{"id":60814,"date":"2020-09-02T08:21:06","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T15:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeautomechanic.com\/mechanic\/forum\/?p=60814"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:38:56","slug":"my-brakes-dont-work-until-i-press-halfway-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeautomechanic.com\/mechanic\/forum\/2020\/09\/my-brakes-dont-work-until-i-press-halfway-down","title":{"rendered":"My brakes don’t work until I press halfway down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I changed my brakes all the way around. It has front disc and rear drum brakes<\/a> on my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan.
I Bled them starting from the furthest away from the master cylinder<\/a> and worked my way to the front. They worked Good. After a week it seem like they needed bled again. I checked the fluid and added some. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brakes don’t work until I press halfway down on the brake petal, if I go a little further and to the floor it seems like they stop working until I lift up and press again but still only works when petal is pressed halfway down and barely slows you down when to the floor. I noticed my ABS<\/a> light was on so I looked around some. I found that my rear passenger side abs wheel speed sensor was missing it’s bolt and was just hanging there out of it’s correct place. Could this be causing air to get into my braking system?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Air getting into the braking system<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At this point I do not think you are getting air into the brake system. Air in the brake system would feel more like a spongy pedal. I think what is going on here is that the rear drum brakes need to be adjusted up. Even if you decide to bleed them again, make sure to first adjust the rear brake shoes up. The Brake pedal operation height is associated with the adjustment of the rear brake shoes. Therefore adjusting them up should cause the brakes to start working with the pedal at a higher level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1998 CARAVAN WITH ABS BLEEDING SEQUENCE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
  1. Left Rear<\/li>
  2. Right Front<\/li>
  3. Right Rear<\/li>
  4. Left Front<\/li>
  5. Left Rear, again<\/li>
  6. Right Front, again<\/li>
  7. Right Rear, again<\/li>
  8. Left Front, again<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    SPECIAL PROCEDURES<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
    1. Connect DRB to data link connector under dash and clear any trouble codes.<\/li>
    2. Bleed the wheel brakes.<\/li>
    3. Using DRB access Bleed ABS routine.<\/li>
    4. 1995-98 only, apply brake pedal firmly and initiate Bleed ABS cycle one time. Release brake pedal.<\/li>
    5. Bleed the wheel brakes.<\/li>
    6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until fluid flows with no air.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I changed my brakes all the way around. It has front disc and rear drum brakes on my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. I Bled them starting from the furthest away from the master cylinder and worked my way to the front. They worked Good. After a week it seem like they needed bled again. I… Read More »My brakes don’t work until I press halfway down<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15930,"featured_media":28928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-auto-repair-questions","category-dodge"],"yoast_head":"\nMy brakes don't work until I press halfway down - FreeAutoMechanic Advice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At this point I do not think you are getting air into the brake system. 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