Slykin Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) Ok, so I've had a rear caliper(passenger side) leaking for months now. There were no symptoms of it as far as pedal feel, but it leaked like crazy. Well, the other day I got a reman caliper from O'Reilly's and switched em out. I then did a full brake bleed, making sure no air bubbles were coming out and that it was nice and clear. The problem now is that my brake pedal is REALLY spongy and my e-brake is almost completely useless(even more so than usual). I'm just not convinced that it isn't bled good enough... I've done it 3 times at that one particular caliper and once on all of them. Also worth mentioning, I can grab the caliper and slide it "in and out" with my hand. It's almost as if the piston isn't putting enough pressure on the pads at rest. Once the brake pedal is pressed though, it will clamp down fine. Not sure where to go with this anymore. It almost seems as if the caliper isn't self adjusting. Edited October 14, 2013 by Slykin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTurbo 98 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Just to clarify, you are bleeding the calibers farthest from the master cylinder first and working your way back to the master cylinder, right?....passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front and driver front in that order? Making sure to keep the reservoir full? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slykin Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Yep. It IS possible I let the MC get too low, but if I did I wasn't aware of it. Is it possible to bleed the MC with it still in the car somehow? Also, I did this with the front end going downhill if that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTurbo 98 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 What method are you using? I would try it one more time with the car level if you can and make sure to keep fluid in the reservoir. I would just bleed the heck out if it and make sure all of the fluid is new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slykin Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 What method are you using? I would try it one more time with the car level if you can and make sure to keep fluid in the reservoir. I would just bleed the heck out if it and make sure all of the fluid is new.I had my buddy pump the brakes and hold, then i'd let some fluid out, tighten bleeder, repeat. I pretty much bled the heck out of it but not on level ground. I'll try that tomorrow if it's not raining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTurbo 98 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Cool just make sure you keep fluid in the reservoir. It wouldn't hurt to have another buddy help out by adding fluid while you two are pumping/bleeding to make things easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRoush Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 or buy some speed bleeders to make the process even easier this being said, if your brakes aren't working with the mechanical e-brake either, then there's issue with the caliper itself IMO. The auto-part store reman's are a hit or miss, so it's likely to be a bad caliper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det_Riot Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) Did you cycle the ebrake a bunch to get the piston out to the right spot? Posted via Topify using Android Edited October 13, 2013 by Det_Riot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revhead347 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Sometimes old master cylinders just don't bleed well. Remember to disconnect the battery when you bleed the brakes to keep the abs from skipping. Changing the master cylinder usually fixes the problem. A power bleeder always helps.http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mvp-0090?seid=srese1&gclid=COHLjOTvk7oCFUdo7Aod5xIA4wKurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slykin Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 or buy some speed bleeders to make the process even easier this being said, if your brakes aren't working with the mechanical e-brake either, then there's issue with the caliper itself IMO. The auto-part store reman's are a hit or miss, so it's likely to be a bad caliper.I hope not... though I guess that's better than a bad MC. Calipers are pretty easy stuff. Did you cycle the ebrake a bunch to get the piston out to the right spot? Posted via Topify using AndroidI did, but using the E-Brake doesn't do anything. I was assuming it was because there was somehow air still in the caliper and the E-brake wasn't pushing on the caliper far enough to engage the piston. The piston moves with the brake pedal movement, but only near the floor.Sometimes old master cylinders just don't bleed well. Remember to disconnect the battery when you bleed the brakes to keep the abs from skipping. Changing the master cylinder usually fixes the problem. A power bleeder always helps.http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mvp-0090?seid=srese1&gclid=COHLjOTvk7oCFUdo7Aod5xIA4wKurtI sure hope it's not that, but I guess if it is i'll get myself my Cobra MC i've been needing. As far as the ABS, mine doesn't even work, so it shouldn't be that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revhead347 Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 If the ABS doesn't work, and you don't want it, I would just get rid of it. If you want a Cobra master cylinder, I would recommend getting that and giving it a try. Don't forget to bench bleed the master cylinder.Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slykin Posted October 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Ok, so I finally got it figured out today. Leveling the car did the trick. I got a big nice air bubble out of the caliper with the first turn of the bleeder screw that fixed it.LESSON LEARNED: Don't bleed your brakes with the ass way up in the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det_Riot Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Yayy! Congrats Trav! Love the feeling when you can cross something off the list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slykin Posted October 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 Yayy! Congrats Trav! Love the feeling when you can cross something off the listYessir. Plus I threw some Hawk HPS pads on the front to replace the rattling $15 pads... talk about a major difference. Hawk HPS FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRoush Posted October 14, 2013 Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 glad to hear it's fixed bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
