low break pedal.

[futuremechanic1217]

hello, i have a 2003 kia spectra with a 4 cylinder in it. recently i have replaced rear brake shoes and front brake pads and i still have a low break pedal. when i push the break pedal in nothing happens until about halfway down. my break light comes on immediatly even tho im not stopping just yet. the guy who works on my car had no clue. hoping you guys could help me track it down. also, to my knowledge the break system was never opened up so i dont think there is air in the system but if there was how would i fix that?

Topic

[Roy French]

Sounds like the rear brakes are not adjusted up properly. The emergency brake must be completely disengaged first. Then adjust the shoes so they just barely touch the drum. If you didn’t open the system you shouldn’t have air.

[futuremechanic1217]

from my understanding the guy who replaced my shoes did adjust the shoes. i was right there when he did them. in fact i even helped a little. he showed me how there is supposed to be just a little resistance when you spin the drums. and there was in my opinion. i suppose i could adjust them again and hope that helps….. this problem is really bugging me lol. i really thought replacing both front and rear brakes would fix this. oh and ive had this problem since i bought the car 3 years ago. i had midas check the brakes and they said the wheel cylinder was leaking and they showed me it was so i took it back to the dealer and they supposedly fixed it. and i checked both wheel cylinders when i replaced the shoes and they both werent leaking.

[Roy French]

Did you make sure the e-brake isn’t interfering back at the wheel? If it’s not all the way back you can’t get the right adjustment and will have low pedal.

[dave]

low brake pedal = frozen star wheel adjusters.

[futuremechanic1217]

im pretty sure the e brake was completely free. we never pulled the ebrake to adjust them. we only pulled it after we were done. and what are star wheel adjusters? and where are they located and are they hard to replcace

[futuremechanic1217]

i just looked up a picture of that star wheel adjuster. i dont have those in my drums. i thought it was wierd. im gonna go take a picture of what i have so you guys can help more.

[dave]

if you have a front wheel drive, then you probably have non-servo rear brakes, which might not have star wheel adjusters.

[futuremechanic1217]

this is what it looks like in there. i just ran out and pulled the drum off real quick so you guys can see. i hope this helps

Attachments:

• IMG_20130320_152409.jpg

[futuremechanic1217]

sorry the pic is crooked

[college man]

Try bleeding the brakes. if you pump the brakes with
out the car running.does the pedal firm up? How old
is the brake fluid? are the rear wheel cylinders working?

[futuremechanic1217]

you know the pedal does not firm up when i repeatedly push the pedal with the car off. does that point to what the problem is?

[futuremechanic1217]

it only firms up to that half way point where the car actually starts slowing down

[college man]

If the pedal does not firm up with the
car off when pumped say 10 pumps and held.
may be master cylinder problem. I would try
changing the brake fluid. see if the symptoms
change.

[futuremechanic1217]

alright. now are you talking about a total fluid change or just the master cylinder fluid?

[Dave]

I assume that when new brakes were put on that all of the parts that needed to be cleaned or lubed were. The adjuster for the rear brakes is on the bottom between the shoes it is most likely the problem (not adjusted tight enough) or when the dealer fixed the wheel cylinder they didn’t get all of the air out.

[Author]

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