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I did my brakes on my own the other day, replacing the brake pads, and I thought I did everything correctly, but now when I try to apply my brakes they are almost non-existent. I can feel it slow down a tiny tiny bit, maybe like 1-5%, but no where near where it should be.
I'll start with what exactly I did. I own a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire(2dr) btw.
Took off wheel > removed the two bolts securing my caliper > took out old brake pads > removed the bolt controlling the brake fluid flow which leads to the piston so that I could push the piston back to make room for the new pads > put in new pads > reattached bolt that controls brake fluid flow > put caliper back on rotor > tightened bolts to secure it > put wheel back on.
Then I did the same thing with the other side. I lowered my car and went to test it and there was practically no braking. I made sure I topped off my brake fluid reservoir and applied the brakes for a few minutes to try to work them in while going slowly around my trailer park(had to use e-brake to stop). My mom told me I have to "bed" the brakes, by going relatively fast and applying them hard to wear them in, but it didn't do anything after dozens of tries.
Then I thought I might need to completely bleed the brakes, because there might be air in the brake lines still, so I took off the wheel and bolt that controls passes brake fluid to the piston and got my brother to apply the brakes, and fluid was coming out, so I put it back together again and did the other side. Afterwards I tested it again and it was maybe a little better, but nothing really noticeable.
I rely on my car a lot, and it's not safe for driving the way it is not, so I'm looking to fix it asap. I had to borrow money to pay some bills last week from friends, and can't afford to take it to a garage or anything. Could I have bled the brakes wrong? Once my brother pushed down the brakes and some fluid came out I assumed it was working fine because the reservoir was still pretty much full. Would there still be air in the lines? I know I put the brake pads themselves in correctly, and I'm 99% something went wrong when I removed the bolt to push the piston back in the first place.
Any suggestions or advice or anything would be hugely appreciated, thanks.
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i think you have to continually pump the brakes in order to properly bleed them. if your brother just stepped on it once it might not be enough. though i'm not that certain because i'm usually the one who is pumping the brakes.
basically you pump until the brake pedal feels stiff and then hold.
then again i don't think you need to bleed brakes for a pad change
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ah, I'll probably give that a try when I take a look at it tomorrow. do you know if I'm supposed to have him holding down the pedal at the end when I reattach the bolt, or not, or if it matters?
thanks for the reply.
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i was told to hold the brake after pumping and honestly have no idea what else went on because i was inside the car. all i knew was i pumped till it was stiff then held the brake and then i think the line would be bled and the pedal would slowly go toward the floor. this was repeated a couple times and i don't know what the criteria for that is.
if all else fails just go to where you bought the pads from (assuming it's not a dealership) and they'll probably be more than glad to help you out short of actually doing it for you.
also a safer way to test the brakes would be just to lift the front end up (assuming fwd) put it in drive and see if the brakes work instead of actually driving around
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I just realized that break and brake are spelled differently, and I've been them both break this whole time.... 
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I just bled the brakes again, and it's still just as bad. No one else is home so I tried to do it on my own, which probably wasn't the best possible thing. At the high school near where I live they have an automotive service free of charge, so I'm thinking I might take it there and have the instructor look at it.
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On March 23 2010 17:27 hifriend wrote:I just realized that break and brake are spelled differently, and I've been them both break this whole time....
Welcome to the wonders of the English language 
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It's so weird how they almost mean the same thing too! Like to take a break would be almost equivalent to braking whatever you're doing. And isn't breaking your fast (breakfast) really braking your fast, as in halting it rather than shattering it into pieces?
Go English!
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you dont need to remove the bleeder pin on the caliper to replace new pads, when you did you got air in the lines. to properly bleed see this link
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4213448.html
when bleeding u open the line and have someone push the pedal, then close the line before they left off the pedal, and repeat about 10-15 times depending on how much air
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I just got my car back from the school and the brakes are working now. Not as good as they were when I bought the car, but I think that's because I just need to wear them in now. The just bled the brakes completely, so they must have done a hell of a better job than me lol
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EPT
