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sppmaster

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Everything posted by sppmaster

  1. I regret that I see your post so late. I don't know if I can help you seeing all that you've done but maybe you can check my posts here on this thread. Starting from the first one and reading to the last posts. Maybe you can try to repeat my tests just in order to try to pinpoint to the core of the issue. I am really amazed by the complete incompetence of the dealer service shop mechanics.
  2. Some more pictures. Unfortunately I cannot upload the others here.
  3. Latest update as of February 2023. I've found out the reason for this situation. I've disassembled the whole braking system and I've used a software tool to monitor the pressure inside the brake system while I've performed thoroughly various tests on the braking system. I've used plugs to block all the brake lines one by one and I've found out that the main culprit for the low and spongy brake pedal was the front right brake apparatus. Once the front right brake line was blocked with a plug the brake pedal immediately returned to its perfect old behaviour and feeling (very firm and within its normal working range movement). I've performed air bleeding several times using the conventional method and additionally I've used the scan tool to perform ABS air bleeding. There wasn't any air inside the brake system and nothing changed. The only thing I couldn't do was to completely disassemble the brake apparatus because I didn't have a spare one and I needed a working car (not stationary one). I don't know what's wrong with that particular brake apparatus, but once I realized that the brake system functioned normally (no pressure loss, brake fluid leakage, etc) I stopped rushing into the eventual brake apparatus change or its complete disassembly. Of course the main question - What is wrong with that particular brake apparatus? - remains unrevealed yet. Has anyone here made an attempt to disassemble a brake apparatus itself.
  4. Thanks for your work but can you please take pictures of the exact oversized holes and put them here. I'm not a native English speaker and just wonder where are those holes.
  5. I've published my new findings here. The video published above still didn't help in my case but we found out interesting other things.
  6. After a long delay because of the notorious pandemic crisis I continue my battle with the sinking brake pedal. I saw this post 2 weeks ago and as my symptoms were absolutely the same I believed that the problem might be in the rear brakes. Unfortunately even this one didn't solve my sinking and spongy brake pedal of Fiat Freemont (identical to Dodge Journey). We spent half a day trying to figure out the reason for the sinking brake pedal. I've got it sinking after I've changed the rear brake pads at the official service shop of Fiat 2 years ago. Today after we checked all the brake apparatus and initially couldn't find anything obvious we decided to clamp all the brake hoses. Immediately the pedal became nice and firm again as it was before the break pads change. It stopped going to the floor. After that we removed the clamps one by one and found out that when only both rear brakes were clamped the pedal was still sinking to the floor and felt spongy. When both front brakes were clamped the pedal became firm again and didn't sink anymore. When only the left front brake is clamped the pedal is still sinking but more slowly. When only the right front brake is clamped the brake pedal is almost (maybe 90-95%) completely firm and cannot go completely down to the floor. With a long pry we tried to support the front brakes and we saw that there is a little lateral movement of the two front brake apparatus when pumping the brakes. There is no visible hub play so I assume the bearings are OK. We saw that the slide pins move laterally maybe 2-3 millimeters and the brake clamps bend a little when someone pump the brake pedal. We couldn't see similar play and bending of the rear brake apparatus. Next maybe we'll have to change the slide pins to see what would happen then. It is probably obvious that we performed air bleeding 2 more times.
  7. Yes you've been told right... furthest first. And you are right... pre ABS era. The Left Rear Wheel (in this case particularly) is furthest from the master cylinder. The master cylinder is on the drivers side then the brake line is going to the ABS/HCU block which is on the passenger side and then going to the left rear wheel which is furthest from ABS/HCU respectively from the Brake Master Cylinder .
  8. Thanks. Are you sure about the order. I've read in this NHTSA Safety Recall it is NOTE: The following wheel sequence should be used when bleeding the brake hydraulic system. The use of this wheel sequence will ensure adequate removal of all trapped air from the brake hydraulic system. ï‚· Left Rear Wheel ï‚· Right Front Wheel ï‚· Right Rear Wheel ï‚· Left Front Wheel
  9. Is there anyone here that suffered from sinking brake pedal and the video above helped him resolve the issue?
  10. You are really great. Maybe in this case it'll be easier for you to take a note of the date of your posts and search your backup for pictures taken around that dates. Edit: I've got 2 pictures from webarchive - there are dates on them.
  11. Maybe the Author of this thread can recover the pictures.
  12. If anyone is able to pull it from here Internet archive here www.archive.org I've tried but I can see only a few pics. Can anyone try to pull the archived page. Maybe we still have a chance.
  13. Unfortunately I cannot see any pictures on the first three posts. They just don't load. Did anyone have an archive of these really useful posts (first, second and third one) to save this excellent job.
  14. I've found this too - https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/229045-another-spongy-brake-thread-after-replacing-pads-rotors.html Quote - Well, I now know why no one ever posts the resolution to this... because they're too embarrassed as to the resolution. It was the brake pads installed incorrectly. When I did the rears, I picked up two pads and they looked identical so I thought they were universal. Installed those 2, then looked at the other side, yep, identical. What I didn't realize was that I put two inner pads on one side, and two outer pads on the other side. Sooo... fixed the pads. Brakes work perfectly now! Yes, we all have dumb moments. Hopefully my admittance of stupidity will help some other poor fool out. Probably this is for the front ones.
  15. I have read on another forum that this cube tool is useless. It's here - https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=360099 Quote of it - I bled the rear calipers just to see if maybe that would solve the problem. Lo and behold, a giant air bubble came out of the driver's side rear caliper. No air was removed from the passenger side. I sealed everything back up, topped off the brake fluid, and normal brake pedal feel and action were restored. Failure analysis: Thinking back through the events when I replaced the rear pads, I remembered that the driver's side rear caliper was the first one I worked on. I had tried to use the universal cube tool to reset the pistons and I realized that I was turning the piston the wrong way. I ended up backing the piston out of the bore to the point where it became cocked. There must have been enough of an air gap to admit a large quantity of air into the cylinder, causing the loss of pedal firmness and authority. Lessons learned: Use the proper tools (i.e.: not the useless "cube" tool) for resetting the calipers. I've found a lot of cases on different forums where the brake pedal starts sinking and parking brake not working well after the rear pads replacement (as in my case). One of the best threads is here (first post) - https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-caravan/335390-2010-caravan-rear-calipers.html The solution was to screw the pistons back out and that fixed the sinking pedal and made it firm again. I saw another user opinion here - https://www.fixya.com/cars/t21869850-brake_pedal_soft Quote - Dodge journey rear calipers will not always automatically adjust after compressing them all the way to change pads. One or both of the Pistons retracts all the way creating slack. If you're able to jiggle the brake pads or rotors the caliper piston needs to be turned counter-clockwise until there's no slack but hub is still allowed to turn.
  16. Yes I'd red it but sorry just overlooked your other post. I've thought the stuck caliper would make the car pull to the side when braking. I've done a brake system test on brake stand all wheels stopped evenly with the needed force. Anyway thanks for your answer I'll have to check this.
  17. What might be the issue with the rear calipers. What exactly was your problem.
  18. As a continuation to my previous posts about the issues with the brakes now I publish a new video just to check if any of you have the same play in master cylinder and vacuum booster when you press the brake pedal. Please comment if your master cylinder moves when you press or pump the brake pedal. It has approx 5-10 mm play when pushed by hand too. The mechanic from the dealer service shop says all this play is normal. Maybe a new joke?
  19. I have been several times (5 or 6) at the dealer (two different FCA dealer service shops) for 10 months and they obviously cannot repair it and said it's OK and it's normal for this car that the brake pedal goes down to the floor (ridiculous and incompetent). The worst thing is that I made an official complaint to the FCA customer care international hotline, I wrote several (over 10) emails to them explaining all of this in greatest details, asking them for official statement about the brake pedal movement and technical design and tolerances of the brake system, asking the support if all of this is normal and safe, complaining, etc. I didn't receive any information, I've asked for. Not a single piece of technical data nor specification. Finally to my greatest regret I've been told this - Quote from the last email - "We are sorry to learn that you cannot accept the answer. Regrettably, we are not in the position to contest the information from our representatives." What a joke.
  20. Can anyone record that clunk or rattling sound or give a link on youtube of a similar sound. I want to hear it because I'm not a native american and it's difficult to find the right word to describe the sound I hear from the suspension components. I think it is like a crunching sound coming from rubber or plastic part, not from metallic one.
  21. As my issue with the brakes is still not resolved, I've started thinking there might be a problem with the ABS/ECU module. Maybe a stuck valve in the ECU causes the brake fluid to bypass internally and probably the low brake pedal is due to this. I don't have spare ABS/ECU module to try this theory but it seems very reasonable considering all other things I've done so far - master cylinder change, several brake bleedings performed, etc. Does anyone know if there is a detailed information about the ABS/HCU system and explanation of its work. Has anyone ever tried to change the ABS/ECU of his Dodge Journey and resolved the issue with the sinking brake pedal.
  22. In case the piston doesn't tighten onto the rotor shouldn't be there a little brake force on that wheel. What is supposed to happen when the piston is turned in.
  23. Thank you. As i triple read the post I think I fully understood the actions of that guy. But he says that he used another tool and drive ratchet to push the pistons and not recommended by the manufacturer special tool that rotates the piston while pushing it down. And after that he got that low pedal and he says that he pushed the pistons too far and that was a mistake. But he explains that all of this was reversible by turning the piston counterclockwise. After doing that the low brake pedal disappeared for him. Honestly I don't understand how is it possible that a gap can exist between the piston and the brake pad. The only thing that make sens to me is to think that using an inappropriate tool could lead to a gap inside the parking brake mechanism of the rear caliper and that gap is somehow responsible for that pedal behavior but it's just my thinking.
  24. As I have read a lot of writings on the subject over the Internet I wonder if this low and spongy brake pedal could be caused by a bad adjustment of the parking brake or it could be the ABS module. The second thing I observed after the rear brake pads change was the completely maladjusted parking brake. I had to pull 8-10 pins to hold the car. Before that it needed only 2-3 pins. The brake stand test showed irregularity of 35% between the left (lower stopping force) and right rear brakes for the parking brake. I don't have the option to change the ABS and the mechanic from the service shop told me it's OK after it was tested. I've tried with another brake master cylinder but just got the same low and spongy brake pedal.
  25. Eight months ago I went to the official dealer service shop for yearly maintenance. The mechanic changed the brake fluid and the rear brake pads. Since then when I press the brake pedal the car slows down and stops, but if I continue to press the pedal, it goes down to the floor and make hissing sound/noise as if compressed air is going out of it (like a tyre pump). I returned to the service shop and explained all of this. They made a test drive and said all is normal and it takes time the new brake pads to self adjust to the brake rotors. I've driven around 50 km in the city and nothing changed. The next day I was at the service shop again in order to make sure there is no air left inside the brake system. The car was at the service shop the whole day and I was told later that all air is out and it is normal the pedal goes down to the floor. According to the mechanic I should drive 500 km before the brake pads self adjust and pedal stops going down to the floor. I think this is not normal and very hazardous to drive this way. Already passed 700 km but no change. The brake pedal still goes down to the floor when I press it. The FIAT workshop is unable to solve or repair it. Several days later the car was at the service shop for the third time after changing the rear brake pads. The air bleeding was performed and one of the rear brake apparatus was serviced and checked but nothing has changed. Cost me 70 euro for nothing. People from the workshop say this behaviour is normal on all Freemonts. I didn't have that problem before and the brake pedal was firm and didn't go to the floor. Already eight months and no solution to this.
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