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Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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kingjim9
User
Sep 27, 2007, 4:40 PM
Post #1 of 6
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Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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Hey in my '97 acclaim the brakes have been acting a little strange. The pedal is a little hard to push down when driving, but the brakes still apply and slow down. The pedal only drops about (1/2" -3/4") from where it is when its not being applied. Like i said the car still stops fine, so does anybody have any ideas on what to check?
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 27, 2007, 5:02 PM
Post #2 of 6
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Re: Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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There's something up with that. You could be losing power assist which makes the pedal feel softer and of course assists with the pressure needed. This car should have drum brakes in the rear which is also the parking brake. If that gets over adjusted or can't retract the pedal will gain height on where it grabs. You can note that in cars with drum rear brakes just sitting still and hit the brake and do it a couple times with the parking brake on and it will feel real high on the pedal.
Disc fronts can lose their ability to retract and also give you a hard pedal. There are caliper to freeze up and slides and pins on various types that freeze and may not cause a problem right away but will.
I suggest checking each wheel that it can spin freely. If you know your brakes you can check that things do in fact retract properly with a good look and even watching them with a helper just touching the brakes but if you try that don't apply the brakes more than to just see it and let go as the backs need the drum on to stay in place. If in doubt about that don't hit the brakes with drums off.
It's worth checking this out as you've noticed a change and if one or more is frozen best to know it now,
T
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way2old
Veteran
/ Moderator
Sep 27, 2007, 5:10 PM
Post #3 of 6
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Re: Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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Also check the little valve in the booster that has engine vacuum going to it. It is a one way valve and if it goes bad, youi have no vacuum assist and will cause your concern.
Being way2old is why I need help from younger minds
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Sep 28, 2007, 2:36 PM
Post #4 of 6
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Re: Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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Normally a "Hard pedal" indicates a problem with the power brake booster. However, it can also be caused by a restricted brake line or hose. You might want to check these for damage. If these seem to have lost thier rigidity, a hose might have collapsed on the inside causing a resrtiction. Also, as already stated, restrictions can also be caused by frozen caliper or wheel cylinder pistons.
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kingjim9
User
Sep 29, 2007, 1:05 PM
Post #5 of 6
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Re: Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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Ok well i checked the wheels. they all spin free, with the brakes not applied. I recently replaced one of the parking brake cables. I'm thinking that when i re-adjusted the parking brake cable that its pulling the brake shoes closer to the drum so when the pedal is applied the shoes hit the drum relativily quickly causing it to feel hard pretty quickly. Does this sound like a resonable problem?
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 29, 2007, 2:14 PM
Post #6 of 6
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Re: Brake Trouble in '97 Plymouth Acclaim
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Brakes hitting higher up on the pedal and harder to push to get the same braking are two different things. Brakes all adjusted up and in good shape feel nice and apply higher. If way too soon the adjustment could be too much and with the parking cable you can drive into a driveway where the car torques some and the brakes will drag. You said they spin free no so that's good. See how many clicks it takes for the parking brake to firm up. It should take (guess) 5 to 7 clicks where it holds the car. If just a couple it's too tight and can get hot (rear) and you don't really notice right away,
T
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