Hey Orgers.

On my '03 6SPD I just replaced all 4 rotors and all 4 sets of brakes w/ the following:

Axxis Deluxe Plus Pads
RTP Zinc Plated and Slotted Rotors

I had the work done by a local moonlighter that a friend recommended. This was the first job he's done for me.

When i bought the car, i thought the braking was a bit soft and i would need new brakes/rotors soon. 6 months later i finally bit the bullet and got a new setup from Jason from RTP on the .org (Thanks Jason). The week before i got them replaced, my rears were squealin bigtime.


So it's been 2 weeks now with almost 3k on the brakes, and i'm convinced now that something just isnt right. I was hoping that droppin a few hundred in new stuff and pro installation that I would get some BITE when i brake. But they're just as soft as before the replacement.

Could it be the parts or the mechanics install? Or could it be something like brake fluid or them not being bed in properly. He said he took the car for a spin to check them out, and his recommendation for "Braking in the brakes" was to just drive normal and that there would be some noise until they're broken in. They did make a bit of noise and sort of shake when braking quick, but that's all gone now.

Any ideas?

PS - probably unrelated, but i've been growingly concerned about some light metallic/grinding feedback coming from the gas pedal when accelerating. I never had it before and it seems like my cars performance has been compromised slightly....she's just not the same, no low end torque and i cant get off the line very quick at all..

 

did you bleed the brake lines? sounds like air in the lines.

 

That doesnt sound like a very professional installation to me..... Yeah, you should hear a little noise because of the brand-new pads, they're making a little contact with the rotors untill it wears the pads a couple mm.

Your soft braking problem though, that sounds like air in the system, or bad brake fluid. If he bled the brakes by himself, that is def. the problem, it's a two-man job. Check the fluid level, and ask him about the brake fluid. Also, if it was old brake fluid, that will compromise your brake hydrolics because brake fluid is well known as being a hygroscopic fluid (or hydrophilic, whatever you prefer), it will literally suck the moisture out of the air, thus, having water in the hydrolic system; which is not good. You can bring your car to a shop, and have the brakes bled properly, and all fluid exchanged. That is what I would do.

 

that's why... Powerslots and HPS.....

 

interesting. I think that's going to be my best/cheapest bet, and it's probably not a bad idea to do that anyways. I doubt he put in new brake fluid and he def. did the job by himself. He seemed like a trustworthy and honest guy, so i have little doubt he shortcutted the job at all. He even said he spent 15 minutes cleaning the crap out of the parts with brake cleaner before even getting started..so.

I'm gunna go get a fluid change and see if that helps. I'll keep ya posted. Thanks again for your quick and informative replies.

 

And also the "proper" way to burnish or brake in the pads in the 30-30-30 method. Which sucks to do. 30mph hit the brakes firmly but not hard coming to a stop, wait 30 seconds and repeat 30 times.Trying to keep the pads in the right temperature zone but not to hot. Heat up the pads to hot to fast and it will ruin the pads performance. I'd say maybe a 25% loss if I remember right, it will still stop and the average person won't notice much but every little bit helps. My shortcut to the 30-30-30 sometime cause of traffic is to do about 50 and hit the brakes while still on the gas for maybe 3-4 seconds then wait about 25 seconds and do it again. I really have no clue how close it is but seems to be similar and alot easier.

 

Definitely bleed the system. Do about five 40-10 mph medium stops and then do a few higher speed ones like 60-80 mph to 10. Drive around for about 10 mins (preferably on the highway) and let the car cool down for awhile. That should conclude your bedding. If you want to firm up the brake feel, maybe get some SS lines.

 

I feel like it's a little late for the bedding process, but i could be wrong. What i did when i got my car back was drive on the highway up to 60 or so then down to 20 with medium-hard stops, about 4 times in a row. the brakes seem pretty smooth, it just doesnt feel like i'm getting enough pressure to the pads, which would confirm all the other guys posts about bad fluid and/or air/moisture in the system.

One other thing to note that's probably important that i noticed last night. When braking (hard or soft) i notice a hesitation in the grip. I hit the brakes and for 1/2 second the car starts to slow down then it skips and grips again. Does that also point to moisture/air in the lines? It seems to make sense to me.

 

Checked around for Brake Fluid Flush, Bleed and Refill and they ranged from $39 to $79. One garage wanted $79 and all they do is vaccum the old stuff and refill. Bleeding was another $50!

Ok so i went w/ the $39 naturally, the guy seemed cool. He took it for a test drive and called. Said that "if you threw a dime in front of this thing it would spit back 5c in change". So, he thought it was fine and didnt need anything. I had him bleed, flush and refill the fluid anyways since my car has 70k on it.

I do notice a difference now. No hesitation in the braking and the pedal feels stiffer. He says that Maxima's just brake that way. My girlfriend's pathfinder bites so hard it's almost a bad thing, so i guess that's what i was expecting with new setup (w/o calipers).

Well, not sure it is better but it feels better and i feel better about it.

I guess i'm just a hypercardriac

peace!

 

Change your fluid. Before, I had the "soft" feel in my brakes like you had mentioned. I had air in the line that led to the front right caliper. Whenever I engaged ABS, the front left would lock and the front right would be no where near threshold. I put Dot-4 ATE blue in and the brake pressure is now even on both sides which resulted in shorter stopping distances. The brake pedal feels totally stiff now with all the air out.
When I bedded in my pads(Akebono ceramics), I went to one of my backroads and did two 60-5 stops and two 80-5 stops. The rotors were red hot and lots of gas were coming out the calipers...seemed to do the trick : D