brakes soft & low

[auto trainy]

2000 GM 50,000 miles,peddle is low and feels soft and has been this way for the past couple of years. I once bled them and it seemed better but still seemed low,I had my mechanic pull all 4 wheels and check pads and found nothing wrong,he then again bled all 4 wheels and said he saw no air while bleeding (2 man bleeding ).they seemed better but still scary.Is it possible to have pads that don't equal Fords specs? I once put on pads on a olds wagon and almost had to stand on the brakes to stop (I think they were Mylar) but that's long ago.Any Ideas? This car does not have ABS.

[drdisque]

It's possible you have a damaged brake line (particularly the rubber parts) that is expanding when you press the brake pedal instead of forcing fluid into the caliper.

The other possibility is that there's a problem with the master cylinder.

[DeltaP]

Does it have power brakes and has the master cylinder ever been changed? Is the master cylinder leaking out the rear seal. Why doesn't it have ABS?

[auto trainy]

Thank's for the feedback I'll check the lines and if it still continues I'll change the MC.the car was bought new w/o abs even though it was available,I don't know when became mandatory
I'll post back if the problem gets found.

[auto trainy]

Replaced the MC and it seems to be better,my wife said its better because now she feels she can stop even tho it feels low, I have a new Camry and you cannot compaire the brake systems.