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2nd gen spongy brakes are frigin annoying

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    2nd gen spongy brakes are frigin annoying

    Ok, I have been trying to get rid of this spongy brake pedal for almost 4 months. I have bled these brakes. I have rid the rear end of disk brakes and I still can't get rid of this god damn annoying ass spongy fealing..
    My 323, if you touch the brake, you will feal the gravity of the car slowing down. and the pedal is solid..

    My protege, when you step on the brakes, the car slows down, but there is just this spongy fealing to it.. It is so annoying. I am not sure if it is the brake pads.. As I opted to get the good autozone pads ($$ limiting).

    Here is what I am thinking about doing.

    Swaping out my brake booster for a 1st gen protege/323 Brake booster.
    - I am starting to suspect that the brake boosters are not that strong in the 2nd gens .. (for whatever reason) and are stronger in the 1st gens.

    - Rebleed the whole system again, which I already did and filled with new DOT3 fluid and see if that makes a difference.

    I also have the proportioning valve from a 1st gen protege lx on the way also. This is to send more power to the rear discs...
    but I don't think it will do anyting to help with my damn mushy brakes...

    Protege Menace. I know you said you were having this problem, any thoughts on your side
    photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

    dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

    #2
    What about your brake lines? Stock rubber lines expand all the time when the pressure is applied under braking, and some of the pressure is lost in expanding of rubber. Check to see if there is a tiny crack in the line, or if it got pinched. Goodluck.
    "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

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      #3
      I suggest SS lines, wouldn't DOT 4 be better than DOT3? It is compatible.
      2006 Mazda 3 hatchback manual

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by TheMAN
        geee... I wonder what the problem is... hmm... autozone parts....
        the 323 has autozone (cheap ass brake pads) and it will stop so hard , it will put your neck through the windsheild.

        So I don't think it is the autozone parts. I am going to be upgrading the front end to the bigger front discs and caliper (spindle set). With new wheel bearings and lower ball joints and everything. I also have the brake prop. valve also from a LX. So that will get installed.
        It's not really a big deal right now. I drive the car like 1 a week if I am lucky.
        Bruce
        photo album|photo album 2 (pbase)

        dbest1a AT yahoo DOT com

        Comment


          #5
          ...same problem

          bruce, this is samus from the old board.

          i have a 98 lx with the same problem. me and ounk tried replacing many things a few months ago but braking power is still shabby, i could never lock the wheels on dry pavement although i got the pedal feelin good after a strong pressure bleed.

          if u figure it out lmk. it could be lines, booster or the entire master cylinder. it all came about after having too much fun goin 100mph and doin some crazy braking. put them crossdrill's to good use, unfortunately the rest of the braking system isn't up to snuff.
          Last edited by Naomi; 11-20-2003, 08:27 PM.

          Comment


            #6
            i would edit my old message again, but i want to note how depressing it is to have my beater (a 93 tempo) stop better than my protege, although both stop extremely well. tempo has mustang rotors and pads, however.

            Comment


              #7
              bruce, if you haven't done this already, you should compltetly change out your old fluid before you start spending money on bits and pieces.

              brake fluid absorbs moisture from the atmosphere over time and the end result of this (through mechanisms like boiling water if you have silicon based fluid cos the moisture doesn't dissolve in the fluid; or if you have regular fluid, the boiling point is drastically lowered when it absorbs moisture) is that your pedal gets progressively more spongy and soft.

              this should be the first thing you change if you haven't already done so.......clear out the whole system and refill with a fresh new batch - what dot spec really shouldn't matter, just use what you normally do.......

              Comment


                #8
                Hey guys, I've had this same problem for quite a while now (1 year). I've been through 3 sets of brake pads, brake fluid, and bleeding of the brakes - nothing really helped. Like Bruce says - the car is slowing down, but there is this "fading" and at some point it just feels like it's not slowing down at all until it finally comes to a stop. I am thinking about replacing my brake lines with better ones. I have a few questions here that I hope someone would answer.

                - Are there any other brake lines besides the ones @ corksport that would fit the 2nd gen?
                - Also, how great a chance do I have of improving my braking power by replacing the brake lines?
                - Is it wise to do it step by step (brake lines first, then say KVR pads, then Brembo rotors), or should I do all those upgrades together?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Intruder
                  Hey guys, I've had this same problem for quite a while now (1 year). I've been through 3 sets of brake pads, brake fluid, and bleeding of the brakes - nothing really helped. Like Bruce says - the car is slowing down, but there is this "fading" and at some point it just feels like it's not slowing down at all until it finally comes to a stop. I am thinking about replacing my brake lines with better ones. I have a few questions here that I hope someone would answer.

                  - Are there any other brake lines besides the ones @ corksport that would fit the 2nd gen?
                  - Also, how great a chance do I have of improving my braking power by replacing the brake lines?
                  - Is it wise to do it step by step (brake lines first, then say KVR pads, then Brembo rotors), or should I do all those upgrades together?
                  You do not necessarily have to get brake lines from Corksport. You can find them somewhere else, and steel-braided lines are very good. So are any metallic brake pads, and Brembo rotor is only for looks. Rotors do not enhance your stopping performance unless you are racing. As for your other question, you can easily do it all at once. I think its even better to do it all at once. You can save money by doing it all at once.
                  "Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities."

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Yes driving up way up north here in the snow sucks besides for one very sweet thing....the handbrake:-)
                    real drivers accelerate for the corners

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Check out the group buy section there is a brake group buy there, maybe you can get SS lines.
                      2006 Mazda 3 hatchback manual

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by turbonium959
                        You do not necessarily have to get brake lines from Corksport. You can find them somewhere else, and steel-braided lines are very good. So are any metallic brake pads, and Brembo rotor is only for looks. Rotors do not enhance your stopping performance unless you are racing. As for your other question, you can easily do it all at once. I think its even better to do it all at once. You can save money by doing it all at once.
                        so, where can I get brake lines? where do I look for those?

                        The brembo rotors - there is a place around here where I go to chill out once in a while. It's a place up up the hills and every time I go down the hill I feel like I need new brakes (although I did this right after they were replaced). I have to continually apply my brakes for about 10 minutes while I'm going down, and by the time I approach the end of the steep descent my brakes are almost... useless, and the pads smell like crap. Would a combination of new/better rotors and high-performace pads help this issue?

                        I am not racing, but once in a while I get to use the brakes extensively.

                        Doing it all at once - I am not sure if I want to buy anything I won't need. I want to upgrade whatever will make a difference in stopping power.

                        Thanks for all suggestions guys, I appreciate it!

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by charles
                          Check out the group buy section there is a brake group buy there, maybe you can get SS lines.
                          Also try downshifting when going down the mountains
                          2006 Mazda 3 hatchback manual

                          Comment


                            #14
                            interesting...

                            hey, when i was under my car tonight looking at the extent to the damage inflicted on my catback by the premature failure of my precat and its sudden incineration into my exhaust, i notice a bleeder on the transmission. a brake bleeder.

                            so, got me to thinking about bruces, and other peoples spungy brakes. i've always had a semi-spongy pedal, not as strong as my other cars, so an improvement would be good.

                            i looked in the shop manual for the 5 speed trans specs. guess what, the clutch runs off the SAME fluid as the rest of the system, which means it not only gets its fluid from the master cylinder, BUT it could trap air and moisture like the rest of the brake lines. proceedure to bleeding the trans bleeder is the same as the caliper bleeding, hold the pedal down (brake) and release the bleeder screw for a second and tighten back up, then let go of the pedal. no clutch pedal involvement neccessary.

                            according to the manual, this will tighten up the clutch AND the rest of the brake system. i plan to work on this as soon as i get my custom precat pipe (downpipe) from essentialspeed. but hey, someone else can be the test monkey.

                            -Tim

                            Comment


                              #15
                              is there such a bleeder on an automatic?

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