Soft Brakes???

[erald01]

Okay so i have been doing some major naintnance on my 1998 5.0 EB edition explorer. My rear brakes were starting to make noisy so i figured i would change the pads and the rotors. Changed the rotors and the pads, and when i started to drive the truck i noticed the break pedal is very soft and to break the pedal has to travel pretty far. I didnt do anything else but change the brakes, i tried bleedin them but no luck since the bleedin nipples are seized. I have no leaks because i checked the fluid every day for a week and it's still the same level.

How do you guys bleed ur brakes when the bleeding nipples are seized?? Why my brakes feels soft, could be a bad caliper somewhere in the back?? Btw the truck has 156,000 miles. Any tip is apprecited, thanx

 

[safn1949]

Ok,it could be a caliper piston is stuck and here is how you find out which side.Get a pair of vise grips and gently clamp off one rubber brake line in the rear,be careful as you can easily damage the lines.

Now try your brakes,if they are solid now then you have a problem with the caliper or (extremely rare) the wrong brake pads.Try one side at a time to see if it makes a difference.

The brake pad thing I have seen once in my time,some dope put the wrong pads on his Honda and the brakes were soft,he brought it to us and we did the above only to find the pads would not move in the caliper so they simply bent and sprang back when the brake was applied.

 

[erald01]

k thanx ill def try that, as for pads i know its the right ones lol...what about if there is air in the lines, how can i loosen up the bleedin nipples?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Spray the bleeders with wd-40 for a few days. Then apply some heat. Use the proper 6 pt socket, and you will probably be able to break them free. You can also heat, and spray with wd-40, or PB Blaster. Sometimes the heat helps wick in the penetrating oil.

 

[safn1949]

If it's air and the bleeder breaks,just go get a rebuilt caliper.I wouldn't think they would cost that much.