Brake issues after caliper change

Kevinb5

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So I finally got around to changing my leaking rear caliper and got one of my mates to help me bleed it,however since fitting i have very limited braking power and my pedal goes completely to the floor.so last night I pressure bled both rears which after a while ran clear with no bubbles however,the front passanger caliper would not clear up it just kept bubbling through. Also the bleed nipple broke off the front drivers caliper.

I don't believe I could have got air into the system the first day I fitted the caliper but even after bleeding yesterday it hasn't improved.

the pedal goes to the floor with the engine off and with the engine running it drops faster,can someone please shed some light on this for me?im thinking its master cylinder related but Im not dropping fluid?
 
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You'll defo have air stuck in it, the rear calipers can be a total pig to bleed.

If the pedal creeps to the floor with you applying constant pressure then you've probably got a leak. That or the seals in the master cylinder have gone, but thats really quite rare.
 
You'll defo have air stuck in it, the rear calipers can be a total pig to bleed.

If the pedal creeps to the floor with you applying constant pressure then you've probably got a leak. That or the seals in the master cylinder have gone, but thats really quite rare.


Ok I'll take a look this evening for any wetness around the lines and calipers,everything around the master cylinder seems dry but if it was leaking slightly into the servo would it have the same symptoms?also ive seen something about abs units being difficult to bleed or needing to be bled using vcds,to be honest the guy helping me wouldn't have a clue about bleeding brake ( my misuses would've been a better bet!) so he could have forced the pedal to the floor or put excessive pressure on it a blew the master cylinder seals
 
Had a look again this morning and can't see any leaks,the fluid level hasn't moved at all which I presume wouls mean it's not a leak or faulty master cylinder? Ive have the next three days to solve the problem :( and have a master cylinder sourced incase it's needed.
Could there be something else im missing?
 
I had a problem like this that drove me mad for weeks.

Brakes started off perfect then i did a track session at audi driver which went fine. Got in the car to go home at the end of the day and pedal was on the floor, three pumps required to stop sorta thing.

Got home and assumed i'd just boiled the fluid, so i bled the system thru to sort it, at which point the pedal sorta started working but was long and mushy. Two master cylinders, new brake pads, new rear calipers and various other bits later and the brakes still werent right. The only fault i found was a weeping rear caliper, which is what i assume caused the initial issues. It got to a point where it worked well enough and would safely stop the car, just felt really nasty, so i gave up and ignored it for months. Eventually, months later, i bled it all one last time with a vacuum bleeder and it more or less sorted it.

If its safe to drive, then i'd go do some miles in it, and then re-bleed the rear calipers. I think fluid gets stuck in the handbrake mechanism and thats what causes the problems. The vibrations from driving around shakes the bubbles free and then they bleed out properly.
 
You'll need to pump the brake pedal lots of times to rotate the brake calliper piston back in contact with the brake disc. It's not like the fronts when you press the pedal a couple of times to reseat them. You may also have to adjust up the handbrake cable but that bit should come last.
 
Ok thanks guys hopegully should have the front changed by tonight and then try bleeding everything again.
 
I changed my rear's today ( calipers, flex pipes plus the 2 hard lines on the rear wishbone ) and used the vacuum bleeder and all went well and I have a good pedal.
my car has been sitting for a few weeks with no brakes also due to a rear caliper leaking
Ive now got the fronts to do tomorrow. again new calipers and braided flex pipes.
 

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