What causes excessive brake pedal travel?

[93 teal terror]

the car brakes fine , you just have to push the pedal all the way to the floor. maybe bleeding the brakes will help? ive never done it, b/c i havnt ever done anything that mandated it. The brake fluid thats in there it probably the original fluid. The car has 121k miles on it

 

[mackey]

Change your brake fluid and see how much is in there. If any leaked it could cause it.

 

[93 teal terror]

Fluid is full on the reservior but i guess i should change it anyways for piece of mind

 

[jrichker]

Try adjusting the rear brakes.
While stopped, pull up on the emergency brake and then step on the pedal. If the pedal comes up, the rear shoes are worn or need adjusting. The self adjusters work when you step on the brakes while the car is going backwards. Backing up going around the block while applying the brakes on and off will adjust them. If this doesn't adjust them, pull the rear drums off and check for worn out linings and frozen self adjusters.

 

[Matt90GT]

with 112k miles, your rubber brake lines are probably shot and expanding under the pressure and your MC probably needs to be replaced. I would not be suprised if one or both of your rear wheel cylinders is leaking also.

 

[93 teal terror]

ill try adjusting the shoes....i just put new ones on. It had the original ones still on there. I didnt see either of the rear wheel cylinders leaking, but they could be and i just havnt noticed. Im going to redo all the brakes in the next year or two so i dont wanna drop money on stock stuff....but the SS lines would be a good thing i can transfer over. Anyone know who has a good deal on the front lines?

 

[Michael Yount]

11 year old brake fluid is scarry -- you need to bleed all the old out and refresh the system. Brake fluid is hydroscopic - it attracts/absorbs water; and that water in the sytem corrodes brake system components. Brake fluid should be completely flushed out and changed every 2 to 3 years.

More importantly, you just don't take any risks with the braking system. If the pedal is doing what you describe, you should stop driving the car until you get it fixed. There's no telling when you're gonna push down and nothing at all is gonna happen. It's bad enough you might get hurt and might hurt your ride; it's worse some innocent bystander gets hurt. Keeps gettin' worse if people start asking questions and you have to admit that you kept driving the car even thought the pedal was going almost to the floor. Park the car til the brakes are fixed.

 

[93 teal terror]

11 year old fluids not as bad as my dads 66 which had 36 year old fluid in it. lol. I knew the shoes were worn out b/c the parking brake didnt work. So i figuered id try that and it helped some but the pedal travel is still there. It brakes fine...it just takes pushing the pedal all the way down. I wont be able to drive the car again til august so hopefully ill have time to change the fluid and front lines before then. thanks for the replies