Brakes, what is going on with my pathy?

[Freyspath]

Alrighty Nico guys, I need to pick you brain for an answer to this mysterious problem im having.

Ever since I got my pathy back in October of 09, my brakes haven't been at there best. My mechanic that looked it over when I bought the car said that I had about 1-2k on my brakes before they needed replacement. That was at 80k, now im at 85, and my problem is really getting on my nerves.

Here are my symptoms:- Brake pedal has a good amount of travel. - Finally when I push the pedal to where the pads and rotors meet, the front end dips, so it feels like my rear brakes are shot.. - When I brake, my front brakes sometimes make a squeak...

Now, I have taken my car several times to shops to get my brakes looked at. Everytime they look at them they said my rotors and pads were fine, pads have a lot of life on them, and my rotors weren't at minimum specs. They also said my rear drums and shoes were fine. All they needed was a service. That service consisted of them sraying brake cleaner all over the inside of them, and then adjusting the "star screw" to make them expand out more. When they were all done inspecting it, they all drove it around the block and said "it was fine".

So, I decided this is ridiculous, 3 shops cant tell me what is going on, so I took matters into my own hands, and decided to inspect them myself. I took the front tires off and looked at the front brake system. Pads had A LOT of meat on them, and rotors weren't warped, or worn unevenly. The brake lines were fine, no leaks or cracks. So then I looked at the rear.. Drums were good, and shoes were around 40% of life remaining. I then proceeded to think it was air in the line, so I had it bleed and flushed.

After that guess what?!? THE PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE! I have 3 pathfinders, the two older ones both have very sensitive pedals which dont have a lot of travel in them, and when they brake they don't dip the front end, or require a lot of braking distance in order to come to a nice smooth stop.

What could this be? Only thing I can think of is maybe the brake booster?? or ABS system? The odd thing is I dont get ABS lights or BRAKE lights going off in my dash and my CEL or SES aren't on, and no codes are stored.

Ideas?? Comments? Concerns?? All are welcome

[Pwnin O'Brien]

I think you've just gotten used to driving your Pathfinder. When you first got it the brake pedal probably felt touchy and felt like it would stop the car really well, and over time that feeling has decreased. The brake setup (discs in front, drums in rear) inherently causes the vehicle to dip in the front when braking. Also, basic laws of inertia will tell you that the vehicle will dip in the front of any vehicle when coming to an abrupt stop. My pedal also has a decent amount of travel when pressing the brake, it doesn't touch the floor when braking but the vehicles doesn't come to a complete stop with an inch of pedal travel.

If you want to stiffen the brake pedal, you can purchase/install stainless steel brake hoses, that will give some more stiffness to the pedal. Other than that, I think you may be overanalyzing it.

[Freyspath]

Id love to say its just me getting used to the car, but I dont just drive that car. When im home, I take the 330ci out or my moms car, aka my old Audi and the pedals on those are much more responsive. Even my 1999 R50 I have has a more touchy pedal, than mine, and brakes more evenly. When I come to a stop, and I dont give myself like 50ft of light braking, it looks like I am slamming on the brakes in the eyes of others, because my pathy will have a big nose dive.. not just the usual dip suv's have when braking...

[alexf20c]

sounds like your shocks/struts, not your brakes.

[Pwnin O'Brien]

^ What he said