ok let me give you some background info so you see where i am.

first off, i blew an old back brake line on my hatch (rear discs), when replacing this line the hardline that the rubber line connects on to broke at the end, i bought a pipe flaring tool but the pipe keeps splitting.. anyway i decided to call it a day for today and just cut a small section off the end of the hardline with wire cutters (which also at the same time pinched the end of the steel hardline together), i put a little fluid in and checked it wasnt squirting out of the pinch and it doesnt so in a nutshell atm i have 2 working front brakes and 1 working back brake.

now... thing is i was bleeding the hell out of the system because it was previously leaking fluid everywhere and couldnt hold any so it got very low (so low the light came on in the dash). now, i bled the air out and the brakes will damn near put me thru the front window but the pedal feels a bit stiff. i dont know if it is actually too stiff or if thats just me being used to a soggy *** brake pedal for a few days. i tried planting the brakes from 20mph, 30mph, 40mph (its wet out) and it locks up when i stomp on the pedal (like an "oh **** im gonna die stomp") with the car out of gear it locks up pretty easy, do the same in gear and it still locks a bit but not too much (imo) the front tyres were at 33psi when i did all this, i lowered them down to 25psi and it doesnt lock up as easy. to me the brakes feel better than when i got the car before it blew the back line.

how much pedal travel should i be getting? if it is indeed too stiff then how do i soften the pedal? the fluid is brand new dot 4. this is more of a question than a need to know as i havent finished working on the car so once all is back to normal ill have to bleed the brakes again. just want to know how to tell or how to get the pedal feel just right.

 

BUMP

 

I don't remember off hand what kind of pedal deflection should be within "spec", but it should tell you in a helms manual. A good way to tell if there's anything wrong with the system is to shut the car off, wait about a minute and repeatedly step on the brake, it should stiffen. Then hold the brake down as you're starting the car, it should go back down slightly. This is how tell if your booster is working properly. You can also check how far the pedal drops when you push it down all the way. If it travels to the firewall, there's air in your system (although you say they feel firm so this probably isn't the case). It also could be that you're not used to firmer brakes after bleeding the system though, our generation Hondas have a reputation for mushy brakes .

 

well they are anything but mushy now lol

i already tried starting the car while pressing the brakes. they do soften but not a ton. theres roughly 3 inches of pedal travel when i stomp on it. i took the car for a little run lastnight and they seem fine i think i was just used to the soggy pedal lol the pedal sits just about right for heel toe anyway..