Peugeot 407 Lots of brake pedal travel

Shobbz

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As per post I have to almost push the pedal through the floor to get the brakes to work. The booster seems to be okay though??? Is the procedure the same for newer cars?

Front Pads and discs are coming close to needing replacing (Anyone know where these can be sourced?).

I assume that even though discs and pads are worn that the brakes would self adjust?

Still no haynes manual for the 407. I emailed haynes UK. They have no plans to make a manual for this car for the next year???? Not sure when they will make one. Now that the 508 is out perhaps the service side of these cars will start to expand.

I also have an intermittent ABS sensor fault. Another $150..........

many thanks

shobbz
 
Is the brake fluid level low ? Air in the system would cause this.

Did the brake pedal travel get progressivley worse or just happen all of a sudden ?
 
(Anyone know where these can be sourced?)

I get everything for our 407 from Cullens at Nambor. They always do the right thing by us, I have never felt diddled or hard done by and I know that what I get are genuine Peugeot parts. This does make a difference; the 406 we had had "pirate" discs which I discovered when I checked the discs because of a 'surging' pedal. Threw them out and put on genuine ones and the problem disappeared.
Befor throwing them away we took one of the ones off my car ("pirate" brand) and a worn out genuine disc and took them to red heat with an oxy and it became obvious that the "pirate" disc had something like about 60% of the radiating ribs when compared to the genuine which caused them to go out of shape or lose their 'flatness' (?) when you used them.
FLASH
 
(Anyone know where these can be sourced?)

I get everything for our 407 from Cullens at Nambor. They always do the right thing by us, I have never felt diddled or hard done by and I know that what I get are genuine Peugeot parts. This does make a difference; the 406 we had had "pirate" discs which I discovered when I checked the discs because of a 'surging' pedal. Threw them out and put on genuine ones and the problem disappeared.
Befor throwing them away we took one of the ones off my car ("pirate" brand) and a worn out genuine disc and took them to red heat with an oxy and it became obvious that the "pirate" disc had something like about 60% of the radiating ribs when compared to the genuine which caused them to go out of shape or lose their 'flatness' (?) when you used them.
FLASH

The dealer, said that there did not appear to be anything wrong with them. It appears to have been getting progressively worse.

Cullens have done well by me as well. Its a long drive though.

shobbz
 
I would start with bleeding the brake before spending any moneys on parts.

Have you noticed the brake fluid level dropping?
If so, could be a leaking master/slave cylinder.

Also do the 407's have the handbrake that work on the rear disks through the callipers?
If so its possible that the H/brake mechanise could have collapse in one of the callipers.
This would also cause excessive H/brake lever travel and for the H/brake to apply weaker on one wheel then the other.
If you remove the rear brake pads and use a lever to push back on the piston, it should be solid. If it move back into the calliper and then springs back when pressure is released, then there is a problem.

Hope this helps.
Michael.
 
Hi Shobbz !
Here are 2 tests :
1) You can test for whether it's air in the system easily enough : pump the brake pedal a few times (probably better to do this with car running so the booster is working). Pump it a few times, and on the last time keep your foot on the pedal. If it is quite high, this means there is air in the system.
Take your foot off, put it on again after a couple of seconds, and the pedal will be low.
There is a reason for this, so you cannot just bleed the brakes and keep driving the thing.
Is there fluid leaking out the back of the master cylinder ?

2) If the pedal cannot be pumped up, it may well be the seals in the master cylinder which have gone. When you have your foot on the pedal HARD, with engine running, can you feel the pedal sinking ? If so, it is a dead giveaway for the master cylinder. Check prices for re-sleeving versus a new one from EAI or Caravelle.
BHSS in Albion do re-sleeving
 
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Shobzz,

With your cars worn pads and discs maybe it is telling you something?

I always thought that disc brakes self adjusted by the disc 'kicking' off the pad to a point where the pads touched slightly.

With things worn, as suggested above the pads may have to travel further.
 
Shobzz,

With your cars worn pads and discs maybe it is telling you something?

I always thought that disc brakes self adjusted by the disc 'kicking' off the pad to a point where the pads touched slightly.

With things worn, as suggested above the pads may have to travel further.

Thanks for all the responses.

I tested the booster and it appears to be okay. Some days there is more resistance than others?I agree with the discs perhaps not knocking the pads back as far as they used to as sometime it feels like the pads are not releasing properly...

More investigation to follow.

shobbz
 
Randomly today after starting the car and releasing the handbrake I pumped the pedal a few times. This seemed to release the brakes and I have a lot less travel in the brakes.

Perhaps the handbrake is sticking????

shobbz
 
Shobbz have you checked your brake pedal? Perhaps a modification such as this is required to attain maximum badass braking force.

123adjpg1310870475.jpg


:roflmao:
 
Shobbz have you checked your brake pedal? Perhaps a modification such as this is required to attain maximum badass braking force.

123adjpg1310870475.jpg


:roflmao:

The Memories:). The 504 was so much easier to work on. Not sure how hard it will be to change the brakes and discs on the 407 will be.

shobbz
 
That's what it was on my 307 when I got the ABS Fault message on the screen. Worth a shot and it's a cheap part. :)
 
very rarely do brake switches in 407s fail........ will be the wheel speed sensor. youre lucky if you dont go through a full set of these every 2 years
 
Tis Strange,

Some times after I start the car in the morning and I pump the pedal hard a few times sometimes 10 or so then drive the pedal pressure is good and the brakes feel solid?????

This sounds like the booster? Fluid level is as per normal? I cannot see any fluid leaks?

shobbz
 
Hi Shobbz !
Here are 2 tests :
1) You can test for whether it's air in the system easily enough : pump the brake pedal a few times (probably better to do this with car running so the booster is working). Pump it a few times, and on the last time keep your foot on the pedal. If it is quite high, this means there is air in the system.
Take your foot off, put it on again after a couple of seconds, and the pedal will be low.
There is a reason for this, so you cannot just bleed the brakes and keep driving the thing.
Is there fluid leaking out the back of the master cylinder ?

2) If the pedal cannot be pumped up, it may well be the seals in the master cylinder which have gone. When you have your foot on the pedal HARD, with engine running, can you feel the pedal sinking ? If so, it is a dead giveaway for the master cylinder. Check prices for re-sleeving versus a new one from EAI or Caravelle.
BHSS in Albion do re-sleeving

Hi There is an issue with 407's in that if you keep your foot on the brake with pressure applied the pedal does tend to creep lower in height - I have had this since new and Peugeot says its inherrent in the design --- makes driving down a steep slope at low speeds a shit especially backing down a drivwe way, fortunately it does not appear to affect the performance of the braking system.

Hope this helps
 
I have a few quotes for new brakes, need to do some saving it seems.....

I thought that I would just have a look at the brake fluid tonight. The level never seems to change but I thought that I would have a look at the fluid.......

See attached image.
This is looking into my brake fluid reservoir. This does not look right!!!! Is this normal or is something contaminating my brake fluid!!!

shobbz
 

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