber , they are flexible and with plastic fibre web around them, they tend to develop spots where the web is broken. when you press the pedal, on that place you make a bubble instead increasing pressure in the caliper. that makes pedal soft and braking effect weak.
it may even happen that you can not see a bubble on the outside of flexible tube, but from the inside, it's so destroyed that you can not achieve free flow of fluid.

 

I know all this is pretty much hearsay, but the mech says the linings are fine. He did mention something about seeing a similiar issue that was resolved by converting the vehicle to non-abs.

 

what do you mean "hearsay"?
it's a pretty standard issue with old vehicles. in fact, those linings should be changed regularly, say every 10 years or so. they are made of rubber and they are influenced by weather, solt form the road, stones catapulted by wheels, grease, twisting, turning....

and that's why I asked: how did he blocked front calipers?
if he did it by blocking the travel of the brake pads and problem still persists, it's something else.
if he did it at ABS pump or at master cylinder, flex linings might be worn out becouse they are the only part of the brakes where you can loose pressure.
and it's easy to test. get one flex line, any type, any lenght. put it on, block the other side and test the pedal.

 

Why I used the term "hearsay", is because I am going on what I have been told by my Mech. I have not check any of the things myself. Spoke to the mech again, the linings have been replaced. The calipers were shutoff with clamps on the pipe. The mech seems to think the problem is being cause by the mountings on the guide pins causing the pins to move 0.5mm further than it should. Hey, what do I know, i am not a mechanic.

 

now you explained it right.
sorry, that's as far as I would go. I have no more ideas.

 

Thanks for the help so far.