I have to press very hard to get the brakes to work. If i pump the brake pedal the brakes seem to work better for that application, but I still have to press very hard on the pedal to get the brakes to work. The pedal also goes along way to the floor. I have bleed the brakes at all four wheels and the rear shoes are new.

Your better off going by the feel of the pedal rather than measurements. Try this. With the engine off and the brake system cold remove the key from the ignition and pump the brake pedal. it should get progressively harder and your foot travels a shorter and shorter distance until its too hard to press.
Press and hold the brake pedal hard down then start the engine. You should feel the pedal soften, that's the vacuum inside the brake booster kicking in.
Release the pedal and again press it hard down, holding it there. The pedal should feel firm and not change. Release and repeat to make sure.
If the pedal has no resistance check your work as there is no pressure in the system. If the pedal is soft or spongey re-bleed the system starting with the calliper furthest away from the reservoir.

Check the boost pump behind the brake master cylinder. Pump brake pedal til hard, maintain pressure. Start truck. Pedal should drop about inch or two. More boost pump bad. Disconnect and plug the hose going to boost pump. , Press brake, Start truck. Should be super hard. Change boost pump

no country stated, no car stated.
no engine stated, petrol or diesel.
below is my wild and useless guess ,its petrol.
Power assist brakes work off a base of manual brakes.
my wild guess 2 is KB truck, in Africa

this next line means with booster off line
(hose plugged, and pulled)
do the base manual brakes work or not.??????????????
this is first. and a big safety issue.
is this hard to understand.?
is this your first brake job?
how the manuals work 101:
using up to 100 lbs of (man) force on the brake pedal; can get you 600 psi force at the rear of the mc, (and 4 time more at front calipers)
the pedal is 6:1 ratio, (approx)
the MC piston to the slaves (ratio) the front caliper pistons are huge (4:1), and 6x4=24:1 total . 24x100 is 2400 lbs, from you foot to pads.
the cars stops great like this.
assist only lighten the pedal load, needed.
allows 50 lb girl to drive car, or my pet chimp.
or old skinny grand ma , to church...

these facts are why the brakes still work in manual mode.
The stopping distance does not decrease with boost.
(granny excepted) one could call this granny assist.
see, in a shop full of men we can stop the car
fast and same low distance.
my guess is your post is about assist only.
not brakes dragging
not braKES WEAK.


assist is a whole other set of issues, if only assist fails....see?

This is most dangerous for you. I think that your power brake boost has failed, possibly due to a split vacuum hose. You can test this...
With the engine off, pump the brake pedal hard a few times. Then press down hard on the pedal and start the engine. You should feel the pedal sink perceptibly under your foot.
If this seems OK then your brake pads may be down to the metal on one or more wheels even though you here no noise. Remove the front wheels and have a look, as on p22 here (a later model).

http://www.turboninjas.com/camry/br.pdf

If the pedal feels spongy underfoot, and you can get better brakes by pumping the pedal vigorously, then there is air in the brake system, and it will need to be bled, as on p9

The air seeping is a dead giveaway. Your power brakes are now manual brakes, but stiffer. The diaphram in the brake booster has torn and the hissing noise is the engine vacuum escaping (you hear it louder when you depress the pedal right?). Replace the booster and you will be fine. The brake lights probably don't work because you can't push the pedal down far enought to release the switch. Please rate. Thanks.

the booster is the problem, or a hole or leak in vacuum line to booster check the check valve also ! from manifold. heres the symtoms of a bad brake booster. primary symtom is a hard pedal on application, to test booster. pump brakes several times with engine off. to deplete stored vacuum. turn on engine with pushing slightly on brake pedal. you should feel the pedal fade away abit and then become firm. but not hard. if you feel nothing at pedal when engine starts, brake booster is not working! check the vacuum lines first!!

abs module may be bad if brakes are being applied or the pump is oscillating without pressing the brake pedal.

My 2008 Landcruiser has the same problem. I am concerned the long travel delays brake action and could be dangerous. I have raised it with the dealer 3 times, paying for a brake fluid change the second time but did not help. Third time the dealer told me he test drove new 2010 vehicle and the brakes "felt the same". DaveA

When was the last time you changed the front brake pads?
Try this:
Keep the brake pedal pressed down and start the car, after it idles for about 10 second let go of the pedal. If the light comes on just as you leave the pedal - try pumping it a few times, turn the car off and pump the pedal some more until it becomes real hard.
Then, keeping your foot to the pedal, start the car.
Idle for about 10 seconds, let go of the pedal and press it again rel fast.
If the light doesnt come on again - it means you have a leak of some sort or that the main brake pump should be replaced.

Good luck.

after fitting new brake pads you must "bed them in"
by doing a few high speed brake applications of medium to hard brake applications
say 80 km/h hit the brakes down to 40km/h giving a pause in between to let brakes cool down again
if pedal feels spongy or you have to pump pedal up to get a high brake pedal you might have air in brake lines
you should allways bleed brakes after replacement incase of air ingress into system