mchlwise

Last week I bought a '99 WJ limited, which I'm really liking. I had an XJ some years ago, so I'm not new to Jeeps, but I am new to the 4.7 V8.

I also have a 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer.

One thing that I'm not sure what to make of is the brakes.

I wouldn't describe them as "spongy" or that they "fade", just that they take a lot more pressure and pedal travel than I'm used to.

Driving my TrailBlazer, if I happen to be taking a short trip down the street and I'm barefoot, I can literally stop the truck using only my big toe. The brakes grab early and with light pressure.

With the WJ, the pedal has to travel a good 2-3 inches before anything really starts to happen, then as it slows down it seems to need more and more pressure. When I tested "panic stopping" in an empty parking lot, I can go from 35 to 0 VERY quickly. I know the brakes work and will stop the Jeep. I'm just surprised at how different the pedals are between the two vehicles.

This weekend I bled the brake lines, which helped. It looked like there was some air in there. I realized after the fact that I did them in basically the opposite (wrong) order. I started from the front drivers side then did front passenger. I wasn't even sure if I was going to do the back, but later went ahead and did. I took the wheels off and found the brake pads to be basically non-existent, so I changed those too while I was in there. I don't know exactly how much fluid I got out, but probably a half-liter bottle and a half full at least. Reservoir was kept topped off the entire time. I bought the BIG bottle of DOT3, and used almost all of it.

My questions:

What's a normal "good" pedal feel like?

Is it normal to have to go a couple inches before anything happens?

As you're pulling up to a stop light behind somebody, is it normal to have to push harder as you approach them to stop?

How big of a deal is bleeding in the wrong order? Should I do it again? (and again, and again).

The fluid I got out was pretty dark. Like not quite used engine oil dark, but close. Should I get another bottle of DOT3 and keep bleeding until the old stuff is out?

Front pads look fine, rear pads replaced, all rotors looked to be in good shape. Do I need to think about replacing other stuff (calipers, etc.?)

Thanks.

dave1123

Yes, bleed them again. If the brake fluid is dark, it means there is a lot of dissolved water in the fluid. Brake fluid is "Hygroscopic", meaning it will absorb water, much like alcohol. If this water becomes dense enough, it will rust the insides of the calipers and pistons. In extreme cases, it will boil when it gets hot enough. Some manufacturers recommend changing the brake fluid every 30K miles.

My 2000 WJ had a problem when I first got it about a year ago. I had the "brakes feel funny" syndrome like yours, and after investigation I found the front calipers weren't working. The brake fluid was quite dark also. My mechanic and I started to bleed the brakes after sucking out the resivior and refilling it with fresh fluid. The rears bled fine, but we got no fluid out of the fronts. On a whim, we left one of the rear bleeders open and stomped the brake. Both front calipers gushed fluid! Okay! After that a normal brake bleed worked and my front brakes have worked fine ever since. I don't know what the problem was, but it's gone. So far!