Brake problem. Please help

[Phil V]

The other day I finally got around to doing the front brakes on my 05 Sport Trac. I replaced the pads, rotors, calipers and wheel bearings.



Upon completion I was severely disappointed. My brakes were almost non existent. They barely engage with the pedal to the floor. There is also no resistance in the pedal. So I bled them again and again. Front and rear. Probably bled them over 15 times. Still nothing.



I have 255000 kms on my truck. Figured maybe with the age and the stress of the bleeding I may have blown the master cylinder. So I replaced that too. Bench bled it of course and bled it multiple times after installing, then bled the brakes a couple more times. They feel slightly better but the pedal still goes to the floor, and they barely seem to grab.





I have no idea what could be causing this. I am confident there is no air in the system.

 

[swshawaii]

I replaced the pads, rotors, calipers and wheel bearings.

Phil, any chance you mixed up the caliper sides? Surprisingly common mistake, bleeder screws must be on TOP.

 

[Phil V]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. I just double checked. I think I did manage to mess up a simple brake job. The bleeder screws are on the bottom. I was pretty sure I had read the L / R markings on the calipers correctly.



Just curious what would this cause, just air to be trapped in the system?

 

[swshawaii]

Exactly, trapped air. Bleed well, and always have fluid in the reservoir. See link below (l1tech).

 

[Phil V]

Thank you once again. I really appreciate your help. I have been scouring the forums looking for the answer but couldn't find it. Anyways I will be fixing this tomorrow, and I will be sure to bleed it well

 

[Phil V]

Well, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to find out. I crawled under my truck.



The markings were incorrect. I knew I didn't mess that up

 

[swshawaii]

What brand calipers? Driver Left Side (L) and Passenger Right Side (R) is correct. :grin:

 

[Phil V]

They said Bosch on them but were in a box that had a different brand on it, I don't recall what that was. I got them at my local discount auto parts store

 

[swshawaii]

Bosch are OEM calipers, at least for the front brakes on 2001-05 ST's. I would guess 90% or more of the used Bosch cores are rebuilt by Cardone and reboxed or rebranded under many different brand names. Sounds to me like you got the correct calipers in mislabeled left and right boxes. Either way, hope your brakes work great after you swap sides and bleed,

you've put enough effort into this. LOL Give us an update when you're done. GL

 

[EddieS'04]

Phil,



Have you ever flush the whole brake system? That can make a difference in braking power.

Bkake fluid id hydrscopic. Heating and cooling creats moisture. Then rust in the steel parts.

I ideal way to do this is. suck all but the lower level from the master cyclinder, ovove the plunger. You dont want old fluid in the ABS system. Refill with fresh and start with the right rear wheel bleed. the left, then the front right, then the left. Keep you eyes on the master cylynder level. dont go dry.



The other choice is to go to a brake shop. They have machines that do this.

 

[Phil V]

Update: Swapped the calipers, and fixed the problem. Now the bleed nipples are where they are supposed to be on the top. I bled the entire system again. There is 100% new fluid in there that is for sure. The pedal is as firm as it has ever been now.



I did rear rotors pads and calipers a year ago and bled the system at that point.



Believe it or not the calipers were stamped wrong. I put the L on the driver's side and the R on the passenger side. This is how I ended up with the bleed nipples on the bottom. Don't ask me how that happened but somebody messed up somewhere.



When I did rear brakes a year ago I put on the R1 Concepts slotted rotors and EBC Greenstuff pads. These felt pretty good. For the fronts that I just did I put on the slotted rotors again but went with Orange stuff pads.



I am still breaking them in but so far it feels amazing. I have made my truck go faster, it was way past time I made it stop faster. I am looking forward to when they are broken in and I can really test them out!

 

[swshawaii]

Great to hear Phil, caliper sides often get mixed when removing both sides at the same time. Never heard of them having mislabeled sides, definitely a first. At least with all your effort and money spent, you have a complete front brake rebuild. Out of curiosity, are you still going to install the Eaton M90/Moddboxx supercharger kit you originally planned in 2014?



BTW, if you DON'T drive like Eddie, your brakes "should" last a long time. :grin:LOL

 

[Phil V]

Thanks again for all your help. I decided against supercharging the truck. I've had it for 6 years now and would like to have it for another 6. It is pretty quick at this point for what it is and I have decided I am satisfied with it. I have spent more than enough money on it. I don't want the stress of forced induction ruining the life of the engine and compromising the reliability.



On the bright side I sold the Eaton M90 and profited $200 from what I had paid for it