New Brakes......mushy pedal

Blacklab467 · Post by **Blacklab467** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:36 pm

I just changed all the pads and rotors and cleaned and lubed the caliper pins, now my brake pedal feels mushy and goes almost to the floor and the brakes feel like they have no power. I had to depress the caliper piston to get the new pads in and I did so with the master cylinder cover off. It feels like the brake pedal wants to go to the floor with very weak braking.
I can hear the pump when I step on the brake pedal so I think that is fine. I didn't touch anything else.
I will get some DOT 4 and bleed them but this seems really odd as I didn't open the hydraulic system.
Could it be that compressing the piston and pushing fluid back in the caliper did something weird? I've done a hundred brake jobs and never had this happen! Any Ideas?
Thanks.

Post by **SuperHerman** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:49 pm

Do you have the right pads fitted? Any leaks? Did you damage any of the brake lines (I would suspect a leak). Double check your work, but it sounds like you did it right.

Thinking maybe the piston is frozen, but you should still have a firm pedal. If you have a helper have him/her push the brakes and watch for movement on both sides. Maybe pushing the piston in created an air pocket, but that doesn't make sense. Bleeding the brakes would should solve this.

What was the fluid level in the reservoir when you started and when you finished? It should have been slightly higher when you were done.

YouTube · Post by **oragex** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:50 am

Look through the wheel
.

Blacklab467 · Post by **Blacklab467** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:26 am

Yep! That 's what I did. How embarrassing! I was in a hurry yesterday doing the brakes and put one of the caliper springs on wrong.
I did find another common problem while doing the back brakes in that my emergency brake shoes delaminated and there was no friction material left on the shoes. I'll have to order some of those and install them another time. Thanks Oragex! I love this forum.

Post by **- Pete -** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 3:57 pm

If you repair your parking brake, I’d encourage you to shop for new expanders/actuators as well as shoes & springs. You should be able to get a whole kit. The expanders tend to rust to the point their hinge (which is just a rivet) seizes.

Blacklab467 · Post by **Blacklab467** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:57 pm

Ok thanks for that, I'm going to order them tomorrow and I'll find a kit. Be nice to get that working again. Next week is the Haldex pump and filter and if the DEM is good, I'll be out of things to fix on this car!

Post by **- Pete -** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:28 pm

There’s always something to fix