[razzledog]

Well no one can blame Kia for this. Blame the idiot (mechanic?) who replaced the rear shoes at some stage but didn't bother to radius grind the rear shoes, (or replace the wheel cylinders either)

Mysterious rubbery brake pedal was partly due to the flexing of the shoe....I mean 6mm results a huge amount of lining unable to contact the drum. To go a step further, it may have resulted in the front brakes locking up (no ABS on the early Carnivals), because of lack of surface area at the rear.

Luckily I'm an ex mechanic...but pity any poor schwabs who pay out cash for work like this.....

PS The rebuilt 2.5L motor is still running sweetly...

 

[derek c]

razzledog, from your photo it looks like two things, has the drum been skimed, but the 6mm gap looks to big, are they the right shoes to fit that drum ?

 

[razzledog]

Spongy brakes

Funny but the leading shoes on both sides are correct...only both trailing shoes radius is incorrect. I ground them (on a belt sander) to better suit the drum and the brakes have improved.

I removed the shoes and drums from a 2001 model only to find the system is different and backing plates are now needed too. Will end up replacing the whole rear system as the later shoes are much more sturdy, made of thicker material too.

Cheers.

 

[derek c]

spongy brakes

Hi razzledog, I would look for a trailing shoe for that 6mm is a hell lot of brake linning to lose, you are either going to lose the centre part of the linning which will be so thin or one leading edge that is so thin that your going to be in square one and have to change the linning very early

Take the drum and go to the scrap dealer and find the right shoe, you will get a much better brake

 

[derek c]

spongy brakes

razzledog, be carefull for some cars and trucks have a thick leading shoes and a thin trailing shoe. That gives a good brake going forwards and a poor brake going backwards

 

[razzledog]

Spongy brakes

Great... if you happen to be reversing down a steep incline.

 

[razzledog]

Finally found the REAL reason for the spongy brake pedal and lack of stopping ability. Front calipers on the early model Carnival (1999-2000) have a single piston caliper that only exerts pressure on the center sectionof the pad...bad design for sure.

From 2001 Kia upgraded to dual piston calipers..now pushing the whole pad.
Disc rotors are much chunkier too, the only catch is you must change the hubs/carriers, as the mounting points are completely different, although brake hoses are the same. With this upgrade, the vehicle stops brilliantly and makes one feel so much safer.

Forget replacing the front weheel bearings too as the taper roller bearings are not only pressed in (tightly) but bearings are quite costly and require the correct shim thickness to establish correct preload...or they will fail.
I bought good hubs with smooth running bearings for $20 each ready to go.
The operation is simple, even the brakes self bleed if you leave the bleeder nipples open for a few minutes.

I can now change hub assemblies in under half an hour, providing the CV joints aren't rusted in place...I had to get one side pressed out..it took 30 tons of push before it let go. Previous idiot must have driven through salt water with defective hub seals.

So much happier with fat discs, dual calipers and beefy pads..an improvement of 200% in braking efficiency!

Cheers...Carnival lover.

P.S My rebuilt K6 has hit the 4000 km mark and running sweetly.