Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes Brake clip installed correctly but soft pedal.

Hey Everyone,

Here's the story.... I noticed that I was getting a lot of vibration from my pedal upon breaking, so I figured it was sticky guide pins. Proably drove about 100 miles or so before I looked at the problem.

Was taking off the tire to take a look when I noticed that the brake clip (on the front passenger) was MIA. After a day or too, got a new one from the dealer, and installed it. 5 min job, right? Of course not. HAH! Installed the new one correctly (I've done the brakes on this car a couple times before, and refered to the pictures on this site, so I know how it is suppossed to go in, plus the drivers side clip was still on). The problem is when I install it correctly, the pedal gets real soft. If I remove the clip or install it incorrectly, the pedal is very firm.

I know you are all probably thinking that I have it installed incorrectly, and I don't blame you, because I thought the same thing, but believe it is on right. If you look at it you can see that the clip is suppossed to go over the two tabs so that it "pulls" the caliper together. If it is on incorrectly, it will look like it wants to push the caliper apart.

Hope that doesn't come off as being cocky or anything, just want to stress the point that the clip is installed correctly, but have a very soft pedal.

On a related note, I also flushed/bleed the brakes because it needed to be done anyway. Thought it might help the problem too. The problem was occurring before and is still occuring after the bleed.

I know if anyone can solve this problem its you all.

Thanks as always fot your help.
Roger

Roger,

With that clip off, your caliper may have been engaging cock-eyed, and wore the pad down at an angle. Now with the spring on, its engaging properly, but the pad has not won back into its normal wear pattern...ie, just a little bit of the pad is contacting the rotor surface.

Try this to see. Spray some water on your cooled down rotor, and let it get that surface rust working. Then go for a quick ride and see what part of the pad is contacting. If its only a thin line wearing...it'll wear down properly in short time.

Next would be to do a quick bleeding...

Sorry...been wanting to use that trout slap!!

Excellent idea! Thanks. I will try it this weekend. I just so happen to have old pads, laying in my garage. Never threw them out for some reason or the other, but they are in decent shape. I will slap those on the one side and see if it is better.

I can always count on your guys for giving me great suggestions and for "trout slaps".

Keep yall posted.

this might seem dumb, and i've read the other posts and the one with the pictures about the correct spring orientation...

but wouldn't one want the spring positioned so it's pushing the caliper apart? afterall this would increase fluid backpressure making the pedal feel "stiffer". it would also bring the caliper back apart after breaking, although i thought the natural "wobble" of the rotor was supposed to do this.

i have yet to do the brakes on this car so i apologize for my ignorance.

on my VW the springs were there to keep the pads "floating" in the right place and were placed between the inner wall of the (non-contact) side of the caliper and the "sides" of the pads. i think they were actually to keep the pads from vibrating and squeeling as they only kept pressure on the pads.

Oo.et.oO

I hear what you are saying, but the book/pictures call for them to be installed so that they are holding the caliper together. I have put them on wrong the first time I did the breaks and you will def. notice a very soft pedal.

Now, thanks to everyone's help, I have fixed the problem. Pulled my old pads old and really looked at him. They were def. worn on an angle leading to what was suggested about the caliper coming in crooked. Anyway, threw new pads on and the problem was solved. I installed the clip correctly and the pedal is very stiff... Much like my back from doing the d*** O2 sensor under the coil pack. CEL is gone so A few days of pain will be well worth it. God we really have to love these cars....
THANKS AGAIN!

I think soft pedal feel is just natural for the car. The pads grab gradually, unless of course you jam on 'em for an emergency stop.

SS brake lines and synthetic fluid can firm up the brake pedal quite a bit. A great investment if you like strong brakes. The Performance Friction pads from AZ are a nice upgrade for all around driving.