Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes

They are self adjusting, but that does not mean the self adjuster is working; many do not. I'd inspect them. A competant shop would have too.

Should go great if you have to make a panic stop.

It is possible to get some air in there when putting the caliper back, It is possible that a hose is bulging too. If they can't fix it, go to a better shop. There are wrong ways to bleed brakes also.

Well that's no fun.

"Larry P" wrote

Did they machine the front rotors?

Ian

Any mechanic who tells you that he does not want to adjust rear drums because they are self adjusting does not know what he's talking about and should not be taking money for doing brake jobs. Self adjuster seldom work. Drums absolutely do need to be brought up with a manual adjustment.

The rear brakes do account for a lot of the pedal, but even when they are completely out of adjustment, you should still have half a pedal just from the fronts, if the rotors and pads are in good shape. When they did a brake job - did they turn the rotors or did they replace the rotors? If they turned them, you'll likely have found your problem.

Damn Ian - great minds think alike. BTW - where have you been lately?

I'd put money on it being the rears linings were not adjusted, and they should be slapped for telling a line of crap about them self- adjusting. For the behavior you describe, they are likely WAY out of adjustment and you could drive it a year or more and not have it self adjust enough to be right. I made this mistake myself on my van when I got it used, I sensed they were not doing much and backed up and braked hard, over and over and over. Finally was rotaing tires and I took the drum off and adjusted it precisely - then I got a firm brake pedal and excellent braking action. Tell them to get off their ass and fix it. If they replaced something like a caliper, it could also be air in the line.

Hello again, thanks for all of the excellent replies. The Rotors were replaced with new ones. Everything that came in the Front brake pad box was installed, I watched that closely. If they put the wrong pad on the wrong side, I would have had no idea. How does one tell? The Rear brakes were just inspected for the State Inspection that was preformed. THe bleeding was also performed in front of me and I asked if they heard any Air rushiung out, the Reply was No. The brakes are a little better today after driving to work and back. How do I, Myself adjust the rear brakes. Seems I might want to attempt it as I used to do Auto repair long time ago when the rear Drum brake had a star wheel that you turned with a crooked tool from the inside of the Axle. Any thoughts, web sites taht might make it a little clearer?

Thanks Again

Inspected means they have enough of the shoe left, but it does not mean they wre adjusted properly.

No, you never will. Most times you get just a few bubbles of air. If there was air rushing out, you'd have not been able to drive the car at all. Air is easily compressed while liquids, for practical purposes, does not compress at all under typical loads of a brake pedal with a master cylinder. It only takes a tiny bit of air to make the pedal feel spongy.

You need an adjusting tool (a few bucks at any auto tool shop) and be able to jack the car up so the wheel spins. It must be safely supported with a stand as you have to crawl under the car to get to the adjustment slot.

Anyone know what the final fix was for this post.

Warren