My Brakes have been spongy ever since I bought this '92 v6 Dakota three years ago. I discovered a recent vacuum leak coming from the Brake Booster, so I replaced the Master Cylinder and Brake Booster. I bled my brakes TWICE, but my brake pedal still has as long to travel as before in order to engage. I don't have any trouble actually stopping, but is there anything I can do to get a firmer brake pedal? Grok has suggested:

• Inspect Brake Lines for "ballooning" / cracks <--- There are no cracks or leaks though
• Adjust rear Brake Shoes (never done it, yay)
• Check and adjust Booster Pushrod <--- Was just replaced, so I'm not sure this could be the issue
• Rebleed brakes thoroughly <--- Already done it twice

Thoughts??

 

When you were bleeding your brakes were you using clear plastic tubing to see if air bubbles were present? If there is air in your brake system then you're going to get wonky pedal play. I replaced a bunch of brake components and even some of the brake lines about three or four years ago. The entire brake system has nearly been replaced. About the only things that didn't get replaced was the proportioning valve and half the brake lines. But after I got everything buttoned down I went to bleed the brake and I'll be danged if I could get the air out of the system. Had to be a leak somewhere despite me going over every component three million times over. Then Ralph (dearly departed) who was on this forum a lot suggested I do a gravity bleed. Fill up the master cylinder and open the bleeders one at a time like you normally do and just let gravity bleed out the air (can't let the master cyl run dry or you gotta start over). I did all four wheels one at a time letting gravity do its thing for a good half hour or longer at each wheel. I think I might of even done two rounds of this. Damn if that didn't fix the problem!

 

That sounds exciting. I'm going to start that process right now! I did use clear tubing but I might have made a mistake. Looking forward to this method. Thanks

 

Pull the drums, make sure the adjusters aren't seized....... Pedal height is determined by rear brake adjustment.... so, if they are 'loose', you get long travel.

 

I'm not saying that's the answer for your situation but it doesn't hurt to try. I have heard of others who own Dakotas who also resorted to gravity bleeding. What Hey You said following my post is also a very real possibility. Make sure you have those rear brakes properly adjusted.