Spongy Brake Pedal

[mmulcahy1]

This weekend I had the front brakes fixed and the brake lines flushed. I'm not comfotable doing the work - especially with the ABS. When I got my truck back and drove it, the brake pedal was very soft and traveled, what I consider, a fairly long distance when applying the brakes.

I now have no confidence in the front brakes due to the long travel and spongy feel.

I'm going to take it back to the shop where the work was done and tell them about it. What exactly should I say or be looking for when I return my truck to the shop?

Thanks for the input!!

P.S. Before you ask, I didn't take my truck to Brake Masters or any place like that.

[shall36]

Given the "spongy" description, sounds like there is air in the line. The way I usually diagnose this is to hit the brake pedal with the engine OFF. If the pedal is not really firm, you likely have air in the line.

Now, another potential cause is slack in the rear shoes...but I'm kind of ruling that out in this case because you indicate the problem started after the brake job.

It's not uncommon for new pads to not bite so well until they are broken in. That being said, the description in your post points more towards a soft pedal (air in the line).

It's easy to get air in the line if they were flushing the fluid. If they let the fluid level get too low and then hit the brake pedal, they would have sucked air into the system.