brake problems :(

[G-rat]

well i have been brake problems for almost a week now. on saturday i installed stainless steel brake lines front and back. then i painted my calipers off the car. i put everything back on. bleed the system. brakes fee rock solid when car is off. i turn the car on and the brakes get mushy....go about half way to floor before they start to grap. if i hold them for a while then my foot will sink to the floor

i replaced the master cylinder with a rebuilt one...the brakes has no pressure at all lol...so i took that back and got a brand new mc. brakes build pressure when the car is off....as soon as i turn it on they do the same thing as before. i bench bleed the mc perfect....and bleed all four corners in order u are suppose to.

i can not figure out what the problem is.....i put the stock front brake lines on cause the ss ones where no name brand...the back are goodrich....should i put the stock lines on the back back on?...and i know its not my brake booster...i did a bunch of testes to see and that is fine

[Dina]

G bleed the brakes from the farthest from the master to the closest make sure the master never runs low on fluid you will need about 1 quart of fluid if not more I will check for sure tomorrow at work

[JPCoop]

^ what Dina said.

You only replaced you lines. How/why would your master go bad just by replacing lines

[G-rat]

the order i have been bleeding them is back passenger side. back driver side. front passenger.....front driver. i have bleed them about 8 times...fluid is always good. i am running out of ideas

i thought it could be my calipers...maby i broke the seals on the pistons when i sprayed them with brake cleaner...but that cant be cause there is no fluid leaking from the calipers...ugh

[JPCoop]

My suggestions..

Try giving your caliper a few hits with a hammer, maybe somehow air is stuck in the caliper. Hitting it will get the air bubbles to rise to the bleeder.

Clean off the calipers with brake cleaner, have someone get in the vehicle and step on the brake pedal and hold it. Then you look for any leaks at the lines, calipers, ect.

Get some line locks and isolate the problem. Pinch off a corner at a time and take it for a spin. If the problem goes away with a corner pinched off its going to be something after the pinch in the line.
If you pinched off each corner and the problem is still there look for something before the lines.

Hope it helps, and good luck

[Speedy]

brake fluid absorbs air, your brakes are going to feel mushy for a few days.

[Volume 8]

Brake fluid absorbs moisture, not air. The pedal should feel solid after bleeding, especially with SS lines. I would check for a leak somewhere, maybe one of the hardlines twisted a little or got pinched, you never know.

[G-rat]

im gonna try bench bleeding the master cylinder on the car...cause air might have gotten in from the time i took the plugs out to putting the 2 lines back in. im gonna try that tomorrow and if that doesn't worked then i am out of ideas lol

[Volume 8]

Definitely try that. The new master cylinder should have had some plastic fittings and hoses. Loop the lines into the reservoir and have someone pump the pedal while you watch for bubbles. Another way to keep air out of the system is to use a hose on the bleeder screw, run the hose into a bottle of brake fluid so that it is submerged. That way you can watch for bubbles and no air will get pulled back in.

[G-rat]

it came with just plugs...no bleeder hoses.....but i guess all i do is loosen the 2 lines a little. push the pedal down watching for air bubbles. then tighten the lines back up and then let the pedal up....do that about 5 or 6 times tell there are no air bubbles. just hope there are air bubbles cause that means i know i have some air left in my master cylinder that needs to get out

[Volume 8]

Find some small lengths of hose, it will help a lot. When they are looped into the reservoir it's impossible to suck in air because they are in the fluid.

[G-rat]

u dont think it could be the brake fluid do u?....im using dot 4. maby i should try dot 3?

[j_unit22785]

well not sure about that but i always use dot3.... isn't that factory for honda's?

no leak in the new lines?

[G-rat]

no leaks in the lines at all....when we bleed the brakes there is no air comming out at all

[j_unit22785]

strange.... that weird hope it goes good and you figure it out

[G-rat]

thanks man....i hope i can figure this out soon

[spadam]

I justuse my thumbs honestly, hold them tight over the prots in the mc while the pedal goes up, and let off a little when the pedal goes down. Put lots of rags underneath. When you use your thumbs you can feel the air in the fluid too :TU::TU:

[JPCoop]

Still mushy?

[G-rat]

they seem to work now...i just decided to go test the car out on a open road. my car stops better than it ever did before. beleive thats the knew mc cause of the brake bias.....i can heel toe fine....idk what is up.

i am gonna try bleeding the brakes and see what happens...cause whenever i bleed the brakes, the pedal never gets harder after each corner i bleed....i will let u guys know how it goes......and thanks for everyones help so far:TU:

[Volume 8]

So the pedal isn't sinking anymore? As long as it maintains pressure you should be good.

[G-rat]

no sticking anymore. just when i bleed them it doesn't really build pressure. then after i am done bleeding the pedal feels better. idk doesn't really make any sense

[G-rat]

well i figured out what was wrong with my brake. did'nt put the pads back in right lol....something so simple to fix and i couldn't figure it out tell now lol

[Speedy]

lol it happens to the best of us