I just put new brakes on my 2001 burban - pads & rotors in front and pads only in back. they work well, but the feel is lousy and the break pedal has quite a bit of travel before the brakes kick in. Do I need to bleed the lines? Do I have brake booster problems? What's going on here???

I had the same problem with my 95 Suburban last summer. Although the 95 differs from the 01, as yours has rear disc brakes and the 95 has drum, I think this may apply. I experienced soft pedal with excessive travel after doing a brake job last summer. I bled the system, and adjusted the rear brakes (adjusting rear brakes doesnt apply to the 01). No luck. A dealer tried with no avail, however, with a large bill to correct the problem. A friend of mine got the system marginally better by rebleeding the system and adjusting the rear brakes. I lived with the brakes knowing it wasnt as it was before. (Dealer replaced master cyclinder and brake vacuum booster, but it didnt make a difference). Recently, I met a mechanic thru another friend who stated that the quality of brake parts make a difference. He states that when people bring in their vehicles with the same problem as you and I had, he puts in either OEM parts (GM in this case), Napa premium parts, or Bendix brake parts, and it solves the problem. I thought maybe he was just trying to sell his parts and services, however, I recalled that I had started to use the cheaper parts from automotive chain stores (AutoZone and Advance Auto), and purchased their cheaper versions thinking it must meet some sort of minimum standards. Prior to that, I had used either GM, Napa, or Wagner brake products, and didnt have this type of a problem. In all honesty, I havent replaced the cheaper brake parts with the higher quality parts/more expensive parts, but it does seem to be a reasonable explanation. Because your problem is very similiar to what I experienced, I thought I would reply with what information I had. I am just throwing it out there, anyone feel free to reply. Just for the record, I am not trying to bad mouth AutoZone and Advanced, I have bought other parts there without problems. If you find a fix to your problem, please post it. I posted my problem last summer, but recieved no replies, and had to live with the brakes as they are. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I did get the more expensive of the 2 metallic pad options from Autozone. I passed on the ceramic pads, as they seem a bit pricey. Have you had any experience with them? I haven't had any trouble with Autozone before, the people are good and the product seems like the same stuff you get anywhere else. I did just yesterday bleed the lines and the travel and feel has improved some, but it still seems sub-par. I'm not going to mess with the booster/master cylinder if I can avoid it. I wouldn't want to try a booster myself and I don't have the bucks to toss around. Like I said, they do work well, they just don't feel confident. btw - they've been like this since I bought it off the dealer lot 2 years & 35k miles ago - I'm at 88k miles now.

I too have been living with the brakes, knowing they are not the same as before. Because I put a substantial amount of money into the suburban last year, I am hesistant to put anymore into the brakes for awhile. I am still thinking about front brake hoses as being a possible problem, but I dont know. Your truck is much newer with less milage, so I wouldnt think front brake hoses to be the problem with yours. I never used ceramic pads, so I can't comment on them. I have used semi-metallic pads on occasion, but never really kept tract or noticed a significant difference while using them. Sorry, I am out of answers. I can't seem to find reliable information on ABS systems, and even though I suspect that may be a possibility in my case, with your vehicle being newer, I wouldnt think that would be a problem. Good luck, maybe some else might have something. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for the reply. I did get the more expensive of the 2 metallic pad options from Autozone. I passed on the ceramic pads, as they seem a bit pricey. Have you had any experience with them? I haven't had any trouble with Autozone before, the people are good and the product seems like the same stuff you get anywhere else. I did just yesterday bleed the lines and the travel and feel has improved some, but it still seems sub-par. I'm not going to mess with the booster/master cylinder if I can avoid it. I wouldn't want to try a booster myself and I don't have the bucks to toss around. Like I said, they do work well, they just don't feel confident. btw - they've been like this since I bought it off the dealer lot 2 years & 35k miles ago - I'm at 88k miles now.
At time putting new pads on old rotors can change the pedal feel as the pads are not seated to the uneven surface of the old rotors. This generally creates a situation where there is slightly more pedal travel than before the brake job, till the pads seat to the unmachined rotors.

I tried some expensive ceramic pads. They were noisier and dirtier than the conventional ones I use, exactly contrary to their claimed advantages.

You might try silicone (DOT 5) brake fluid, it doesn't absorb water (thus almost eliminating internal corrosion) and usually gives a firmer pedal.

Many may argue with me, but new brakes always have a softer pedal feel than worn out brakes. As brakes wear, the pedal get harder to push. I seen this situation with every brake job I did as a mechanic years, ago. Bleeding and adjustment helps, but the pedal is just softer with new brakes. Go test drive a new car and feel how soft the pedal feels.

I thought squishy brakes, especially after work, means that they need to be bled? Bleeding the system, especially with one of those power bleeders if you can get access to one, should do the trick.

I thought squishy brakes, especially after work, means that they need to be bled? Bleeding the system, especially with one of those power bleeders if you can get access to one, should do the trick.
This thread is probably dead after 3 months.