# Just replaced brakes...pedal soft



## CeeBeeKay (May 19, 2009)

I'm asking this after checking out FAQ.
I just replaced the pads and rotors (first time for this car) at 88k. Brembo stock size rotors and Mintex red box pads front and rear. I painted the calipers with rattle-can AutoZone caliper paint. I did mask off all the rubber boots, hoses and fittings plus the pad contact surfaces. I also lubed the caliper pins with synthetic brake grease.
So, this morning I take it out to bed the pads. Not a hint of noise or vibration...all good. But the pedal goes halfway, if not more, to the floor when i hit it. Pedal has a kind of soft feel too. If I give the pedal a slight pump before really pressing it down, it firms up almost immediately. But after a block or two, it goes back to soft. 
When I retracted the calipers, I had the resevoir cap off and constantly checked the level as I went...though I didn't ever see much happening there. I was carefull to always hang the calipers during the whole job so as not to damage the flex lines and I never touched the bleeder screws. I didn't see a drop of fluid on the ground in my parking spot.
Seems like I did everthing correctly...this isn't my first brake job. I was thinking of going to Jiffylube and having the brake fluid replaced anyway...maybe this will bleed out some air that mysteriously got in the lines, though I can't see how it got in there in the first place.


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: Just replaced brakes...pedal soft (CeeBeeKay)*

If your pedal isn't rock hard, only 3 possibilities: you have air in the system, you have a leaking caliper, hose or line, or your master cylinder seals are starting to fail and letting the pressure bleed back into the MC tank or if the last seal is shot..into the brake booster..in which case you should see fluid level drop over time..fluid level won't change if seals are just letting pressure by pass into the tank of course. Try a flush and see if that squares things away. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## CeeBeeKay (May 19, 2009)

*Re: Just replaced brakes...pedal soft (spitpilot)*

Thx for tips. I'll start with a flush tomorrow and take it from there. Is it not uncommon to blow a seal in the MC when retracting calipers? I was turning the clamp gradually because I had that in the back of my mind...


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: Just replaced brakes...pedal soft (CeeBeeKay)*

Retracting caliper pistons don't usually do anything to MC seals..what does is NOT flushing brake fluid every two years as VW requires..crud builds up in MC area where the seals don't normally wipe..then if you "pump" bleed (as Bentley reccomends after doing a power bleed to do 5 pump bleeds per caliper..I guess to move old fluid around in caliper and flush it out)..when you do pump bleed you take MC seals into area of cylinder that isn't normally wiped and if you've let crud/corrosion build up for years..that crap will trash the seals. I've seen guys reccomend not to fully stroke the pedal on pump bleeds to try and mitigate this..better way is to flush on time...every time...no "gee I can't remember when I last flushed my brakes"...I do regular flushes, full pedal strokes...wife does the pedal strokes..need I say more





















, and I"ve never had any issues with MC failures..lost one in our ol Rabbit Cabby..but geez it was 15+ years old with close to 200K miles on it at the time, so that was an old age failure! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## NA 8v for life (Apr 11, 2007)

It's air in the lines, I guarantee you, the fact that the pedal firms up when you pump it makes me believe this even more. Make sure you bleed the brakes in the order described in the bently, im not 100% sure but I think its rearL, frontR, rearR, frontL. but it is absolutely important that you dont move on until you are getting a very solid stream of fluid out of the bleeder valve. (and dont let the MC dry out when you're bleeding as well)


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: (NA 8v for life)*

The proper bleeding squence has always been RR, LR, RF, LF...but the MKV Bentley Manual says for those cars its LF, RF, LR, RR...and it also says that you should do two step bleeding..first a power (or vaccum) bleed, then follow up with 5 pump bleeds at each wheel in the above sequence. Why VW switched sequences







and if it applies to the MKIV cars as well (my MKIII was to be bled in the old sequence, I don't know about MKIV's) are questions I can't answer..maybe a MKIV owner with a Bentley will chime in here! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## georgencsuee (Dec 6, 2007)

*FV-QR*

For MKIV's Bentley says RR, LR, RF, LF, which makes sense since it starts with the caliper that's furthest from the ABS unit and ends with the closest. The order for the MKV seems weird unless the ABS unit is under the car somewhere in the middle. Anyone can explain that?
And to the OP: I'm actually having the same problem as you, that's how I found this thread. Did you manage to figure out what it was?


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## CeeBeeKay (May 19, 2009)

*Re: FV-QR (georgencsuee)*

I never brought the car to Jiffy Lube...I was mistaken in that they don't offer a brake flush service. So the car has been sitting for a week while I was on vacation. I scheduled a brake fluid flush from my local dealer tomorrow, but I took the car out yesterday just for sh$%'s and giggles. The pedal feel is back to normal, meaning solid. Drove it around half the day, in both stop and go and highway traffic: not a single glitch. I'm still going ahead with the flush , but pleasantly surprised that the car "fixed itself".


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: FV-QR (CeeBeeKay)*

To avoid damage to sysem seals, and corrosion in calipers, 
ABS valve block etc..flush fluid every other year!...Crud build up from not flushing will often ruin MC seals when you bleed brakes since pedal goes down all the way..not a problem if MC bore is kept clean by fluid flush..but a problem if you don't flush and moisture builds up in fluid!


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