Hi all!

 

My 96 Outback Legacy seems to require a higher amount of effort to slow down the car.  In other words I have to push harder than normal on the brake pedal.  Any ideas what could cause this and how it could be fixed?

I had a similar problem last year. It turned out to be a frozen slide pin on a front disc brake. With a frozen pin, only a portion of the brake pad had any pressure against the rotor, so I had to really push o the pedal to get it to stop.

Does it pull to one side when you press the brakes?  After you turn the car off, can you get a few pumps out of the brake pedal before it goes hard?

outbaker4214,

 

I agree with rooster2. You most likely haven't had the brake parts cleaned and lubricated in years, and the pads, caliper pistons, or slide pins have seized sufficiently in one place that you have to almost stand on the brake pedal to get any movement of the parts. Worse still are brake systems that haven't been flushed and had the brake fluid replaced in the required 4 years, as stated in the owners manual. Usually the pistons seize in the caliper (sometimes they can be cleaned up, but not always if they are pitted) requiring new calipers.

 

If the seized parts have not been allowed to remain frozen for too long, all of the parts may be able to be taken apart, cleaned, lubed and reused. If they've been ignored, the repair bill could be rather large.

 

A car with go but no stop is an accident going somewhere to happen. Good Luck!