Spongey Brakes

Trotter

I got the front brake pads changed on friday, but since then the pedal is going down a lot further than it used to and the car is taking its time to stop!

Should the new pads not have made the brakes stiff and very good straight away?

Different people have different definitions of "spongy" brakes. If you hit the brakes hard and the pedal goes almost to the floor, then hit them again quickly once or twice and the pedal feels better, or if you hit the brake and the pedal gets hard then keeps falling to the floor, then you have air in your lines. Either the person that change them may of screwed up when bleeding, if they were bleed, by introducing air in the lines, or there could be a problem with the master clyinder.

If the brake just goes down further than you think it should, but feels pretty firm, then chances are you just need the rear brakes adjusted.

peasant

New pads need a bit of a "bedding in period" before they become fully effective.

Go find yourself a nice big empty parking lot and do a few full force emergency stops, that should bed them in.

But first:

As for the pedal feeling "spongy" ...get a tyre iron or a crowbar and ....


...




....hit your mechanic over the head with it. I'm pretty sure they messed up and didn't bleed the fluid properly and/or adjust the rear brakes correctly ...both of which could have serious consequences.

So until you get the mechanic to do a proper job, drive as little as possible, best not at all.

Trotter

hellboy99 wrote:

Different people have different definitions of "spongy" brakes. If you hit the brakes hard and the pedal goes almost to the floor, then hit them again quickly once or twice and the pedal feels better, or if you hit the brake and the pedal gets hard then keeps falling to the floor, then you have air in your lines. Either the person that change them may of screwed up when bleeding, if they were bleed, by introducing air in the lines, or there could be a problem with the master clyinder.

If the brake just goes down further than you think it should, but feels pretty firm, then chances are you just need the rear brakes adjusted.

The pedal is going further down than it used to, but it is firm at that stage. The mechanic didnt touch the rear brakes, just changed the front pads.

crosstownk

As peasant says, it is normal for brakes to feel spongey after new pads have been fitted. How long this spongeyness lasts for depends on what sort of driving you do. Usually it will pass after 50 miles, but sometimes it can last up to 200. Also new pads have a tendancy to fade a lot sooner than pads that have bed in - so take it easy if you're trying to 'forcefully' bed them in.

craichoe

Sounds like you might have a dodgy hose or might need to get your brake fluid level checked. Pumping the brakes a few times when after installing new pads should give more firmness than the used pads.

Oh yes .. and this thing of tearing around a car park and doing a few emergency stops, i would severely recommend against this, just take it easy for the first 80-100miles.

Its possible your brake hoses may need to be replaced .. if the hoses get old over time they can reduce the amount of pressure applied to the brakes as they expand rather than stay rigid

peasant

peasant wrote:

Go find yourself a nice big empty parking lot and do a few full force emergency stops, that should bed them in.

What ever you do don't do the above mentioned, this can cause the pads to harden and not funtion correctly, pads can take any were from 100 - 300 miles to fully bed in properly, just take it handy for a while.

Trotter

Trotter wrote:

The mechanic didnt touch the rear brakes, just changed the front pads.

If you have drum brakes at the back, when you change the front pads the back should be checked and adjusted if necessary.