Sponge Bob Not Wanted :)

[Mauser]

Hi guys,

Followed instructions on changing front pads, bleed the nipples as I pushed the piston back being carefull and locked of whenever I stopped, however after a easy pad replacement I now have spongy brakes :). I have checked them both for air and wife pressing peddle and pipe on nipple slowly cracked the joint and made sure there was no air in them. I have also topped the top up bottle with a little help from a syring and the brake bleed pipe, seemed to do the trick, book says get dealer to check and top up ?, any ideas why ?.

Anyway brakes are not terrible just not not good as before changing...ok they might bed in slightly but when I sit on the drive and press the brake peddle it goes a long way down before stopping ?, if I pump it several times it goes hard then goes soft again ?. Lot of ? marks I know but was hoping this would be easy job now its going tits up.

Any ideas why I have poor spongy brakes after pad change :).

Cheers Simon

[johnb80]

Are you sure the calipers are sliding freely? it's possible that the caliper is not sliding and applying pressure to the brakes is bending the discs. A quick diagnostic is to clamp off the flexible hoses and see if the pedal is then firm. If it is, release the hoses in turn and see if it goes spongy, you have then identified the wheel with the problem.

 

Regards - John

[Guest ajaycad]

Mauser, Read my last post about my dilema when I did the front pads/discs yesterday!

I too have the same symptoms as you, spongy feel, pedal travel etc. My calipers are sliding freely, so it aint that. I did have them checked by my local garage this morning and he says thay are fine...reckoned I hadn't cleaned all the preserving oil off the discs before I fitted them (I was sure I did). He also reckons that they will improve with mileage as they bed in. It could just be me, but they seem to be improving a little as I use the car. They are still not as sharp as the old parts I removed though :)

Give them a few hundred miles to bed in before worrying.

What make of discs/pads did you use?

[Topbloke]

When you or I change the pads the linning is relatively soft and the disc unless new is not a completely flat surface they have to bed in as you say but the pads need to heat up and go realy hard ,if you read the bumf that comes with pads they advise gentle progresive braking , They will get better over time trust me

[Mauser]

Thanks lads,

Pads are made by Trupart, brakes just feel like fluid is leaking away when you press the peddle slowly...you get that sinking feeling lol, only way to get it hard is to pump it...sound rude. There is no air in them I am sure so bit baffled as to why they feel spongy will take care driving and hope they bed in a things return to normal i only do 3500 miles a year som might take a few weeks to bed in.

Anyone know why manual says get dealer to check / top up brake fluid levels ?. Is it just because its hard to get to or is there some other techinical reason ?. As I posted before I used a syringe and pipe to top up.

Cheers Simon

[seatkid]

If you didnt change the discs, it'll be a while before they bed in, you need to be quite brutal to get the pads to the same shape as the disc. In my experience, if the discs are badly worn you will never get back to the same braking level. Don't be fooled by the soft/hard experience. Pumping the pedal exhausts the servo and the pedal goes hard but you also get vastly reduced braking effort. The brake pedal is normally "soft" but what you're getting is reduced braking performance due to only a small pad/disc contact area. (so you press harder to compensate etc)

[Mauser]

Thanks Seatkid,

I can sleep easy now.... I will keep an eye on them and see if they improve over next week. Disks were in good condition apart from the normal rust flaking from the outer rim :).

Cheers Simon