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Malibu Brake Woes

Re my last posting about brake pads wearing uneven.

I purchased new pads and installed them tonight only to find I now have excessive pedal travel. It's to the point where the pedal is all the way to the floor.

I can't have air in the system as I did not break the lines, I just eased the cylinders back.

Any ideas why the now excessive brake pedal travel?

I am thinking maybe the new pads need to be broken in or maybe the drum brakes need adjusting? I have never encountered this problem before doing brakes. Worse case I am thinking I have screwed up the master cylinder by pumping the brake pedal gently to seat the new pads.

Any help appreciated before I give up and take it to a brake shop.

Cheers David

ps If you see a silver malibu in your rear view mirror tommorrow, no sudden braking please....... ;-)

Reply to
David
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Hi...

Any possibility that you let the shoes hang by the hoses and damaged one of them?

Worth looking?

Ken

Reply to
Ken Weitzel

1.I think you check the caplier to see that its not seized and that it functioning
  1. Before you move the car after any brake job you have to pump the brakes a few times until it becomes stiff.
  2. Check the rear brake cyclinders - you never know they may have sprung a leak!
  3. Check for leakage through the whole sytem. I hope this helps/
Reply to
Klinger

Have you ensured that your brake fluid reservoir is full once the pads are seated? If the rear drums weren't touched they should still be ok

Check that your caliper is mounted correctly & that it is sliding properly (not binding up and pushing the piston back as you release the brakes). Check that the flex lines haven't cracked & allowed air to enter the system from when you removed the calipers.

I can't recall on the Malibu if it uses an ABS accumulator but if so, did you fully drain the accumulator prior to beginning work (by pumping the pedal until it's completely hard).

I'm scratching my head trying to imagine what else it could be and the only other thing that comes to mind is if the rotor's are loose, the wheel bolts are loose & that when the vehicle is sitting on the ground the tire & rim is twisting the rotor sideways pushing the caliper piston back in.

This is all just guess work at this point. You'll have to give us greater info for a more precise guess. Is the pedal spongy or non-existant? What all was done at the time that the pads were done (any other brake/mechanical work) Were the parts "direct fit replacements" or generic. Let us know what happens.

Heck if you're worried but don't want to spend any money go to a couple of those places offering a "free brake inspection" If they all say the same thing.....

Keep in mind though that if the brakes aren't working properly & you have an accident driving around knowing that they're not working properly.... Good Luck & take care I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

Reply to
Full_Name

I finally got them fixed. I got the wife to take to garage (it was her day off :-) and they said it was the rear brakes that needed adjusting, so I got that done for $20. I got home from work and drove the car only to find it was just as bad. :-( I ended up bleeding the front brakes and that cured it.

I am presuming that when I pushed the cylinders back when they were hot, some air seeped in passed the seals?

Anyway, thanks for all the replys.

David

Reply to
David

Hard to say at this point. I've seem people pumping air into the system when they were trying to bleed it (too fast on the brake pedal).

As long as your system is tight, there's no leaks & it's working fine now I wouldn't worry about it. But do keep an eye on it for the next couple weeks just to be on the safe side.

Reply to
Full_Name

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