I need help w/ my brakes...

Yesterday I changed out the passenger side rear caliper after I had found out that it had been hung up and wore the pads down to where it was metal on metal. So I also changed the rotor on that side and obviously pads on both sides. Everything installed w/ out any problems. I bled the brakes on all 4 corners starting with the farthest point working towards the driver side front.

After I was done with all of that I drove the truck to see how well the they worked. This is where the problem starts. The brake pedal was extremely soft and would go all the way to the floor. So went back to the house and bled them again thinking I had air in the lines. By the way the brakes were perfectly fine before I did this work. The only problem was the caliper sticking and the pads on the one side being worn down to the metal.

I have now bled the brakes 4 times. I have gone through a gallon of brake fluid doing this and I am not getting any air bubbles out when I bleed them.

Has anyone had any experiences similar to what I have going on?

Any insight/help would be appreciated.


Thanks,

Ben


PS: The auto store sold me DOT3 Brake Fluid after we looked it up in there system. After doing some searching on here about my problem I have found that guys are using DOT4. Is this a concern?

 

I had trouble with my brakes dragging last spring on my F350. Dealer installed new pads, resurfaced the rotors, replaced front left brake calipar. I got the truck back and it was not fixed same problems it was taken to the dealer for. Replaced the master cylinder and seemed to fix the problem. Back right calipar was sticking and I took it off and took it to the dealer and they looked at it and the piston collapsed and lubed it up and I guess it was fixed.

Now here is where it gets weird and hard to understand. I put the calipar back on and everything else back together. I filled the brake fluid and did not bleed the brake system. I drove it to the dealer 2 miles away from my parents house. Drove it with mushy brakes to the dealer and right in front the dealer the brake pedal was nice and firm like it self bled. Drove past and a little farther and brakes seemed okay. Told the service manager and he gave me a weird look and never heard of this ever happening. They kept the truck for a while and drove it and then bled the brakes and said no air was in brake system.

So I guess the brakes bled themselves and have been okay ever since. I personally never knew this could ever happen. Maybe try loosing the brake fluid resivor cap and pumping the brakes. I did this before taking it to the dealer but never told the dealer. I don't know if this made any difference but my story is very strange to believe but it is true.

 

How did you bleed the brakes?.if you just cracked the bleeder and let the fluid run through each caliper thats your problem. I just did calipers on a pickup and it took 5 pump-hold procedures to get the air out of each one.

 

I have done it that way just to flush out old fluid, no parts changed, and it works fine providing you don't let the master get too low.

 

You would think there would be an air void in the caliper piston doing it that way.i think the difference here is you didnt have air in yours to start with. Awful strange he has soft brakes after a caliper change.

 

Ben,

DOT3 is what came with the truck so that is not an issue.

Sounds like you cut a master cylinder cup when you were bleeding. This often happens with older trucks that have not had their brake fluid changed on a regular basis. As the moisture reaches a higher content in the brake fluid corrosion forms in the back area of the bores in the M/C where the pistons and cups never wipe the surface. So when doing a bleed and pushing the pedal to the floor, one or both cups get torn.

A new master cylinder and re-bleed should fix the issue.

 

Ya learn something new every day. How often is it recommended to change brake fluid?.

 

Yup ... brake fluid is hygroscopic so it 'absorbs' water, which is why brake lines can rust out.
I've started to do mine once a year now. I get the Supertech DOT 3 from WalMart so it's not a bank balance buster.
I suck the old fluid out of the master cylinder and then pour in new before I begin the bleed, that way all the old fluid in the reservoir doesn't have to travel to the wheel to exit.

I'm running it in my 3 vehicles with out any issues, and it is the recommended type for all 3 of them.

I also believe the master cylinder is the culprit, but just to rule out one last thing, to the OP, did the auto store give you the correct side caliper? If the bleeder valve ends up on the bottom then you can trap air. Bleeder valve should always be on top.
No offence meant to the OP if you are a seasoned wrencher, just trying to rule out all possibilities.

 

I bled the brakes using the pump and hold method w/ another person. I read where poeple have done the other method that you mentioned where they just open the bleeder and let it flow using gravity. I didn't do this b/c A. I was in a hurry and B. I just didnt feel comfprtable doing it that way.

 

Piolet,

No offense taken, I appreciate the "back to basics" approach if you will. I'm guilty of overlooking the small simple things. This time though I'm good. They did sell me the correct caliper. So all is good there.



Thanks for the info. Shortly after I started the post I thought for myself and "googled" DOT3 vs DOT4. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about brake fluid.

As for the master cylinder, I was leaning towards that being the problem. I figured I would start with cheap "fixes" first and work my way up to the master cylinder and then possibly the hydraboost. While at the auto store I got to talking to an older gentelman working behind the counter. He stated he was a Ford mechanic before he retired selling parts for a Ford dealership. This guy was very informative. I told him my dilemma and he stated to try flushing the powersteering/hydraboost system.

So, I bought a gallon of ATF and went home and got to it. What I found was that the power steering resevoir was alittle low and the fliud brown-ish. I flushed the system and filled to the correct level. Test drove the truck and had a much better pedal. However, I still feel like its not back to normal. I put about 50 city miles on it goin home today and it seemed to be better. I'm gonna drive it again tomorrow and then reassess at the end of the day. I have a good feeling though come sunday I'm gonna be replacing a master cylinder.

Thanks again for the input.

Ben

 

the flow using gravity thing i've never tried.
the pedal dance is a pain, but works, and is
how most of us do it in the driveway.

there are pressure bleeders that you can buy
pretty cheaply, or make one out of a 1 gallon
hudson sprayer.

and dot 3 fluid i like to flush everytime i do brakes.
saves the calipers and everything else from rust.