Brakes are Broken

[JohnH55]

2001 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4, at 280K. I replaced the brake system since it would drag to the right when stopping. New Pads, rotors, and calipers, all slides and pins were greased. Before the job my brake pedal would stop the car if i pushed down an inch, it was solid and felt amazing. Now it goes to the floor and is not confidence inspiring. I have bleed the brakes 4 times, twice using a vacuum bleeder, twice manually with a friend. Zero improvement each time, and pumping the pedal does not help at all leading me to believe air is not the issue.

I bought very nice pads, and very nice rotors with UV coating for rust protection. The calipers were cheaper RockAuto remanufactured units.

What could be causing my issue?
Could the master cylinder be bad, or are the cheapo caliper I got possible the problem?

 

[Turdle]

Sounds silly but people have done this. Not mentioning names, but make sure you installed new calipers right side up. Although they seem same side to side , they aren't. Make sure bleeder valves are at the top.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

2001 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4, at 280K. I replaced the brake system since it would drag to the right when stopping. New Pads, rotors, and calipers, all slides and pins were greased. Before the job my brake pedal would stop the car if i pushed down an inch, it was solid and felt amazing. Now it goes to the floor and is not confidence inspiring. I have bleed the brakes 4 times, twice using a vacuum bleeder, twice manually with a friend. Zero improvement each time, and pumping the pedal does not help at all leading me to believe air is not the issue.

I bought very nice pads, and very nice rotors with UV coating for rust protection. The calipers were cheaper RockAuto remanufactured units.

What could be causing my issue?
Could the master cylinder be bad, or are the cheapo caliper I got possible the problem?

Most likely you have air in the ABS pump

 

[C420sailor]

is it still pulling?

It’s likely air

 

[FrankfromLivingstonTN]

2001 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4, at 280K. I replaced the break system since it would drag to the right when stopping. New Pads, rotors, and calipers, all slides and pins were greased. Before the job my brake pedal would stop the car if i pushed down an inch, it was solid and felt amazing. Now it goes to the floor and is not confidence inspiring. I have bleed the brakes 4 times, twice using a vacuum bleeder, twice manually with a friend. Zero improvement each time, and pumping the pedal does not help at all leading me to believe air is not the issue.

I bought very nice pads, and very nice rotors with UV coating for rust protection. The calipers were cheaper RockAuto remanufactured units.

What could be causing my issue?
Could the master cylinder be bad, or are the cheapo caliper I got possible the problem?

I have a 2008 Explorer XLT with a 4.0 V6. Last Summer I replaced the original brake system, master cylinder, four calipers, pads and rotors. I bench bled the master cylinder before installing and bled the system to find a mushy pedal. The mushy pedal issue was my lack of bleeding the ABS pump. I took the Explorer to my local shop, he bled the ABS pump and I have a perfect brake pedal.
This may be the solution to your brake pedal issue.

 

[JohnH55]

is it still pulling?

It’s likely air

No it doesn't pull anymore. Although the pads on the driver side don't seem to be fully engaging on the outside face of the rotor. The wear area is 1/4 less than on the driver side.

 

[JohnH55]

Sounds silly but people have done this. Not mentioning names, but make sure you installed new calipers right side up. Although they seem same side to side , they aren't. Make sure bleeder valves are at the top.

Almost made this mistake, but I looked at the old ones first before putting the new parts on.

 

[JohnH55]

Almost made this mistake, but I looked at the old ones first before putting the new parts on.

Well, I lied or at least was a fool. I was only thinking about the front ones when I checked to make sure they were on the right side but the rears were installed upside down/ on the wrong side. I took it to a shop to have it power bleed and they said the pedal felt okay, but the tech decided to check and saw the rears are on the wrong side. They are going to switch them and cut me half price on labor since its all freshly done and should be quick to fix.

 

[C420sailor]

@Turdle strikes again!