title says it all. i recently put new front brake pads. i did it myself. all i did was jack up the front of the car, take off the wheels, take the cap off the brake reservoir, push the pistons back in, pop the new pads in, put it back together, and use a couple of rags to bring the fluid level down to where it should be. i didn't resurface the rotors or anything, and i don't konw if i was supposed to make sure it was ok with the computer before i did that, but anyway. car was fine for about 2 weeks, and now i'm losing brake pressure after one really hard stop. the fluid is murky, there is what looks like old dark grey fluid mixed in with the good fluid. it probably got spit back up from the bottom of the system. oh and i detected a bit of a funny smell. no leaks that i can detect. pedal feels like it need to be bled. any ideas? i did NOT crack the bleed screws or anything. i did however run the car with the fluid overfull for a couple days. do i just need to flush and bleed and be on my way? can i bleed an abs car on my own or do i need special tools that a shop would have? any input would be very much appreciated. thanks guys.

 

I'd bleed, if that doesn't do it replace your master cylinder, I just had to do mine a couple months ago.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">title says it all. i recently put new front brake pads. i did it myself. all i did was jack up the front of the car, take off the wheels, take the cap off the brake reservoir, push the pistons back in, pop the new pads in, put it back together, and use a couple of rags to bring the fluid level down to where it should be. i didn't resurface the rotors or anything, and i don't konw if i was supposed to make sure it was ok with the computer before i did that, but anyway. car was fine for about 2 weeks, and now i'm losing brake pressure after one really hard stop. the fluid is murky, there is what looks like old dark grey fluid mixed in with the good fluid. it probably got spit back up from the bottom of the system. oh and i detected a bit of a funny smell. no leaks that i can detect. pedal feels like it need to be bled. any ideas? i did NOT crack the bleed screws or anything. i did however run the car with the fluid overfull for a couple days. do i just need to flush and bleed and be on my way? can i bleed an abs car on my own or do i need special tools that a shop would have? any input would be very much appreciated. thanks guys.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would bleed the brake system first. But as far as the ABS unit, you don't need a special tool to do just a 10mm wrench.
It sounds like the brake fluid as broken down.

This is the procedure of bleeding the brake system:

Start of by removing the old fluids from the brake master cylinder.Then refill it with new brake fluid.
Start bleeding a caliper on rear right, rear left, front right, and then the left front. During the bleeding procedure keep an eye on brake master fluid level - NEVER LET IT GO EMPTY. After you finish this first part pump the brake pedal a few times.

Now the ABS, turn of the car and locate the ABS bleeder. It is located in engine compartment on driver side right by the head lights. You will need to connect a hose that will direct to an empty bottle or container. Be carfull when opening the bleeder screw the brake fluid in under pressure. So hold the hose while opening the bleeder screw and open it slowly and close the bleeder.
Start the car and the ABS motor should run for a few seconds. Once the motor stops, turn of the car again and repeat the process two more time.
The ABS has it's own brake resevoir and don't let this go empty. Refill it again after the ABS motor a has stop running

Also just to let you know, a wrong brake pads or incorrectly installed can cause an excessive brake pedal effort.
Some of my customer often mistake this as a soft pedal. So, they think that there is an air pockets in the system.

 

that sounds like the information i needed. i don't think i did anything wrong. there's no special procedure for pushing the pistons back in, is there? just shove em back any way you can, right? that's one of the things i'm worried about. maybe i confused the abs computer? and the abs reservoir is refilled by turning the engine on and listening for the abs motor right? no other steps? oh and as far as pedal effort, i don't feel any excess pedal effort. the brakes kind of feel back to normal for now. it almost feels like the fluid is losing it's ability to dissipate heat, which bleeding would solve. there was excessive pedal travel when the problem occurred though. thanks again for all the help, any extra insight is always appreciated!

 

[QUOTE=phateless]there's no special procedure for pushing the pistons back in, is there? just shove em back any way you can, right? QUOTE]

No, there is no special tools needed just to replace the pads. All you need is your basic hand tools.

[QUOTE=phateless]and the abs reservoir is refilled by turning the engine on and listening for the abs motor right?QUOTE]

No. the only reason for tuning your car on, is so that the abs pump can and operate to repressurize the accumilator. This is only done so right after bleeding the accunilator. don't confuse yourself with the ABS reservoir and the accumilator they two different things

[QUOTE=phateless]it almost feels like the fluid is losing it's ability to dissipate heatQUOTE]

Just want to correct your statement on this one. Brake fluid does not dissipate heat but rather provide pressure to the brake calipers when brake pedal is depress. The fluid consider a hydrolic fluid. When brake fluid brakes down it's boiling point decresses and it's ablity to convert force to pressure decresses as well. The rotor actually dissipate for better braking. this is why high performance vehicles have slotted or cross drill rotors.

Also remember, it take about 500mile to properly break the pads in. Many brake pads manufacturer recommend to avoid hard braking and riding on your brakes for the first 500 miles or so. Imporperly breakin priod is one of the causes for brake noises ane rotor glazing.

 

improper pad break-in would cause poor braking power and worn rotors, but not a soft pedal, correct?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">improper pad break-in would cause poor braking power and worn rotors, but not a soft pedal, correct?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Improper break-in priod would cause heat cracks on the pads and over time affect braking performance. It does not actually wear rotors out - just the the rotor surface to hot spots or glazing. Ever time I replace a brake pads or resurface a rotor; I alway apply a non-directional finish. A non-directional finish would speed up braking priod and would decrease the chance of brake noise and harmounic vibration. This also true for fly wheel finish after a resurface. The next time you see or have your own fly wheel resurface take a look at the final finish.
This is also why we hone the cylinder bores. so that the ring can properly break-in during the first thousands of miles.