Ok, his the history of my brakes.. So my my rear calipers been causing drag in the past year or so, then a few weeks ago my E-brake **** the bed. They would not returning fully to the down postion and would cause rears to stick like bad. So I thought, Well mine as well replace the Calipers with some new ones.

btw(I replaced the pads and rotors exactly this time last year with brembo and Axxis pads I bought off this site.) Anyway, Things were great last year. Now this year, my pedal started to go almost 60% down to the floor. So I was like... yah, Lets replace these rears and bleed the brakes. $150 bucks later(cheapest I could find in store at pepboys) Replaced both calipers with OEM spec Prostop and the other one happen to be a brand new nissan. not bad eh? I was kinda worried a little as first cause I wanted the same of both, but w/e

Long story short...

1st problem.

Put them in (I happen to have done brakes a lot in my life so I did them right), and bled, thats right bled ALL 4 wheels, lots of air came out(Did it the haynes manual way like I was taught in school), So it was the correct way(far from the MasterCly) with new DOT4 fluid and the pads still have like 65% life on them Lubed the postion slides up and painted my new calipers hot rod red tehehe!. Got in the car. And pedal goes almost 75% to the ground. ok, I was like WTF? What did I do wrong? I put new calipers on and bled the **** out of them with a partner. Could it be a bad MasterCly?


2nd problem...


And that is just half of it, The other is that the brakes howel viberate when I have the brake pushed in slowly while going to a stop light, but that could be just because they need to be re-bedded in again, but vibrating is weird. And my Ebrake on one side is not fully returning and the spring is trying to bring it bad. Brand new return springs. I think I know the issue though. Right were the rear control arm is, the E-brake cable tube is chafing badly in between it, Nissan was dumb to put that there. Could it be pinching it the tube??

I am kinda sick of putting all this money into the brakes. Last year. $300 for pads and rotors on this site and now new calipers this year for $150. And now possibly the Master cly?

 

FYI: 300 for pads and rotors = FTL, you got raped.

Bleed them again. Seriously.

 

on both accounts.

 

They were all 4 Brembos D/S and Axxis ceramics off this site in group deals. $300 for all... I dunno, that was a good deal at the time...


anyway, I bled the rear twice. And then the front. I checked for air( you know with tube on the bleed valve and saw not one bubble come out.) I was pressed for time because my friend had to go home, but I made sure every wheel did not have a single bubble... and I went though almost 3/4s of a huge bottle of DOT 4, that **** ant cheap.

I can't keep putting more and more in, just to "Guess" if there is more air. I am really thinking is it is the Master Cly, because this was doing this before but just not as low.

 

pedal goes to the floor = master cyl (there's an inside seal that goes bad - I've been told).
pedal vibrates while braking = warped rotors

BUT

when you change the cyl you have to make sure is bled correctly (use some tubes with valves to return the liquid in the reservoir while hitting the cyl gently with a hammer) - that should be done on a bench not on the car. Maybe you have to do the same thing with calipers ???

 

yah the pedal does not vibe. The Rotors seem fine for the most part. It just didnt do it before. the pedal goes 75% and thats were the brakes go on. and I know I bled Clys like that in school with the tubes inside and hitting it with a hammer. Pretty cool stuff.

 

One crazy idea (99% sure it's not that but it's worth trying): take it for a ride, use the brakes more than usual and see if all the wheels/brakes heat up identically.
If it goes 75% BEFORE any braking then it's not what I said (the master cyl) or at least not that seal ...

 

well, I will give it a shot. Any other thoughts?

 

Step hard on the brake pedal and keep the pressure there. If the pedal slowly goes down more it's a good chance that it's master cylinder or you have a leak somewhere.

 

nope, not that. Also, What do you think about the Ebrake cable not releasing on one side? The caliper is pulling, but the cable seems to hard for it to bring the right side back.

 

If the plastic coating of the cable have a hole in it, water could cause the cable inside to rust and get stuck or move hard. This could have been the E-brake problem before you replace the calipers.

Something you could maybe check is if the brake pads is sitting correctly in there place and moves correctly. Get someone to step on the pedal while you have the wheels off and check if the pads press flush straight away or if it press with a angle and then goes flat. That could cause more pedal travel as the caliper must push a longer distance.

For the vibration there is few thing I can think that maybe is problem. Bad rotor. Or maybe some brake fluid got onto some brake pads. That could cause noise and and maybe vibration. Had to replace brake shoes on my sister car that was almost new because the slave cylinders leaked fluid all over them.

Good luck

 

Yep, as said, master cylinder would be my guess

 

def sounds like the master cylin. also have you changed out the brake lines? i was having some brake problems..changed out the rear brake lines and calipers, both were shot. the brake lines had a small leak that i did not notice, but the rear caliper seal was leaking like a SIV. changed them out and noticed that they were better then i have ever felt them before. that might help a little.

 

I just checked my car again tonight and the Ebrake cable on one side is not releasing. IT seems like it is just not going back. One wheel is much hotter then the other. Also, there was no vibe or buzz sound before so why would there be now? I just replaced the calipers, my only guess is the shims. The shims are pretty much toast on these pads, they are crispy and very brittle. You think putting on some brake quiet seal on the back of the pads and remove the shims may be a better thing?

Also, I will probably disconnect the Ebrake cable on one wheel and just use the other. Seems like a good idea until I either figure this out or replace the whole Ebrake. btw. How hard is it to replace it on these cars?

 

it sounds like the master cylinder and the seal..i just sent my max off to the dealer and they said the master cylinder was bad so it was replaced and the brake pedal still gave in a little after they were bled..they said the seal was bad as well

 

ok, Just found out that it could be my Ebrake Cable causing that extra vibration, because I got under the car today and hit it with a small hammer until it released the cable. SO I do need a new cable.

I checked prices and they are all crazy. $75 for one side.. 1!!!... So I guess I will internet this one. Should size really matter? because when I go to Rockauto 4 its good prices and good selection on different brands. I knew about that site for 4 years and I still can't believe the prices they can keep. =]

 

try fantaticrock.....I think he has the pass side e-brake cable avail..I asked him to send me prices and how much. I needed the driverside, so he couldn't help me out.

 

After reading all the posts, I would think it is the MC also, but before I go through the trouble or expense I would do the following.

1) check for fluid leaks from the MC to each caliper.

2) Since you replaced the calipers and bleed the system make sure the bleeder screws are fully closed. Sometimes you think they cannot turn anymore but there may be a slight 1/4 turn in them that will seal them up. You need the 6 sided crescent wrenches. I think that is right I am at work. Anyway the usual 3 sided ones or sockets never seem to get enough torque to close them.

3) Make sure the brake pads are in the torque member correctly and there are no air gaps between the shims and the back of the pad, and that there are no signs of fluid leaks at each caliper seal. Sometimes new "rebuilt" calipers can be defective. You do not need to bleed new calipers off the car as someone suggested.

Finally a stuck ebrake cable will cause your brakes to wear faster, sometimes really fast, but it will not cause a spongy pedal. I would remove the cable from the caliper until you can replace it. You do not need an ebrake except for inspection in NJ.

 

In what order did you bleed the lines?



The proper order is rear right, front left, rear left, and front right.

 

I thought it was RR, LR, RF, LF?

I really don't feel like going through the FSM at the moment, so I'll default to you.

 

^yah that is what I though... Furthest from the MS and kept going... RR, LR, RF, then LF which is right next to it.

Also, I did us bleeder wrenches and I tighten them pretty good, but these scare the **** out of me like in school because they are alloy and if you turn too much they can snap with ease or be a problem turning off in the near feature. And when you snap these like I did on most fords and Chevys... haha, bye bye, New calipers...


BTW... can you believe that my rear each was $75 and that was the cheapset? yet the fronts are $33? lol what gives nissan, just because u never replace the fronts dont mean its gotta be mad cheap... why can't the rears be cheap too... lol

I am gonna take a look at them again this sat, and see what happens. I also gotta spray the front ones too, So I might do a drip bleed since I got all day....(a little trick my teacher showed me) open all 4 bleeders and put them into cups with fluid and let the whole system drain out the air and recheck it every 15mins for more fluid. If that don't work then I am **** outta of luck and need a new MS =[

 

Well I'll be damned -



Always thought it was as I stated above

 

hmm, thats weird... then again I have heard of different ways all the time, but most do begin with furthest from the MC.

 

It is the furthest. Look at the routing of the hoses @ the MC. It's not about distance, it's the order that the hoses attach to the MC. At least last time I checked was... Someone verify.
Dr J