brake problem..

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eg6sir

Supa Mod
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ok.. i changed my brakes today and my brakes feels really soft... worse than before i changed them... i know how to change brakes so i know i did it right, i just dont know what would cause this.. maybe i forgot to do something.. please help
 
give them a little time to seat properly. New pads on new/resurfaced rotors will take a little time to "break in". this is amplified a bit when doing all four wheels at once.

After about a week, look at the rotors and check to see if the pads are making contact all the way around. if you have rusty surfaces anywhere on the rotor faces you need to see why the pad hasn't seated properly. Could be due to improper re-installation.
 
i took out the old ones.. put the new ones in.. bolted everything up..

it stops.. i just have alot of pedal travel..
 
Once the pads are hitting the disks firmly (as opposed to hitting with pad edges or corners) the pedal should firm up. Or he could have blown a MC seal. who knows.
 
i'll probably run by my mechanics house tomorrow sometime to see what he thinks.. hes a friend of mine..
 
Clamp off all 4 of your brake lines at the wheel ends and press the pedal. If it is still soft, you have a leak somewhere between the MC and the clamps or the MC is bad. +1 on the pads taking time to seat.
 
GSRCIVICTN said:
Clamp off all 4 of your brake lines at the wheel ends and press the pedal. If it is still soft, you have a leak somewhere between the MC and the clamps or the MC is bad. +1 on the pads taking time to seat.
i guess i'll drive on them for a few days and see if they get better.. if not.. i dunno then.. i'll just have to get them checked out..
 
ok.. i changed my brakes today and my brakes feels really soft... worse than before i changed them... i know how to change brakes so i know i did it right, i just dont know what would cause this.. maybe i forgot to do something.. please help

lol, you crack me up
some questions... what kind of car with what brakes?
disc/drum?
did you clean the discs/drums if you replaced them?
 
its a 94 VX with stock brakes.. i just changed the pads.. i didnt mess with anything else, so i dont know where i went wrong.. hell i've changed my brakes in the dark with an orange streetlight only.. and they came out fine..
 
like-kind = the same brand or same performance specs...

lets say you went from some EBC green stuff pads, to duralast gold pads...
this could cause you to think something is wrong with your brakes...

know what i mean?
do you know what kind of pads were on it before?
 
while sitting still with the car idling, if you pump your brake pedal, and then apply constant pressure, does it drop?
 
ok.. when i pump my brakes when the car is off.. it gets firm.. start the car and the pedal drops..
while the car is on, just idling.. i pump the brakes and the apply pressure and it does nothing.. it almost feels like the pedal is going to the floor...
 
its a 94 VX with stock brakes.. i just changed the pads..

i bled the brakes.. alot.. then refilled the brake fluid..
why were you bleeding the brakes if all you did was change pads?
how did you bleed them?
did the master ever run low/out of fluid?

sounds to me like you have air in your line/lines...

ok.. when i pump my brakes when the car is off.. it gets firm.. start the car and the pedal drops..
this is from the vacuum your motor creates...
while the car is on, just idling.. i pump the brakes and the apply pressure and it does nothing.. it almost feels like the pedal is going to the floor...
wait... it does nothing? but it feels like its going to the floor?
either it doesn;t drop, or it does? which is it?
 
my brakes work when i really step on them... but it seems as if they dont engage until the pedal has traveled a bit..

reckedracing said:
why were you bleeding the brakes if all you did was change pads?
how did you bleed them?

well.. the nut on the back of the caliper.. i loosen'd it to get the caliper back over the pads

and yes the master was at the low level before i put more fluid in..

wait... it does nothing? but it feels like its going to the floor?
either it doesn;t drop, or it does? which is it?
when i say nothing, i mean the pedal doesnt stiffen .. it goes for the floor..
 
holy christ man, are you crazy?

well.. the nut on the back of the caliper.. i loosen'd it to get the caliper back over the pads

and yes the master was at the low level before i put more fluid in..
you can just push in the caliper with either big pliers, or a c clamp
i use big pliers as its much faster

you have air in your lines bub...
did the master go to the "low line" or was it dry?
if you let the master get that low then thats where the air entered, so it needs to work its way all the way to your bleeders to get out of the system...

start with the furthest wheel and bleed, bleed and bleed some more...
pump pump pump, hold pressure on the pedal, crack the bleeder, pedal drops to the floor, then tighten the bleeder before releasing the pedal or it will suck air back in...

keep your car level, preferably with jack stands...

or get one of those fancy vacuum bleeder deals, like 30-40 bucks at sears i think...
i bought one but have never used it yet
 
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