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Spongy Pedal

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Matt R

Hard-core CEG'er
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Jun 6, 2004
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Problem: I've got a REALLY spongy pedal. Plus I have to push down relatively far for the brakes to engage.

Recent Procedures: Replaced front driver's caliper due to a snapped bleeder screw. Also replaced the brake line on this caliper.

Now I took it to a mechanic today to bleed the brake lines and get all the air out of the system. It didn't help much. Plus he charged me $80 to do it. :nonono: I just recently switched over to ceramic pads, and was forced to switch from stainless steel lines to rubber ones due to a failure. If I push down once on the brake pedal, then quickly release and press down again, the pedal is nice and firm.

So should I a) suspect a problem w/ the new caliper and return it b) figure the mechanic didn't get all the air out of the system, and go back and request it's done right? Or something else?
 
when the pads were changed did the caliper retaining spring get put back on? i seem to recall others saying that when it is not on it can cause a softer feeling.
 
Yeah, I did the caliper, rotors, and pads by myself. The clips were installed on both sides. The passenger side popped off at some point, but I replaced it.
 
The FAQ addresses both the springs installation and the spongy pedal.
-Andy
 
So slam the brakes on a few times to get the ABS going, then have them bleed it again?

Master cylinder hasn't been run dry, BUT I did drive it a few days with major air trapped in the driver's side front caliper and hose. I thought maybe an air bubble got up into the system some where and a bleed would fix it.
 
Mechanic said the rear shoes are no good, that the rear drums are out of adjustment. Does that sound true?
 
That's what he told me, or at least what it sounded like. If it's backwards, how do you adjust the disc brakes in the front???
 
The rear shoes are adjustable. If they are not close enough to the drum, you will have a low pedal. Adjusting the rear brakes is often a solution for a low pedal (if they are out of adjustment). Drum brake self adjusters don't really work all that well.

Front disc brakes are truly self adjusting. The square cut O ring on the caliper piston allows the piston to close into the rotor each time the brakes are used, and then only retract enough to allow the rotor to slide through the pads.
 
Then it is very possible that really is the reason why my pedal doesn't engage until I press it down farther. I'll replace the shoes... maybe that will get the self adjusters to work a bit better.
 
The mechanic said the shoes were no good anyways, and they're original to the car. At 80k miles it can't hurt to spend the $20 to replace them.
 
There was a bad wheel cylinder in one of the drum brakes. However, even after replacing both wheel cylinders, all the drum hardware, and the shoes, the brakes still didn't work right. Looks like a bank on the master cylinder went bad, because the car has incredibly poor braking and pulls to one side. Plus the system has been bled about 10 times with no result.
 
The final solution: the brake pads were sticking. They picked up some spraypaint from the caliper/rotor.
 
Just a note, the drum brake adjuster works off the parking brake. Because it's built into the parking brake strut bar that goes between the leading and trailing shoes. If the adjuster is not seized and lubed like it should be it will adjust the shoes to the correct setting in a couple of pulls of the ebrake.
 
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