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I think mushy brakes can mean a lot of things. Before changing out my pads for new textars I had 1/3 life left on my jurid pads and they felt terrible, they worked but didn't inspire the same confidence my boxster 2.7 use to when braking hard. I replaced the pads, rear rotors, fluid, and brake lines and felt like I was going to fly through the windshield when I was bedding in the new pads.
My guess is you just screwed up the bleeding and as someone else said let the fluid get too low. Get her up on all 4 and check behind the calipers for leaking, it's tough to see with the wheels on and go at it again. Also check that you didn't mess up the brake lines in the front of the car when lifting the calipers for the rotor change.
After replacing my pads and rotors I had lots of pedal pressure although I needed to pump it a few times as I had pushed the Pistons all the way in.
Before getting too worried try again, if it doesn't work then take it to your local Indy. They'll be happy to fix it.
I would double check for leaks but my guess once again is master cylinder. I have seen older style calipers suck in air but ours would be of newer design so I doubt it.
Another thing to check is the hydraulic unit. The seals can go bad in that too.
The fluid leaks down under the carpet in the front trunk. You might pull that up and check too.
I bled them the old fashioned way with a helper pumping the brakes. We got quite a bit of air out of the LF caliper (the same one we got air from the first time). The brakes seem fixed now though, Perhaps if I have the problem again in a day or two, I should suspect a bad valve?
I thought it might be a bad brake bleeder valve at the LF. I tried bleeding again this weekend, and there was no air. So far the brake pressure seems fine. Not really as firm as I would like, but less mushy than before I started.
Now my new pads (Akebono) and rotors (Sebro slotted and coated) in the rear are squealing pretty badly. Is this normal or can I bed them in to fix this. I searched and did not find a bed-in process for the rotors. I saw somewhere that Akebono pads are not supposed to need bedding. (Im not certain those were the same pads I have though) The Sebro rotors came with no instructions.
I thought it might be a bad brake bleeder valve at the LF. I tried bleeding again this weekend, and there was no air. So far the brake pressure seems fine. Not really as firm as I would like, but less mushy than before I started.
Now my new pads (Akebono) and rotors (Sebro slotted and coated) in the rear are squealing pretty badly. Is this normal or can I bed them in to fix this. I searched and did not find a bed-in process for the rotors. I saw somewhere that Akebono pads are not supposed to need bedding. (Im not certain those were the same pads I have though) The Sebro rotors came with no instructions.
When you installed your new pads, did you push the pistons all the way back so pads easily dropped in or only enough to squeeze them in? I was in the school of thought that they will self adjust. One of the old timers on Pelican told me to just leave enough space to get the new pads in. I took his advice. This completely eliminated the mushy brakes on my SC. This after I had bled them multiple times.
I have always pushed pistons in flush when doing brakes with never a problem. I would do some steady hard stops without locking up the brakes. Also if problem persist with soft brake pedal have a good shop take a look = safety.
Not sure this will work, but I think I attached some pictures.
Is this right? These pics show my front brakes. One from outside the wheel, the other from inside and just above the caliper. The pad is tilted back. The bottom of the pad is almost touching the hub, while the top of the pad is not fully contacting the rotor surface. Both front brakes are like this. The rears are not though--they are even.
It seems like the pin that holds the pads in the caliper allows for this rotation/tilting, but it doesnt seem right to me.
I have always pushed pistons in flush when doing brakes with never a problem.
And so had I. Until that one time after 30 years. The difference was this was after a rebuild. I posted a question, got a response, tried it and it worked. That's all I can say.
08-18-2015, 12:08 AM
