Air in brake lines?

[papajosh]

I recently had my speed3 in to replace the front pads and rotors. When I got the car back, I expected it to have that normal "bite" when you first adjust to having new (not completely worn down) pads, but instead, the brake pedal felt somewhat squishy, and certainly no better than they did when I took the car in. After reading a bit, most sites said that simply replacing the pads/rotors shouldn't introduce air into the brake line (as long as it's done properly), so I'm left wondering is it just me? Or did they screw something up? Is there a definitive test to make sure that air in the brake lines is in fact the problem?

There is a bit of travel before the brakes even begin to slow my car down. In order to bring the car to a stop in a hurry I have to press the brake down practically to the floor. I can depress the pedal all the way to the floor while the car is on (even after repeatedly pumping it). Is this all normal?

TIA.

Josh

 

[Kain]

Were the new rotors/pads bedded properly? A mushy pedal typically means air in the lines. A flush should be a part of brake work in general, IMO. The only way to tell for sure is to bleed each caliper and see if the pedal feel firms up.

 

[papajosh]

Ugh. I had this done at the dealership (), and the mechanic claims that he didn't do anything that would warrant bleeding (or flushing) the brakes. Which, I understand is generally an accurate statement as long as there wasn't any opening in the brake lines for air to get in. However, I've driven it around town quite a bit...and brought it from 60-0 a couple of times and it still feels squishy. It certainly doesn't feel like it's doing its job. Am I incorrect in thinking that new OEM rotors + new OEM pads should make it feel somewhat like it did when it was new?

Also, as an experiment, I put the emergency brake on while I was driving a low speeds, and it barely slowed the car down. How much braking power should I expect from the e-brake? Could it be there's a problem with the rear brakes?

How much driving should it take to properly bed the new pads in the new rotors? If I pump the brakes while the engine is off, the brake pedal will be rock solid after two pumps. If I pump the brakes while idling, the pedal returns to the same position every time. Is this normal?

(sorry for the slew of questions. Just don't want to feel like an ass going back to the mechanic and telling them they screwed up).

 

[Kain]

The bedding in should've been done by the mechanic. Procedures differ depending on manu, but it involves a series of gradual and hard stops from set speeds. I wouldn't jump to conclusions that the mechanic ****** up and that's why you have air in the lines. You said the pedal was squishy even before the brake job, could be you had air in the lines already. Bleeding brakes is easy enough to do on your own with a buddy.