Questions and Answers

Ford Windstar Brake Pedal Fades Q. I have a 1998 Ford Windstar GL with 3.8 liter V-6, 150,000 kilometers, with ABS brakes and Traction Control. One minute the brakes were fine and the next I noticed that the brake pedal was slowly fading under foot pressure. Sitting at a red light I would have to pump the brake once as it would usually fade to the bottom. It doesn't seem to get worse or better with use.

I took it in to my mechanic who has always been fair and honest with my repair needs on a variety of cars and vans. They believed it to be a master cylinder failure since I was not leaking any brake fluid. They replaced it twice but same thing. They then determined that it must be the ABS/Traction control module, although the ABS and Traction control still seemed to be working normally. NO repair codes had been seen.

They tried to "bleed" the unit and even sent it up to the local Ford dealer to double check. They all agreed that it must be a "stuck" valve in the ABS/Traction control module and would need to replace the unit. This unit retails here for $2,000.00 dollars so they are looking for a unit from an auto parts re-cycler.

Any thoughts on whether they are on the right track? I have not seen any reference to this problem on the internet and I don't see any recalls or notices about this type of problem.

Thanks for your help,
Doug

A. I had a customer come in last month with the same exact problem. Like you, he put in two master cylinders, bled the system and replaced the ABS hydraulic unit. It still did the same thing. I put it on the lift and adjusted the rear brakes.

The brake pedal got as hard as a 20 year old on Viagra, charged him $10.00 for the adjustment and he was stunned when he realized he spent a couple of grand to fix a $10.00 problem.

My advice to you, have your mechanic adjust the rear brakes and I think that will solve the problem.