brake question

[thunder]

so my friend dropped of her dodge stratus for me to fix the brakes. and i put on new pads but i realized there is no brake pedal pressure. so i bled the whole system and i still cant seem to get any pressure. ive noticed that when i bleed the fron right it squirts out and the the front left just drips out slowly. i suspected its a master cylinder issue. you guys think im correct?

[BigAls87Z28]

You get no pressure? You mean the pedal goes to the floor?
If the pedal is going to the floor, you are leaking somewhere.
If you arent stopping, and the pedal is firm, then its possible you have something wrong with the hose on the front driver side.

[thunder]

i mean that after bleeding it and puttin in new fluid the pedal is really soft and even after tryin to pump it up for a long while we still werent getting much pedal

[WildBillyT]

What do the old pads look like? Even wear?

[thunder]

nope one side was much worse than the other

[NastyEllEssWon]

can you push the pedal all the way to the floor? does it just sink to the floor or does it take a bit of oomph to get it through the sponge?

[thunder]

it doesnt sink on its own. but once u start pressin it gives very quickly

[Tru2Chevy]

Have you checked thoroughly for leaks?

Did you remember to take the top off of the master cylinder fluid reservoir before you pressed the caliper pistons back to make room for the new thicker pads?

- Justin

[thunder]

Have you checked thoroughly for leaks?

Did you remember to take the top off of the master cylinder fluid reservoir before you pressed the caliper pistons back to make room for the new thicker pads?

- Justin

i used a c clamp to push the pistons back in like i always do. and im gonna clean everything and check for leaks tomorow

[Tru2Chevy]

i used a c clamp to push the pistons back in like i always do. and im gonna clean everything and check for leaks tomorow

C clamp is fine, as long as you use it with the old pads still on and pop the top off of the master cylinder first - otherwise you take a risk of causing some damage.

- Justin

[BonzoHansen]

or open the bleeders

[thunder]

i couldnt open the bleeder cause that was already striped out so we bled it at the line instead.

[BonzoHansen]

how are the caliper slides?

I think if you get strong fluid from one side the MC is not the issue, unless it has a built in prop or something.

[thunder]

so other than a leak what could it be

[BigAls87Z28]

Wait...you said that when you hit the pedal, you get an initial pressure, but then it slowly goes to the floor?
If you arent leaking fluid, which can easily be check by a drop in fluid level in the master, or there is a pool of fluid around one of the hydraulic parts, it is most likely the master itself.

[BonzoHansen]

i'm still stuck on the lots of fluid one side none the other. it may be slowly pushing the other piston out - back to the low flow on one side. I may be wrong though.

Lesson #1 here was not investigating the uneven pad wear as step one.

[BigAls87Z28]

i'm still stuck on the lots of fluid one side none the other. it may be slowly pushing the other piston out - back to the low flow on one side. I may be wrong though.

Lesson #1 here was not investigating the uneven pad wear as step one.

Very odd, but he was bleeding from the line, not the bleeder. Possible that its nothing, that its just less fluid via brake line. Or maybe there are two problems, one causing the other.
I would try to remove the bleeder some how. There is a tool that a few people sell to remove stripped bolts. Worked for the rear calipers on my 87, should work for you too.

[BonzoHansen]

good luck with that. reman calipers

[Tru2Chevy]

good luck with that. reman calipers

This is prolly the best bet.

- Justin

[BonzoHansen]

you might spring for hoses too. Pairs in both cases, not just one side. But that pad wear is bad. check them sliders

[thunder]

there is pressure the whole time its just very very minimal. and why do u guys thing i need reman calipers

[BonzoHansen]

bleeder screws ruined. rare do they come out.

the odd pad wear points to one side being screwed up. caliper, line and/or sliders. something is making one side hang or not work.

[BigAls87Z28]

bleeder screws ruined. rare do they come out.

the odd pad wear points to one side being screwed up. caliper, line and/or sliders. something is making one side hang or not work.

He could get them out...I thought I was effed and would have to buy new cals as well, but I saved it by just removing the bleeder.

I would deff invest in some hoses and new hardware. But its possible for the poor wearing pads could be due to the failed hoses.

The pedal should be firm and linear, and the car should stop in the same fashion.

[CamaroJoe1987]

i would say to pump the brakes a lil bit, open the cap, and check the level, then see if there are any bubbles, if there is, it has a small leak somewhere

[thunder]

how much would reman calipers and hoses run me

[Blacdout96]

go on napa or advance auto websites, you can list it from there

[sweetbmxrider]

which side was worn out real bad? check the slides on that side. i don't know how you can bleed the brakes without using the bleeder. did you bleed the rears too and work your way from the furthest bleeder to bleeder closest to the master? how many miles on the vehicle? you must find and correct the pad wear problem before jumping to the master. how many lines off of the master, two?