Quote:
Originally posted by Jerry Bransford
Changed the pads in my wife's JGC Saturday (biggest PITA pad-change I've ever done) and the brake pedal went to the floor when I started the engine and stepped on the pedal. The stopping distance is also now a bit longer unless I press harder than before on the brake pedal.
Brake fluid overflowed the reservoir while pushing the pads apart to place the caliper assembly back over the rotor, as it often will. Nothing unusual there. But after test driving the Jeep, the fluid level was still up near the top as if it hadn't lost any brake fluid at all. I'd have to guess a lot more brake fluid overflowed than there is now room for in the reservoir, which indicates it's full for all intents and purposes.
Ok, I plan to get the brake lines bled & power flushed tomorrow since that's the only thing I can think of, that air must have gotten into the lines somehow. But how? The brake lines aren't leaking and I didn't disconnect any of them.
Big mystery for a guy who is just competent enough to usually be able to change brake pads/rotors without too much thought needed.
Any ideas? Thanks!
|
If you were able to get the pads over the rotors, you should have had to pump the pedal several times to move the pistons back out after the re-install.
The pads ride in light contact with the rotor during normal usage and need to be that way to work.
The master overflowed because you added fluid during the normal wear cycle of the pads. You got a bit worried and saw that it wasn't topped off or at least someone did and topped it off. The level drops as the pads wear. It normally won't drop below the minimum level and will come back up to the top when new pads are installed.
You also didn't mention whether or not you bedded the new pads on re-install. If you didn't, you need to.
The reason they worked worse initially is that as the rotor wears slightly, it gets minute grooves in it and is not perfectly flat. Bedding the brake pads will bring all of the friction material into cotact with the rotor and give the most contact.