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  #1  
Old 03-05-2013, 11:32 AM
kjoyes kjoyes is offline
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below freezing, braking problems.

I live in the Midwest and in the winter when my car is parked outside for overnight or for a long period the brake pedal is really hard to push in.
This is dangerous because I have to use all my body weight to get my to stop. but when my car warms up the problem goes away.
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Old 03-05-2013, 12:58 PM
Blacky Blacky is offline
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

That's a common problem with 90's Outbacks. It's a valve in the master cylinder I believe. I'm not sure what the cure is.
Is your brake fluid old? Brake fluid is hygroscopic. It absorbs water from the air. If it's very old there may be enough water in it to begin to cause icing problems.
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Old 03-05-2013, 01:00 PM
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

I experienced this a couple winters ago but not this winter, which has been pretty cold. Some people hypothesized that it was the ceramic pads that needed to warm up.
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Old 03-05-2013, 05:25 PM
kjoyes kjoyes is offline
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

The brake fluid is old probably the fluid from the factory.
so i called Tire Plus for brake fluid change 70 bucks. I do it my self so i can save me some money what is the wheel sequence that you do the fluid change.

Last edited by kjoyes; 03-05-2013 at 05:29 PM.
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Old 03-05-2013, 06:00 PM
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

Remove the wheels, open all four bleed screws, remove the brake fluid cap and fill up as required. Close each corner as clean fluid starts coming out. On modern 4-channel ABS cars there's really no order to bleed the brakes in, since they're all independent after the ABS pump. Just get a helper into the car and give each corner a few strokes to make sure no air snuck in.

ATE Super Blue makes it really easy to tell when you've fully flushed the system because as the name implies, the fluid is blue. When you see the colour change, all done.

Given that it improves as the car warms up, I'm wondering if maybe there's a moisture issue in the brake booster or the vacuum line from the manifold. Is it the pedal firmness that changes or the "grabiness" of the brake pads?
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Old 03-05-2013, 06:19 PM
kjoyes kjoyes is offline
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

brake pedal gets really stiff, cause the pad not to bit against the rotors so a little bit of both. I think the problem is before the caliper.

Last edited by kjoyes; 03-05-2013 at 08:06 PM.
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Old 03-05-2013, 09:51 PM
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Re: below freezing, braking problems.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot View Post
Given that it improves as the car warms up, I'm wondering if maybe there's a moisture issue in the brake booster or the vacuum line from the manifold. Is it the pedal firmness that changes or the "grabiness" of the brake pads?
This is a common problem, I expect that the check valve in the line to the brake booster gets moisture in it and freezes. This means you do not get any vacuum assist when you apply the brake. I always apply the brake hard before I move the car to make sure that the pedal moves. The brake will be very hard and hardly move at all when you apply it. Once it moves you good to go. I have experienced this on both SVX, 90 Legacy, and 01 Outback. Expect Subaru must have made so changes as I have yet to experience this on my 09 Legacy Spec B.
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