I have a 1994 Ram Van 318/auto and cannot get it to stop properly. It has rear drum ABS and standard front power disc brakes. The pads are new as are the rotors. I have bled the system till I can't bleed anymore. The pedal still feels soft and it stops like crap! Any suggestions? My last Dodge Van was a 1980 and it stopped really well

 

Did you adjust the rear brakes correctly?
How old is the master cylinder?

Remove the brake lines from the master cylinder and screw a couple of blank plugs into the holes. Then step on the pedal and see if it's hard. If it is still soft, replace the master cylinder. If it was hard, replace the ABS valve.

The ABS valve has a reservoir in it as a place for the brake fluid to bleed off into during ABS operation. When the valve that controls the flow to this reservoir starts leaking, you will get a soft pedal.

 

I have this problem also on my 90 ram van. I had the brakes redone all around. My pedal is soft in the middle, but the van stops okay. I'm unsure if the 1990 has ABS, so I would be interested in what you find the problem to be. I was thinking master cylinder because I hear a slight hiss until the brake pedal is mashed into the floorboard.

 

The '90 has rear ABS.

 

Your brake booster has sprung a vacuum leak. Changing the booster will get rid of the hiss and also improve your engine performance.

 

i have a 1994 cutom ram250 van with a 318 5.2l engine i need the proper timing degrees off tdc

 

^ what does that have to do with soft brakes? You need to start your own thread.

 

Thank you Leeann & Alloro.

 

Quick update... I replaced the master cylinder and still have a soft pedal. I bled the entire system quite a lot. There are no air bubbles coming out at all and now it's all new fluid. It stops slightly better but nothing to brag about . I guess next I will have to check into the rear abs system.

 

Quick question: did you bench bleed the master cylinder before installing it on the van?