97 Taurus Brake Problem

This car belongs to my son so I hardly ever drive it. He told me at over 55 MPH he had very little braking a couple of nights ago. Had to push very hard on the pedal. He hasn't used the parking brake very much recently and I presume that is what adjusts the rear brakes. So the rear brakes need to be adjusted some but I can not find anything else wrong at this time. While driving it I noticed a spongy ride so I need to replace the shocks. Now I see there is a brake proportining valve that works with the rear suspension. Is it possible that the car was bouncing at that time and that caused the very poor braking because I have not been able to duplicate a brake problem otherwise.

Thanks

If the car was bouncing and causing the poor braking, I'd expect that when the tires made contact with the road again, it would chirp the tires and activate the ABS (if equipped).

Ask him if he had been using the brakes rather aggressively that evening. He may have experienced brake fade due to either overheated brake pads or due to contaminated brake fluid. Also, inspect the rubber brake hoses for cracks or other signs of wear. If you see any, replace them.

I had a similar experience one time at the track -- 15-turn road course, 2.23 miles long. I had been buzzing around the track rather aggressively. Got to the end of the straightaway, going 125mph coming to a 90-degree turn. Fortunately, I'm not aggressive enough to brake late, but when I hit the pedal, there was very little brake. I made the turn, limped around to the track exit, and parked the car for the day. A few hours later, when it was time to head home, the fluid and pads had cooled enough to get me safely home.

The next weekend I installed braided stainless brake hoses and flushed the brake system and replaced the fluid with hi-temp synthetic fluid. I didn't change out the pads. Never had issues again at the track.

-Rod

Rod,

Thanks for the help on this one also. Mileage on the car is over 125,000 and got it used for my son a few years back when it had about 90K. Don't know if the fluid has ever been changed.

Didn't mean to imply he was bouncing off the road entirely but the shocks are a bit weak and I was grasping at straws thinking proportioning valve if he hit the brake at the same time he hit a dip or something. He's too conservative a driver for that. Must have gotten that from the milkman or his mom :rofl: .

He was driving it a lot longer that night than any of the times I drove it to try to duplicate the problem. I'm going to adjust the rear brakes and replace the fluid and drive it myself until I'm sure it won't happen again.

Thanks