trinking

iTrader: (4)

everything was fine before we started. all i wanted to do is replace my front pads now i have no brake pressure at all. if i mash the pedal to the floor while driving ill slow down to a stop. i didnt do much my buddy did most of it. step by step heres how it went: took off calipers, old pads, and shims. cleaned calipers and shims. replaced pads and assembled everything. bled the brakes for hours and still have issues. when we bleed we are getting a stream of fluid out but still no pedal pressure. we tried many different ways of bleeding(5 or 6 pushes the bleed then release,etc etc) couple questions: would putting the calipers on opposite sides cause the system to not bleed properly? is it necessary to bleed at all four ends even if i only did the front? any tips or advice would be appreciated

f550maranello2

iTrader: (2)

ur supposed to bleed all brakes.... u did open the valve while letting up on the brake pedal?

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

two things. The pads need to be broken in. (The stopping power of the pads can nearly doube once broken in depending on the pad)

and.... you probably didn;t get all the air out.

Bleed the brakes in the propper order. Right Rear, Left Front, Left Rear, Right Front. (it seems like an odd order to me too, I always thought furthest to closest... but whatever)

You should bleed them until you see nothing but clean new fluid coming out.
And you must do it propperly too. Pump the brakes once or twice, then with the pedal held down, open the bleeder (a friend to help is nice), then close it again and repeat. Don't let up on the pedal while the bleeder is open. Also it helps to tap the caliper with a hammer (lightly) and open the bleeder as you are tapping it. That helps dislodge any small bubbles stuck to the sides in the caliper.

To bed the pads in. Go somewhere with little traffic, get up to 60mph or so and slam on the brakes, (don't lock up the wheels though) and come to an almost complete stop then accelerate and repeat. If you can't get somewhere safe to do this, just drive around for a while and they should bed themselves in fine, just slower.

trinking

iTrader: (4)

no opened when pedal was down. 3dman thanks for the input. i thought it might have been a caliper issue but when i pump the brakes when the calipers arent bolted on the piston pushed out. so i pushed them back in and bolted them back onto the rotors. pumped the brakes and bled but the pedal wont build pressure. dam frustrating

buzpuck11

iTrader: (3)

Next time don't take the calipers off just to change the pads. But for now, just keep on bleeding.

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

do you have ABS?
if you do then you may need to run a full quart through the system to get all the old fluid out. I don't have ABS and I still open and close the bleeder at least a half a dozen times at each bleeder valve. Although if you just changed the pads, and never disconnected the brake lines, no air should have gotten into the system... so.. yeah...

trinking

iTrader: (4)

no i dont have abs. i did diconnect the brake lines to clean off the calipers. bad idea?

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

yeah, listen you dont need to take apart thr whole setup just to put on pads. and, i've only ever bled the front if i did the front and the back when i did the back. leave rotors on, bleed the lines a little and top off as needed. its that simple. dont make it harder than it has to be.

GoalieKeg

iTrader: (4)

Yes, if you put them on the wrong side, the bleeders will be facing down. Air rises to the top in liquid (obviously).

You do not need to bleed all four, but it is a good idea to do especially if you haven't ever bled them before. You will get better brake performance.

trinking

iTrader: (4)

well i took the calipers off to clean them. i did bleed the lines a little but still had nothing. i dropped it off at my mechanic this morning. ill let him deal with it.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

This is absolutely vital. If you don't have speed bleeders or a powerbleeder, you'll need two people working carefully together. One person applies steady pedal pressure, and the other opens the bleeder for a couple of seconds before the pedal pressure stops. Close bleeder, repeat.

Also give your calipers a couple of knocks with a hammer to loosen any air bubbles that might be stubborn about bleeding out.

Dave

trinking

iTrader: (4)

thanks for the help guys. found out my buddy put the calipers on backwards. now they work they're just spongy. guess thats a whole other issue

maximabebe

iTrader: (24)

Calipers are side specific. Bleeder valve must be on the top side of the caliper. Also, be sure to bleed all brakes starting from farthest from master cylinder working your way to the front.

mad greek

iTrader: (1)

Next time leave your buddy out of it,install a set of speed bleeders and do the job yourself.

Powerman5115

iTrader: (5)

I haven't heard of these. Are they good? I just did some research and I may get some.

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

It's a check valve. You open it up and it only lets fluid flow out, but not back in. So you just open it up, and go sit in your car and pump the brakes a few times, making sure your fluid level doesn't fall too low.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Better than speed bleeders IMHO is a power bleeder. You take the cap off your brake fluid reservoir, fill it to the top, and use the power bleeder to cover the reservoir opening. Then pump it up with pressure.

Now when you open the bleeder the fluid comes right out and won't stop until you close the bleeder. Go to all 4 corners and it's like tapping beer. Even more idiot-proof and you don't need to buy a set for every vehicle you have.

Dave