bureau13

Lately, I feel some "crunchiness" in my brake pedal on the first couple times I push it after starting up. As soon as I get up to speed (like, 20mph) and stop, the problem is gone. I don't know how to explain it, but there is resistance in the pedal, and it's not smooth...I can push it harder and still stop but...I've never felt it before it started up here, a couple weeks ago. I checked the brake fluid and I have plenty, although I don't know how old it is. Flushing and bleeding the system is on my list of things to do ASAP, but I don't really think that's the problem. At first I thought a decent hard stop was cleaning off the discs, but I can't see something building up on them to the point where I could feel it when it just sat overnight. Could this be vacuum-related, and once the engine has run up the RPMs it builds up the vacuum? Would that mean a leak somewhere? This has never (yet, anyway) happened after driving at anything greater than parking lot speed, even for a brief moment...yet it usually comes back any time the car has been sitting for more than an hour.

joejoe

I cannot get a feel of the 'crunhiness' you describe. On my grey '86.5 I had some warning light associated with a harder pedal. The fix for mine was a new abs relay. Kinda expensive ( for me ) but much better than the abs pump. If fluid hasn't been changed that could make a difference.

bureau13

I hope to take care of the fluid question this weekend. Fingers are crossed!

PCARUSA

Just FYI from the Stoptech website:

DOT 3 AND DOT 4 brake fluids are ether based and are hygroscopic in nature - i.e. they absorb water vapor. As the braking system in not quite airtight, a significant amount of water can be absorbed from the atmosphere in the course of a year. A 3% water content in brake fluid drops the boiling point as much as 170 degrees F. Brake fluid should be completely replaced annually.

bureau13

Annually? Wow. I thought Porsche's every two year recommendation was a little aggressive, to be honest.