Stupid Brakes!!

[J_ho67]

So here's the deal. Yesterday I changed my rear brake pads for the first time since I bought the car. Everything went smooth, it's just brake pads afterall, and I finished the job pretty quick. So I took a break and moved my car outta the garage when I was done, and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor, absolutely no braking power whatsoever. Thinking I knew I still had to bleed the brakes, I did this, 3 times. Nothing. Finally I bled the brakes a last time and had some pedal feel, but you have to push the pedal over halfway down before you get much of anything, and when you do, it's not a whole lot. The car is drivable, but it's easy to tell that the front pads are doing all the work. The E-brake, works fine and feels just like it did before I started which I know uses the rear brakes. So what the hell is wrong with the damn car? I've done a thousand brake jobs and never have I had so much trouble with something so stupid. I've always hated working on brakes because they always turn out to be a pain in the ass. So please, before I kill someone, tell why I have no braking power or pedal at all. Thanks in advance.
:cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss::cuss:

 

[006]

Did you screw the piston in, or did you force it in?

If you forced it in, then you ****ed up your rear pistons.

Here is the proper how to:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=472242

Another question... I hope you did not open the bleeder valves to change pads did you?

 

[Un4GivN]

Well.. there's nothing I can say that 006 hasn't already. But I must ask, why the hell did you bleed the brakes for changing pads?

 

[ac427cobra]

One thing not mentioned in the link above is the fact that the "V" cutouts in the piston MUST be perfectly vertical to the caliper. These cutouts must align with the nubs on the back side of the pads.

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[PUSHA TON]

you dont have to bleed the brakes when you change the pads.

 

[J_ho67]

yeah i know I normally don't have to but it felt exactly like brakes do when they need to be bled.

 

[J_ho67]

so if you do force in the calipers the brakes are ruined then?

 

[quick01snake]

the rear brakes require a special tool that compresses the piston back in while turning it clockwise at the same time...the front pistons just compress in...

a note to add: when you compress the pistons all the way in at all four corners, when you get the job done and start up the car, you'll have to pump the brakes several times to get the pistons pushed back out against the pads...the pedal will usually go to the floor the first couple of times you try...

 

[J_ho67]

the rear brakes require a special tool that compresses the piston back in while turning it clockwise at the same time...the front pistons just compress in...

a note to add: when you compress the pistons all the way in at all four corners, when you get the job done and start up the car, you'll have to pump the brakes several times to get the pistons pushed back out against the pads...the pedal will usually go to the floor the first couple of times you try...

so if you just compress in the rear brakes, will it actually mess them up or can it be fixed?

 

[281CJ]

I"m guessing what's what you did then? lol

 

[01vert]

Compressing them witout turning them ruins the caliper, they have a thread that MUST be screwed back in to get them to retract.

Time for new calipers

 

[dec322]

Man, you must have really pushed those suckers in. I tried to change the rears on my old car without knowing to screw them and I couldn't budge them...thats when I knew I must have been doing something wrong.

 

[J_ho67]

well son of a b****. That's the thing, it really wasn't too hard to get them compressed until about the last quarter-inch. Guess I'll be buying some new ones. This is why I despise brakes.

 

[SnkBtn99]

Just for shits and giggles I would try and screw them in where they are at. You never know. If not, oh well, worth a shot.

 

[brkntrxn]

Well.. there's nothing I can say that 006 hasn't already. But I must ask, why the hell did you bleed the brakes for changing pads?

you dont have to bleed the brakes when you change the pads.

I always bleed the calipers when changing the pads on all my vehicles. You might as well get new fluid into the calipers while you are working on them. Takes all of an extra 2 minutes per wheel.


To to OP, sounds like you didn't screw in the pistons??? Take your wheels off and have someone step on the brake to see if the rear pistons are moving. If they are not, take the caliper off and see if you can get the piston to rotate. Align the notches Bruce described back up to 6 and 12 o'clock and have someone lightly press on the brake pedal. You may be able to get them moving again if they are not entirely screwed up.

If you don't have the brake tool, you can use a pair of needle nose pliers to rotate the piston.

 

[Slow95Cobra]

dang, your more of a man than me if you pressed them in.. lol.

 

[3B99SVT]

And just by way of knowledge increase (FWIW) -- the reason why the rears need to be screwed in and not the fronts is because the parking brake is integral to the rear calipers (meaning that the piston is actuated via hydraulic fluid and e-brake cable).

I don't want to sound like a know-it-all (since I'm not) -- I just think if people know the reason behind some things it will help when working on those things.

 

[99lightning_svt]

Dont feel bad i did the same dam thing! I need one right rear caliper if anyone has one for a mach!

 

[J_ho67]

yeah the first thing I thought when I realized I had screwed up is that my emergency brake wouldn't work since it used the rear calipers, but today I went and parked on a steep hill just to see, and it works as well as it ever did. Is that normal?

 

[99lightning_svt]

Ya mine dose too but it leakes break fluid out the rear of the caliper now!