Mushy Brakes

Titan4x4Aggie · 07-05-2004, 11:35 AM

well, after driving a buddy's '01 dodge ram, and then comparing it's braking performance to mine, my brakes do indeed feel mushy. the general problem / solution i've been reading about seems to be air in the system.

did yall bleed your brakes yourself or go do the dealer? i changed out the brake lines in my RX-7, and had to bleed from each caliper and from the master cylinder. do i have to do that much?

on second thought, i might just run by teh dealer today.

adjmcloon · 07-05-2004, 02:40 PM

I just did the old "press the pedal 8-10 times with the key off" thing a couple of times and no more mushy brakes. They feel killer now...

pciley · 07-05-2004, 02:59 PM

There have been so many threads on the brakes. Everyone should hop in a Mercedes (new or late model) and drive it around. Now THOSE are some mushy brakes. I do alot of work for the local Benz dealer and I drive several of them every day. It seems to be normal to switch back and forth between driving a benz and driving the Titan (as far as brakes are concerned

). Same thing in my crappy Chevy Astro van.

Now hopping in a little Toyota Tacoma or Camry or something.., want to see my head go through the windshield? THOSE are touchy brakes. Takes my heavy foot a few minutes to get used to.

zpylot · 07-05-2004, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pciley

Now hopping in a little Toyota Tacoma or Camry or something.., want to see my head go through the windshield? THOSE are touchy brakes. Takes my heavy foot a few minutes to get used to.

Same thing going from my Titan to my Z Roadster. Just tapping the brakes on the Roadster and I'm jerking forward. I did the stomp on the brakes 8-10 times with the key off and it sure made a difference. But it has gone back to being mushy again. Makes me think it's going take a different fix.

Titan4x4Aggie · 07-05-2004, 06:07 PM

yeah, the dealer had two service guys drive my truck around and said they were fine. guess i'm just used to my rx-7 brakes: high performance pads and stainless steel braided lines. i've been spoiled.

i'll get used to it, i guess.

ON A PLUS SIDE, THE ADVANTAGE NISSAN DEALER HERE IN CLEAR LAKE WASHED MY TRUCK FOR FREE!!! HEHE, IT WAS DIRTY FROM MUDDING. guess they are my new houston dealer, since i bought my truck in san antonio.

pciley · 07-05-2004, 06:42 PM

What I was getting at is there may not need to be a "fix." This is probably the intended operation, a luxurious roomy brake travel, not a tight quick in-your-face jerking of the brakes. I have read the other threads, and unless my truck is different, it is not a very big deal. It is the same as my other vehicles. People compare them to other cars like some Toyotas that really have very little pedal travel.

Imagine having driven this truck for years and then getting a Tacoma (I know that would be a stupid thing to do, but roll with this...). After driving it around and throwing yourself onto the floor every time you hit the brakes, you take it to the dealer and tell them to fix the brakes, there's not enough travel and their too tight. They would tell you that you're nuts, right?

I think that is the problem. Most complainers of the brakes had been used to driving something with very little pedal travel and your foot DEFNITELY gets used to that, it feels like the Titan's pedal needs to go through the floor to stop. But that's absolutely not the case.
Perhaps my brakes are different, but I would have a hard time believing that my truck is some how special.
It's just a characteristic of the truck that some people find annoying. One I don't like is the fuel economy.

There is a different brake problem that actually IS a problem. It had to do with warped rotors or something... having a lot of brake travel is just a characteristic, I believe.

tnbowhunter · 07-05-2004, 07:05 PM

I agree with ya pciley, the brakes on the TITAN are definateley "different" I've never driven a vehicle with four wheel disc breakes before. I'm wondering if that is not the difference??
Anyway I'm used to them and have never had any problems stopping, even when I forgot to readjust my trailer brake controler when pullin my camper.

dagger · 07-05-2004, 09:33 PM

No, this is not typical 4-wheel disc brakes operation (ie., mushy). My past 2 Ford Explorers with 4-wheel discs were nice a tight, but I never had a problem with them being "too" touchy (jerkiness when braking).

I really dislike these Titan brakes - when I'm on I-40 in rush hour traffic and it goes from 70 down to 10mph, I get scared how far down the brake pedal goes - I still can't get use to it. IMO, Nissan didn't get the brake pressue engineer correctly on the Titan.

Cheers,
dagger

pciley · 07-06-2004, 09:25 PM

hmm. well mine must be different. My pedal doesn't go all the way to the floor, unless the truck is off and I push the petal just once and really stand on it.
Is yours different? Does it go down onto the floor?
That does sound like a problem. It doesn't sound like what I am experiencing at all.

If you really want to find out, take your truck out without any passengers (because they will fly through the window) find a clean, dry, smooth (no pot holes) road where you ARE BY YOURSELF!!! away from things that could jump out at you. When you are goin about 50-60 mph, let off the gas and immediately STAND ON THE BRAKE AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!! Relax, its under warranty

Does the truck stop alot quicker than you could ever imagine? Mine does.
Some of the initial mushyness might be caused by our cheesy plastic/rubber brake lines. This can be fixed by upgrading to stainless steel brake lines. This takes about an hour, a couple of ounces of DOT4, and about $39.99 for a nice pair of lines.
Try these: (They're way over priced, actually a rip off, but they are very nice and quality fittings... you can find much cheaper elsewhere, or get a brake shop to make you some)
http://www.truckperformance.com/prod...oductID=270718

Tony · 07-06-2004, 11:27 PM

I experienced one memorable panic stop a while ago. I was surprised by how quickly 5,000-plus pounds came to a stop, but alarmed by the distance the brake pedal had traveled. (nearly to the floor – very uncharacteristic of its normal performance)
At first I thought “funky ABS/EBD/BA operation”. After reading these posts, now I’m not so sure. Perhaps I’ll ask the dealer to look at the brakes on my next oil change visit.

Quote:

Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) sends extra brake pressure to the rear whenever it senses additional weight, whether it's a full tank of gas or a fully loaded hitch. And Brake Assist (BA) can actually detect emergency braking and, if you're not braking hard enough, will help increase brake pressure.

Big Platinum · 07-07-2004, 01:36 AM

Check out the Titan's stopping distance compared to other trucks and it compares favorably to most (and even a lot of smaller cars). The pedal feels a bit mushy but it stops when you tell it to. Think the problem is mostly the rubber lines expanding.

Orlando Titan · 07-07-2004, 05:50 AM

If mushy brakes are "normal", why did mine go away after I bled my brakes?
Also seems to go away after the TSB is performed. Normal as in that is the way the truck was built? Maybe. Acceptable, not for me.

dagger · 07-07-2004, 08:24 AM

Rubber based brake hoses do not necessarily mean they balloon when hydolic pressures are applied. Many, many vehicles have used them (many still do) and they do not and SHOULD NOT bulge when brake pressure is applied (well, there may be some minute amount, but within engineering limits). Now, these lines can wear down with age and can start bulging - and bingo, you get mushy brakes (I have seen this on 1965 Mustang disc brake systems - but then again they've got 30+ years on them!). If putting high grade replacement lines "fixes" this on the Titan, then that's a bug.

Orlando Titan - any more info you can give us on before and after performance? Who did the bleeding. What was found/observed (air in the master cylinder, air in the lines?)?

Orlando Titan · 07-07-2004, 12:04 PM

I bled them myself. Waited 2 weeks and 1200 miles before posting. Solved the mushy feeling for now. I did not see a lot of air in the lines. I did not bleed the master cylinder.

amati5 · 07-08-2004, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orlando Titan

If mushy brakes are "normal", why did mine go away after I bled my brakes?
Also seems to go away after the TSB is performed. Normal as in that is the way the truck was built? Maybe. Acceptable, not for me.

Same thinking here. Much less mushy after the pumps method and even better after the tsb was performed. Unless eventually it will go back to mushy again. All my other cars' brakes are somewhat mushy but not as bad, plus those brakes don't have to slow down a 5000lb+ of mass.

I also have the impression that not all Titans have mushy brakes and if it's true, it can't be normal. And may be for those who think it's normal because their brakes aren't as bad.