6speed

2002 Protege5.

I just replaced the left rear caliper due to the previous one seizing to the bracket. I bled the line until there was no more bubbles, smooth solid flow from the bleeder screw, but i have an incredibly soft pedal.

I am used to a tight pedal, the entire life of the car, the tightest immediately after changing pads. All new pads on all 4 rotors, but i can push the pedal till it touches the bottom stop. It takes a bit of effort, but 1: I have never been able to push it down that far, no matter how much effort i put into it, and 2: it feels like i will need to floor the brake pedal to get the car to stop from at speed.

Any ideas on what i am either missing or doing wrong? I don't have any left over parts, and everything is tight and secure. 6th time changing my own pads/rotors, first time changing a caliper, and first time the pedal felt worse than before.

PM me, respond, whatever. If you think you can have direct input via conversation, I am willing to PM you my phone number so we can discuss it.

Luzer

Sounds to me like there is still air in the brake system if all you did was replace the left rear caliper. Try bleeding the right rear brake, then bleed the left rear again. Make sure that the reservior doesn't run dry while bleeding, or you'll be bleeding all 4. When you bleed brakes, always start at the brake farthest from the reservior. Then the next farthest, and so on. You may not have to bleed the front, but you should if the pedal still feels soft after bleeding the rears. Hope this works out for you.

6speed

Many thanks for the response.

I just took it for a test drive around the circle several times, and the pedal feel is remaining consistent, if way too soft. I am not at all confident at an emergency stop, but taking it easy it does just fine. The hardest i could get it to stop wasn't fast enough, and made the bake light indicator on the dash come on. I re-checked the fluid levels, and they are at recommended level still.

Still don't want to drive it like this, these are all just additional bits of information if they help anyone diagnose my problem.

I am going to bleed the right rear, then the left rear again and see how it is after that, and re-post results.

6speed

I bled the right rear, then the left rear again, and still the same pedal feel.

I re-started them all, and bled right rear, left rear, right front, left front, ensuring the fluid in the tank was slightly above the fill line prior to each bleed. The pedal feel remained the same after every bleed.

I am convinced that it is a fluid problem though, and either me or my wife is doing something wrong. At each bleed point, i re-checked the hardware, and everything is secure, solid, tight, and not missing anything.

Unless something else comes up, I plan on going to the Pepboys nearby first thing in the morning and having them replace the fluid in the entire system, bleeding everything.

Luzer

Taking it to a shop is probably a good idea (although I've heard bad things about pep boys), especially if you are not sure you are doing it right. A soft pedal usually means there is air in the system. I'm pretty sure that's your problem if your pedal felt fine before changing the caliper. Good luck.

Jackelope

how exactly are you bleeding them? b/c i bled mine wrong the 1st time, soft pedal

went back & did it again using these steps: (w/ help of course!)
Passenger Rear:
pump, pump, pump, open close
^ repeated 4-5 times

Driver Rear:
pump, pump, pump, open, close
^ repeated 4-5 times

then on to the fronts, same procedure.

Luzer

Actually, it's:
pump, pump, pump & hold the pedal, open close
^repeated until there are no air bubbles.

It's important that the pedal is held until the valve is closed. Otherwise, air will be sucked into the valve. And run a length of tubing from the nipple on the bleeder valve and submerge it in a clear jar of clean brake fluid. You can see when the air bubbles stop coming out this way. It is not always obvious if you just let it squirt out of the valve.

6speed

Update:

I took it to Pepboys first thing this morning (first time to this one) and had them replaced all the brake fluid, rather than just bleed them since it probably never had the fluid replaced before. I wasn't impressed with the speed that it took the tech to bleed the brakes.... machine was broken so he had to do it by hand, and way too many 5-minute breaks to sip on that iced latte.

Anyway, the pedal feel didn't change one bit, though the responsiveness from the brakes did improve, if that makes any sense. The end result is now it is safely drivable without anything excessive, just i am using the pedal in a range that is farther towards the floor, as if someone adjusted the pedal engagement range.

I still feel bothered by the complete lack of performance response i am used to with it, just feels/acts like a cheap chevy now.

Going to continue diagnosis on the parts to see if i can find anything over the next few evenings, will post up if I do.

Thanks for the responses.

Smallpox Champion

On the back of the rear caliper, there is a small 14mm bolt, behind that bolt there is an adjuster screw with a 4mm head on it, (will need 4mm allen key for it).
If the tire is in the air, turn the adjusting screw right, and turn the wheel until the wheel comes to a stop. back off the screw half a turn, or when the brakes just barely drag.
Then try bleeding again.

jzoomer

take it to a place with a power bleeder if that does not work i had the same problem with my 04 focus had to replace the lines and calipers and that fixed my problem while changing the brake i pushed the caliper piston in to far and messed it up on both the front ones maybe this is your problem as well.....and another option of what it could be is the brake booster....