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Spongy brakes after brake job

I have a 2005 Crysler Town and Country - 4-wheel disc brakes. I just replaced the front discs and rotors (new rotors - not turned). The new disc pads are Morse ceramics (to avoid brake dust). After changing the pads, the brake pedal is very spongy and is only normal after pumping it a few times.

I don't know how it would have happened, but could air have gotten into the system somehow? In order to install the new brake pads, I pushed the calipers to their original positions to accomodate the new, thicker pads. I can't see how air would have gotten into the system though.

Any other thoughts? Comments?

Reply to
Joe
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I can't think how that could have gotten air in the system, but your symptoms are certainly consistent with that having happened. You might look for leaks -- maybe overstressed a brake line while doing the change?

Reply to
Joe Pfeiffer

When you pressed the calipers open, where did the displaced brake fluid go? Did the resevoir overflow or leak? Are there drips under the car or around the calipers?

Sometimes new rotors need to be cleaned more than you think. There is alot of oil on the rotors to keep them shiny in the package. Oily rotors contaminate the pads and require alot of pressure to stop the car.

Reply to
mkfdar

Diddo on the rotors I did a break job on the Ram this weekend and before installing the rotors I wiped them down with Xolene. Coasty

Reply to
Coasty

Reply to
philthy

Sometimes what happens with calipers is the part of the piston that is extended out from the caliper gets a bit of corrosion on it. Then when you put new pads on and push the piston back into the caliper, this area of corrosion (which has a bit of pitting) will end up right on the caliper seal, causing a small leak. Once that happens as the brake moves around it will suck air into the caliper.

This is only a year old vehicle so all of this is unlikely - unless you like driving around in streams or flooded roads or some such - but you can check for brake fluid seepage around the caliper piston seal. Top priority of course is a complete bleed of the system to see if that fixes the problem. If it does then you definitely had air in the system. If the problem comes back then you definitely have a leak in the hydraulic system somewhere and you will need to start looking for it.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

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