Soft Brake Pedal - any tips ?

[spiny]

Hi All,

the brakes on my E30 have never 'felt right' since I've had it and I want to investigate and see what is up and what can be fixed.

symptoms: the pedal is 'springy' and has no real 'feel', the brakes appear to work ok, but they feel like even if i stamped on them, it wouldn'd lock up and trigger the ABS. Also, at low speeds they sometimes feel like they just aren't working at all, this more often than not happens when I'm turning at low speeds, like parking - the pedal judders, which is quite disconcerting.

stuff I've done:

replaced the front pads and disks.
had it MOTd 2 months ago.

what do you guys suggest to check first ?

is bleeding a brake system with ABS any different to a non-ABS car ?

thanks

[Sanchez]

Give it a bleed and see how the pedal is after. No difference to ABS

[Ajsingh]

If had the same feeling.. Always thought it lacked a bit of bite and iv had the car 2 years n cant remeber changing the fluid and i dont think the last owner had done much either

Today i bled the brakes. Bled 2 litres worth of Bmw brake fluid as i had a bit spare and i gotta say, the brakes (to me) are biting abit better and have abit more bite to them!

Give it a good bleed! WD40 the bleed nipples 1st as they may be seized so be careful and patient!

Ajay

[spiny]

cool, thanks guys

[AussieM20]

Have a good look at the brake hoses. An excellent upgrade that improves the pedal feel is to fit quality Braided lines. Ensure you buy a kit with 6 Hoses. I fitted a 6 hose kit and the improvement was marked.

Also have a look at your existing hoses and check for any bubbles appearing, if so the hose requires replacement and in this condition will give a spongy pedal.

regards

Greg