I've been having a problem with my brake pedal sinking for a while now.
Last august, my pedal was getting low and I noticed wetness on the power
booster. I pulled the master cylinder and found it was leaking from the
rear seal. I replaced it and it was good. Then, this April, I noticed
that if I sat in traffic for any period of time, the pedal would sink
until the brake/antilock lights came on. I thought the new m/c went
south on me. So, I had another one sent over. I filled it with fluid,
bench bled it, then installed it. I tried to get a firm pedal out of
it, but I kept getting air out of the bleeders at the wheels. After 2
hours, I put the old one on so I could go home. The next day, I got a
new m/c instead of a remanufactured one. I installed it, got a pedal,
drove home, and found the lights would come on and the pedal would still
sink. So, the next day, I asked one of my guys if he has any other
ideas. He told me how he had just read an article in a trade
publication about some rear abs valve going bad and the pedal sinking.
We throw my truck up in the air, and nestled on the left rear frame rail
above the tire is this valve thingy. It has a rear cap that unscrews
off: you take it off, stick a screwdriver in there until you feel it
touch something, then have someone push on the brake pedal. The valve
should stay firm. If the screwdriver starts coming back out, that's the
valve failing and causing the brake pedal to drop.
Once we determined this, I ordered it from the dealer (about $100
wholesale) It was a real bear getting the lines loose from the old
one. Installing the new one was no big deal. Bled the brakes all the
way around, and no more pedal sinking problems, the brakes have never
felt better.
Just FYI, since all Dakotas were equipped standard with at least rear
ABS since I think '89?
Patrick
-oh, by the way, the reason I couldnt get a pedal out of the first
replacement m/c was that it was defective!!!
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