Question Calipers/Brakes question..

[ttechnoholic]

Just a heads up it's not my first time working on car brakes.. I have done this job in the past myself without any issues however... yesterday I worked on my car.. I painted the calipers and put everything back together... (note: calipers were never removed completely.. just removed it off the rotor and hanged it using zip ties.. right now I feel like I have air in my brake fluid system.. why ? because the pedal doesnt feel the same way, it's just a little softer than it should be... ) now my question is... How is it possible to have air in the system if I never removed the calipers? I did the same job on the bmw E36.. mk2 mr2... camry... honda.. etc.. and the brakes were fine after a few pumps the pedal gets nice and firm. (Also note that I did the front 2 calipers one day and the rear 2 another day) after the front caliper set was done on day one I drove it and the pedal was perfectly fine.. after I did the rear 2 the pedal has a soft feel) the car still brakes solid but since the pedal is softer im not sure if the car is using the rear brakes too.. any explanation for this ? I thought I should drive it a bit to see if it improves .. and it has improved by a lot .. but still not the same... has anyone experienced this issue? Did you have to bleed the brakes eventually? What's a good price to have my brakes professionally bled?
yesterday I worked on my car.. I painted the calipers and put everything back together... (note: calipers were never removed completely.. just removed it off the rotor and hanged it using zip ties.. right now I feel like I have air in my brake fluid system.. why because the pedal doesnt feel the same way, it's just a little softer than it should be... now my question is... How is it possible to have air in the system if I never removed the calipers? I did the same job on the bmw E36... and the brakes were fine after a few pumps.yesterday I worked on my car.. I painted the calipers and put everything back together... (note: calipers were never removed completely.. just removed it off the rotor and hanged it using zip ties.. right now I feel like I have air in my brake fluid system.. why because the pedal doesnt feel the same way, it's just a little softer than it should be... now my question is... How is it possible to have air in the system if I never removed the calipers? I did the same job on the bmw E36... and the brakes were fine after a few pumps..

 

[D1JL]

Bleeding brakes on this car is very easy but first.
In your first photo, the two SS pad slides should never have been painted.
These should be left clean steel and lubed to allow the pads to slide correctly.
Another thing, NEVER push the caliper pistons back without opening the bleed valve.

Bleeding.
It is best if you have all four wheels off the ground and all four wheels off the car.
You will need help for the last part of this.

Start at the furthest caliper from the master cylinder and work toward it.
Remove the master cylinder cap and make sure it is full and leave the cap off.
Place a clear plastic hose (fish tank hose) on the first bleed nipple and the other end into a bottle, do NOT reuse this fluid.
Open the bleeder and allow the fluid to flow until you see no bubbles.
This is called "Gravity Bleeding" and requires NO pushing on the break pedal.
Keep an eye on the Master and do NOT let it go empty.
When there are no bubbles at that caliper, close the valve and go to the next.
Do all four the same way, this may take about five minutes for each caliper.

With all calipers done, again fill the master and replace the cap
Now put the tube on the first caliper again.
This time with a friend in the car, start the engine and leave running.
Press and hold down the break pedal and open the valve.
Be sure to close the valve before the pedal pressure is released each time.
Do NOT pump the pedal, this only puts air in again.
You should repeat this step about three times on each caliper.
Always make sure the master does not go empty.
Do all four calipers the same way.

Your brakes should now be bled perfectly.


If you still have trouble, PM me and I will give you my number and I will help you.
I am in Canoga Park so we are very close.



Dave

 

[ttechnoholic]

Wow.. what a detailed response. Thank you Dave. Btw I don't have experience in this and I'm sure im capable of doing it myself but I think I will need to find someone who will do it for me. I'm willing to pay for the help I just want it done right. I rely on my brakes too much to cheap out on something like this lol. The pedal got a bit firmer but I still need a confirmation on whether I have air in the system or not..

 

[razorlab]

bleeding the brakes using a Motive Bleeder has saved headaches AND relationships for me in the past.

Indispensable tool and worth it's weight in gold. It allows it to be a one man job and perfect brakes every time.

Motive #0118 is the proper one for our FiSTs.

 

[D1JL]

Good tool razor but I have found that as systems become more and more complex sometimes the simple ways are best and cheaper.

ttechnoholic, as I said I am willing to help.
Also don't forget you should clean the paint off the pad slides as this could be part of your problem.
You could PM me and we can talk if you need.
As a retired ASE Master Tech, I have done this before.


As it turns out I am going to put a prototype set of front brakes on Sunday morning.




Dave

 

[razorlab]

Good tool razor but I have found that as systems become more and more complex sometimes the simple ways are best and cheaper.

Works perfect for me on my FiST. Worked perfect for me countless times on my 2005 Evo 8, my 2004 WRX, my 2013 Golf R, my 2001 Neon. Worked well on my 1990 Talon TSi, that's 24 years of different brake system hydraulic technology, from Japanese to American to German. Works perfect for me on my 2014 Evo 10 with very sophisticated sports ABS.

Overall, all hydraulic systems. Works well for all of them. Again, I've used it, by myself, at 2am before driving to a track day, 5pm on a Sunday while my significant other is doing something else she would rather be doing, 10pm on a Tuesday, when my friends had better things to do then help me bleed my brakes, 10am between sessions at Thunderhill raceway, four jacks and myself. It's been a savior to my car habit and has worked with literally everything I have thrown at it, every time, without fail. It's worked when the "simple and cheap" way has failed me multiple times.

Even worked when I had to cycle the "complex" brake system because I got air in the ABS unit, and nobody was around to help me.

We spend $30 on 17oz of brake fluid for our habit, why not spend another $75 on a bleeding system that works all the time, every time, for years?

 

[ttechnoholic]

Thank you folks; looking forward to fix this asap, driving a sport car with "1996 Corolla S" brake pedal is not a pleasant experience lol.