Why change only one? It is far better to change both.
As it should be.
A good part of that may lie in the rotor you did not change.
It's not any more of a big deal than without ABS, except that ABS systems can be a bitch to bleed. Sometimes they go like clockwork, and sometimes they don't. If you run into problems, don't hesitate to gravity bleed them for several hours.
That's not a lot of mileage as long as the body is ok. In fact, it's not much mileage at all if the body is ok.
I hope he meant that he change the pads on both sides, not just the ones on the rotor he replaced. The rotor will eventually seat in (I hope). They usually do. Having different brands, or types, of pads as axle pairs may never balance and can be dangerous.
Do you mean the dust cap on the bleeder? If so, don't do that. If you mean the cap on the master cylinder, that doesn't matter. Leaving it off can result in splashes under the hood if you're vigorous, but that simple fact notwithstanding, it does not matter.
With one rotor (presumably...) worn down more than the new rotor, you can end up with a situation where the pedal does not come up as firmly as you'd like.
ABS can just be a pain in the butt to bleed. Like I said earlier, you may find that opening all four bleeders and letting it gravity bleed for a while helps quite a bit. You have to keep an eye on things to make sure you don't run the reservoir dry, and introduce a fresh new air supply. That's also a good way to change your brake fluid. If it's dark, it would not hurt to change it by draining the old fluid through the system.
The other rotor was not turned down very much. Before we went to bleed it I still had somewhat of a mushy pedal but not like we do now.
One thing we did not consider or do is to bleed to the MC first and then the wheels. We did not change the MC or any wheel cylinders.
The one thing that did happen was we checked the rear brakes with the drums off, and had a seal pop on a wheel cylinder. We did push it back together and it did not leak. We then bled the rears and then the fronts.
We made sure the reservoir did not get too low as we did this. The fluid was brown as we bled it. Im thinking that possibly if the MC is going bad it's because the seals in are bad and causing the fluid discoloration.
I hate to just be throwing darts blindly but I might go and have it power flushed/bled and see if that helps before I consider changing any other parts.
I was told BTW to put on the cap when we bleed the brakes, which we did not. Could THAT have caused the problem?
********** You normally put the cap back on the brake fluid reservoir when you bleed the brakes. Keeps moisture to a minimum in the brake fluid, keeps brake fluid from spurting out,etc.
I suspect that you did not get the system bled properly, or perhaps are feeling the effects from the pads not having seated in yet.
We made sure the reservoir did not get too low as we did this. The fluid was brown as we bled it. Im thinking that possibly if the MC is going bad it's because the seals in are bad and causing the fluid discoloration.
I hate to just be throwing darts blindly but I might go and have it power flushed/bled and see if that helps before I consider changing any other parts.
********** IMO, you need to bleed until the fluid runs clear.
When you popped that rear wheel cylinder, remember it is important that you get it back together correctly, and you bleed it conscientiously.
Brake fluid is cheap, compared to the consequences.
From what you have posted so far I would say you have a couple problems.
One is contaminated fluid. Brake fluid should be clear or SLIGHTLY amber. Other colors indicate water/rust/rubber contamination.
Two is that you still have air in the system.
Air can be a REAL PIA to remove if it gets into certain parts of the system. I would go buy some new fluid. Then bleed the brakes (start with the longest line first) until you have NEW fluid coming out. Then work your way around until you have new fluid at each wheel. It is possible that you got air into the ABS controller and will need to cycle it a few times to get the air out.
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