sr20mofo

iTrader: (10)

update.... like what sc300jz said, we bleed each corner soo many times that we went through 3bottles of brake fluid. check and recheck brake lines to see for any leakage, none. while bleeding the pedal is hard(motor off) but when we start the car the pedal is mush pretty much like freeplay kind of feel. bleed again and again pedal is hard then start car and becomes mush again. we went through this scenario about 5times thinking that it will work the next time around, no luck.

my next option is slap the stockies back on but its very freakin late and my moral is shot, wish me luck tomorrow

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

If you put back the stockies and it feels bad, then it's probably the master cylinder. However, it could be a case of bad calipers. Hope you get it all sorted out. You're missing out on the brakes!

Prshrzd

There should be copper washers on each side of the brake line where they bolt on to the caliper and to the line by the strut. Also just let them gravity bleed just crack them open a little and let gravity take affect dont push the pedal. Also when you were bleeding them did the resivor ever go dry? later,Curt

abounly

iTrader: (27)

We are gonna put back the stockies if we have sometime tomorrow. Master cylinder never thought of that. But when we had the stock the brakes were working perfectly fine.

Prshrzd, yes we put both copper washers on each side of the brake line, and nothing. The resivor DID go dry once.

Im still confused how we bleeded each line and there was NO air and the pedal still felt mushy.. I think it might be leaking but from what sr20mofo said he didnt see ANY leakage while i was pumping the brakes. You could see the fluid everywhere behind the rims and it splashed onto the finder lining in a perfect line..

Prshrzd

The master cylinder wouldnt just quit working cause of a caliper change. Try to gravity bleed them and make sure the resivor doesn't go dry. Was the fluid on the wheel and fender liner from a leak or from when you had them open to bleed and when you pressed the pedal down it shot out of the caliper?

sr20mofo

iTrader: (10)

thx fellas for the input and troubleshooting possibilities...

the more i trace what had happen from beginning to end, i think the calipers might be bad. there is no way ive could have gone through 3bottles of brake fluid and still have air pockets in the system. as for the washers on both sides like Prshrzd mention, ive tried that as well. ive tried OVER torquing the bolt after bleeding and still no dice, still MUSH. however i did notice that when i tried to bed the brakes and took the tire off to see whats the deal, there were fluid splattered over the inner linings of the tire wall in a rotational motion. can my calipers be bad and fluid is leaking through the pistons on to rotors to the tires which causes these rotational splatters? as i type this im debating if i should just take it to my local shop as im not in the highest spirits to tackle this problem.

Prshrzd

it is a possiblity that its a bad caliper as they are two piece calipers. Did you buy them new or used? Also dont take it to a shop its easy go to the auto parts store and order a rebuild kit and do it tomorrow its easy as pie and alot cheaper than paying a shop to do it. later, Curt

dwebb99

iTrader: (17)

Since you let your master cylinder go dry, you most likely have air in your MC my friend. In the Lexus SC Factory manual there is a VERY simple procedure for bleeding the air out of the MC with the MC still installed on the car. I believe if you do a search you will find it. You will basically be doing a "bench bleed " on your MC while it is still on your car. You WILL see air spit out of on the MC when doing this simple procedure, if you have air in the MC. As a side note, next time, try to NEVER run your MC below your fill LOW LINE when bleeding the brakes.You are then running the possibility of introducing air into your MC. Now it is possible that your MC is toast and needs replacement (they do wear out you know) but "bench bleed" first. Also, it is possible that your calipers need a simple rebuild kit (very easy DIY, youtube has a DIY on it). RockAuto has a great deal right now on LS400 calipers rebuild kit for like $13. Can't beat that. Remember: Do it once and do it right the first time. Good luck and have fun.

madmax98

Ok, few things;

*First, make sure everything is installed correctly, including calipers. years ago i hooked up the calipers to the wrong side, they fit perfectly and looked right, and i spent the whole day trying to troubleshoot what i did wrong.
*Bleed the calipers in order, stick to the order in the manual, it's there for a reason. also do it while the engine is off
*the MC is highly unlikely to go bad just from changing calipers...



GL

evileagle

did u guys miss the part where he said he found brake fluid all over the inside of his wheel? You obviously have a leak somewhere and your system cant handle any pressure, hence why you are feeling the mushy pedal. Do yourself a favor and do this. Get your car on 4 jack stands if you already havnt. Get a hold of a compressor and an extra master cylinder cap. thread a compressor fitting into the plastic cap and attach the air line to it and the other end to the compressure. Set the compressor to about 15psi. Have someone watch the brake fluid level and make sure it doesnt go below the LOW line. Look at all the brakes and look for the leak. Problem solved.

If you guys were a little closer I would have come and helped you out myself, but im over 100 miles away.......

hope this helps...

abounly

iTrader: (27)

Thanks guys, well we took it to a shop today and they called sr20mofo and talked about it apparently there WAS air in it. Even when we bleeded all 4 wheels and there were NO signs of air. They machined bleeded it and it works now. I just did the breaking in process right now and it they feel great. Alot better stopping power than the normal calibers.
Thanks alot guys for the great info.

User1321989

iTrader: (1)

the wonders of machines.....well at least he knows how to bleed brakes like a pro!

madmax98

the wonders of doing it correctly and in order. But glad you got it running, i know how frustrating to not know what's wrong with the car...

Prshrzd

glad to hear you got the problem solved. Brakes are awsome you will be very happy with them later, curt

abounly

iTrader: (27)

Well we all got to start somewhere dont we? It was our first time doing something like this, thought it went pretty good untill the bleeding part. I still dont get how there was still air even though all sides were bleeded, there were no air whatso ever. Oh well

I am very happy brakes i feel a major improvement on the brakes. Its the best thing ever! When i was doing the break in process, wow the car went to stop like nothing!