So after changing my pads and rotors the other day my brake pedal goes strait to the floor. There are no leaks in the system that I can see, but I did remove one brake caliper entirely when changing the rotors/pads in order to clean it. I just let the brake line leak fluid then filled up the master cylinder when I was finished. I have not yet bled the brake system but I'm unsure how much that will help since pumping the brake pedal has almost no effect in increasing pedal pressure. Also, the car seems to go into a skid fairly easily when braking hard, and pushing the pedal in all the way messes with the engine idle.

Could my calipers or master cylinder be kaput? I have driven the car around my block several times and the pedal/brake feel is not improving like it did with my other car. I'm not sure if this is something that is normal before bleeding the brakes (I'm fairly new at this). BTW the car is a 1990 Civic HB dx.

I gotta leave to work but I will check this when I get back.

 

u gotta bleed da system..there is air in da lines...start from the brake farthest away from da master cylinder..then work ur way to the front

 

yea what he said ,you'll need two people unless you have a vacume pump

 

Wow, changing your brakes without knowing what your doing= Try doing some research before any mod or mantainance from now on. This will help minimize things going wrong in the future and keep you from dying because you didn't bleed the brakes, and drove off a cliff!

 

i cant believe you didnt bleed the brakes.

hopefully thats not the only thing wrong.

 

I haven't had the time or another person to help me bleed the brakes yet because I am very busy during the day. This is my secondary car and I am NOT driving it around at the moment, so no driving off a cliff for me. I'm still leaning about working on my car myself as I go. I didn't realized that bleeding the brakes was that vital to the braking system, but now I know.

Thanks for the replies. I will bleed them tomorrow and hopefully all will be well.

 

Next time just push the piston back with a old pad and make sure you remove a little bit of fluid before you push them back or it could overflow. If you jus push the piston back then you wont have to bleed the brakes.....Unless you open the bleeder screw or sumthing which is totaly unneccessary if your only replacing pads and rotors.
And why do you need to remove the caliper to clean it? You have plenty of room to clean it while still avoiding the brake lines if ur carefull without removing it....???????

 

two words:
speed bleeders.

Worth every penny of the $12 they're gonna cost you at the parts store. Look in the Help! section, dorman makes them.

Makes bleeding brakes an easy one man job. All my Jeeps have them, and it's handy when you've got to bleed brakes on the trail.

You just turn them about a 1/4 turn out, attach a hose and run it into a jar to catch the overflow.

Then just go an pump the brakes, they've got a check vavle that stops the caliper from sucking air back in.

 

i've used them before one of them broke on me and i put my truck in the ditch
therefore i don't trust them

 

2 person job is the most effective and easiest.

just needs anyone else. a little girl off the street could do it. im guessing you dont live in the middle of the woods, so just ask someone to help.

 

You could gravity bleed too!