HELP with BRAKES!

Tex Star Detail

Tex Star Detail

Formerly TexasTB
So I am stumped. I have never had a problem changing brakes, ever. My buddy comes over today with his 06 nissan frontier 4wd. Bought some new pads for all four corners and new cross drilled and slotted rotors for all around as well. The brakes I pulled off were pretty much new, both rotors and pads, with hardly ANY wear on them. Pulled the front rotors and pads, replace rotors. The pistons on the calipers needed to be pushed back a tad to let the new pads slide over the new rotors. I had to push them back maybe 2-3 millimeters at most. I took the brake fluid cap off, for when I push the pistons in, the fluid will rise. I bought one of those brake caliper piston pusher things years ago to do all of my brakes. Get the front all buttoned up and do the rears, same thing, fairly easy. Check the fluid level, all is good. Put the cap back on. Pump the brakes a dozen time to stiffen the pedal, and it's soft. Do an oil change, pull the truck out of the garage, and the brakes are soft still.
Drive down the road, they stop, but again, very soft. I'm stumped. So I decided to bleed all four corners, nothing. Then I bled the master cylinder, still nothing. I'm clueless.:(:(

I did not feel what his brakes felt like before the change, as I wish I did. He said he wasn't sure if they were soft before or not.:gotcha:

The pads and rotors were the same thickness as the old ones. Everything was the same size, width and diameter.

So, anyone have any clues?:inspector:
:thanks
 
Tex Star Detail said:
So I am stumped. I have never had a problem changing brakes, ever. My buddy comes over today with his 06 nissan frontier 4wd. Bought some new pads for all four corners and new cross drilled and slotted rotors for all around as well. The brakes I pulled off were pretty much new, both rotors and pads, with hardly ANY wear on them. Pulled the front rotors and pads, replace rotors. The pistons on the calipers needed to be pushed back a tad to let the new pads slide over the new rotors. I had to push them back maybe 2-3 millimeters at most. I took the brake fluid cap off, for when I push the pistons in, the fluid will rise. I bought one of those brake caliper piston pusher things years ago to do all of my brakes. Get the front all buttoned up and do the rears, same thing, fairly easy. Check the fluid level, all is good. Put the cap back on. Pump the brakes a dozen time to stiffen the pedal, and it's soft. Do an oil change, pull the truck out of the garage, and the brakes are soft still.
Drive down the road, they stop, but again, very soft. I'm stumped. So I decided to bleed all four corners, nothing. Then I bled the master cylinder, still nothing. I'm clueless.:(:(

I did not feel what his brakes felt like before the change, as I wish I did. He said he wasn't sure if they were soft before or not.:gotcha:

The pads and rotors were the same thickness as the old ones. Everything was the same size, width and diameter.

So, anyone have any clues?:inspector:
:thanks
Click to expand...
My guess is that he had a soft pedal before you worked on it.
Sometimes it is hard to bleed ABS system I would try bleeding again sounds like air in the system.
 
He's going to try to find a brake place open tomorrow to diagnose it for free. I took it to a shop I do business with down the road, but they couldn't get to it before they closed today....
 
may be try cross bleeding the brakes also check and make sure brake fluid is not mixed with oil/or power dteering fluid just had buddys kid put in power steering fluid in master cylinder
 
So, he wanted to change the brake fluid out anyways. Would a shop pressure bleeding the system fix the air issue, if there is even air in the system? And what would something like that, on average (ballpark) run?
 
It could just be a case of the new brakes not "seating in" It can take several miles... I bought a new motorcycle and I thought the brakes weren't working. It was just a matter of them seating in.

You should also avoid sudden stops. Treat them gentle for the first couple hundred miles!!
 
Modern braking systemsneed to be bled differently than many of us were taught. You don't always go right rear, left rear, right front, left front. The systems are now set up so that one left and one right brake (diagonal usually) go on each chamber. GM A-bodies from 82-96 for example, are like this. And that's why so many of those cars have a) soft pedals, b) need master cylinder replacements, and c) end up in the junkyard.
 
JaredPointer said:
:gotcha:
Click to expand...

1988 Century, bought for $275 at 217K, drove to 231K, sold for $550, subsequent owner traded it a year later for a 1991 Civic which threw its timing belt within a month.

1989 Century, bought for $250 at 229K, drove to 238K, impounded by city because I had a badly signed title and couldn't register it.

1987 Celebrity, bought for $132.50, this one was junk with no brakes when I got it but I drove it with no brakes from Indiana to Texas and it served as a good storage unit while I drove cabs.

1989 Celebrity, bought for $400, drove it for about a year and the dealer never gave me a title, I had to scrap it because I couldn't get tags.

1989 Ciera, bought for $172.50, oil pump failed, scrapped it

1995 Century, parents bought new, ran it to 224K, gave it to me, I hit 270K and traded it for a minivan.

1989 Celebrity, bought for $300, I blew the head gasket and scrapped it when I bought an Intrepid to replace it.

Good. Cheap. Disposable. Cars.
 
I always thought you should open the bleeder valve on the caliper instead of opening the filler cap. Then you aren't pushing the crappy fluid back into the master cylinder
 
G.T.Subie said:
I always thought you should open the bleeder valve on the caliper instead of opening the filler cap. Then you aren't pushing the crappy fluid back into the master cylinder
Click to expand...
That is how I do it also makes it easier than trying to push it all the way back to master cylinder.
 
He had the brakes bled and the fluid changed. Said there was a little air in there. Said the brakes feel a little better, but still a tad soft. :)
 
Tex Star Detail said:
He had the brakes bled and the fluid changed. Said there was a little air in there. Said the brakes feel a little better, but still a tad soft. :)
Click to expand...
Some new pads do feel soft but if he beds them they will be ok.
Glad they got the air out I was sure that was what it was air is the only thing that can cause a spongy pedal.
 
Doing my brakes next. Only, I am doing brake lines, rotors, calipers, and pads, along with idler arms, tie rods(inner/outer), center link bar, ball joints (upper and lower), wheel bearings, and whatever else I can think of while tearing everything apart.. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top