Spongy brakes - Any Ideas?

[kpn]

My brake pedal on my 2000 Montanna (50,000 miles) feels like it is softer and has to pushed further than normal. It is most noticeable when it has been sitting for a while, like in the morning. Once warmed up and ran for a while the feel almost normal again. Brake fluid is topped off. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Keith

[GTP Dad]

Check the one way valve on the power brake booster. The booster runs on vacuum and if this valve goes bad or gets blocked it will cause the booster to lose vacuum. The valve is cheap and may cure the problem very easily. Otherwise you may need to bleed the brakes or replace the pads to increase pedal feel.

[1999montana]

Keith,

Our van had about 80,000 when I decided to replace the rear brake shoes. The 'feel' of the brake pedal was NOT what I would have called typical GM. It felt soft or spongy.

My wife had a '74 Pontiac Lemans and the pedal was touchy, in fact, hard and you could easily put yourself through the windshield. Our '81 Oldsmobile 'Gutless' (no that is not a spelling mistake!) was the same way.

I had a '97 Sunfire and its brakes were quite similar.

The van was a different story however. Always seemed too soft to me.

Replacing the shoes today made a big difference.

[kpn]

Thanks for input guys, I had pulled off all the wheels and found the driver side front brake pad (inside pad) had seperated from its backing and was falling apart quickly. It had shifted and turned and was quickly disintegrating.

The rotors didn't vibrate or shake and they were just a few thousands under the minimum thickness, so I stuck on some new front pads and left the same rotors on. The brakes are back to their normal feel now.

Keith