Changed calipers- now mushy pedal

[dpuckett]

I changed calipers, along with rotors, and put on Performance Friction pads today, and now have amushy pedal, similar to what I had in the 91. I got to thinking, the only variable that was the same was the O'Reilley reman calipers. So, could the calipers be casuing my mushy pedal? I bled the brakes (front only- didnt break into the rear half of the system) with the clear hose from the bleeder, dipped in the bottle of old brake fluid, pumped the brakes 5-8 times, then refilled the master cylinder, repeated til all air was gone from the tube.



I realize I just moved it from the driveway to the street, but I had to push the pedal halfway to the floor to get it to stop. NOT NORMAL!! Is there anywhere I can buy Bendix parts, as that is the only brand I have had any luck with? There are no Bendix brake parts to be found in Cape county- life here is an exercise in mediocrity- nothing is really good, but not horrible, either. The only thing I can think of is air in the system, but that should have been eliminated with the bleeding. One more thing I noticed, when I was replacing the hoses and calipers, is the brake fluid dripped out of the line really fast, almost running out in a stream. Is that a sign of a master cylinder going south?



I only drive this thing to work and back, but I am taking a 1500mi trip the end of July, and if I need to order good parts, I'd rather get them sooner than later.



ANy ideas greatly apreciated.



Daniel

 

[Niki]

You made sure you put the calipers on the correct sides, right? If the bleeder screws are on the top, you'll have a hard time getting all the air out. Also, I had performance friction carbon metallic pads on my '95 for a while and they were the biggest piece of #$!% pads I have ever put on a vehicle, the truck didn't stop, I had to press on the pedal way harder even at low speeds. I went back to Autozone and told them what I thought and they said"they don't spec those pads for a heavy duty application" I dealt w/ it until I wore out the pads(not long, 2nd gens eat brakes like crazy) and bought cheap carquest pads and the truck stopped twice as good.

 

[JLEONARD]

Around here most NAPAs carry Bendix... or they did a couple years ago anyway.

I am also not a fan of metalic performance brake pads. My experience is they squeak, don't stop as well, and wear out rotors.

Jay

 

[btoscano]

Daniel,



Advance Auto stocks or can order Bendix parts. I put Bendix pads on my truck about 2-3 weeks ago. At first the truck was hard to stop. I was worried I had done something wrong, but after they got worked a few times the truck stops just fine. The Bendix pads are riveted. The old pads were not. Maybe you just need time for the pads to break in?



Brian

 

[hotram03]

Hey Daniel sounds like its a 1st Gen problem across the country, "The Great American Parts Search" heres so of the answers I got:

"Well you know how Dodge is"

"Dodge just used anything off the shelf"

"I've never seen one like that before"

"If you take it over to such and such they can help you better than we can"

"We dont stock that"

"Take about 7 days to get that for your Dodge"

"I dont know if thats still available"

"I haven't worked on one of those in years, you have one?"

" They dont make that anymore"

just some small postings of the recent rear end rebuild I went thru, of what I ran into, yeah Laugh its funny ain't, sad part about it their all TRUE... ... .

Napa was the best place Daniel, I have part #'s PM me if needed or will post on here for everyone.

 

[dpuckett]

ACtually, this is the 3rd truck that has gotten the PFC pads- I like them- they stop better than what was on the truck(s) when I got them with 30% or so pad. I drove it forward today, and the pedal is much better than it was backing out of the driveway. Still leaves me . I thought backing up was supposed to tighten the rears.



Jay- NAPA here dont have any brand on their stuff besides NAPA. So it's anybody's guess who the parts are coming from. Not cool.



Thanks guys,

-DP

 

[JLEONARD]

I thought backing up was supposed to tighten the rears

And all this time I thought it was the stairmaster.

 

[dodgenstein]

The calipers were probably retracted when you first backed out and then slid into place when you hit them backing out. I have experienced this little bit of excitement when I get in a hurry and forget to pump the pedal bfore test driving.

 

[wcjp]

You made sure you put the calipers on the correct sides, right? If the bleeder screws are on the top, you'll have a hard time getting all the air out.

Did this by accident on my Jeep Wrangler a few years ago. Totally bolts on the wrong side no problem. After a few days of head scratching and replacing the master cylinder I compared the front end to my Cherokee sitting outside. That's when it hit me the bleeders were in the wrong position.

 

[cerberusiam]

I thought backing up was supposed to tighten the rears

And all this time I thought it was the stairmaster.

:-laf :-laf ROFLMAO!!! :-laf :-laf



Oo. Oh, Oh, Oh... . and I thought I was baaaaddd for thinking that..... Oo.





Sorry Daniel, we are NO help!!!

 

[JLEONARD]

My next screen name will be "gutterminded".



My appologies too Daniel... now back to the regularly scheduled thread.

 

[dpuckett]

No offense taken, Jay (and cerberusiam for thinking it) My rear needs that as well.



Dodgesntein was probably right. After driving it a while yesterday, it stops normally now. I need to adjust the rears again, and probably relearn to stop a pickup with brakes.



Calipers were on correctly. I must be suffering from CB Parker syndrome now.



Thanks guys.



-DP

 

[bgilbert]

I need to adjust the rears again, and probably relearn to stop a pickup with brakes.

Dodge's have brakes? :-laf

 

[dpuckett]

Yeah, but they were an option before 1990.