Front Brakes - replaced, and now mushy

[sifu_scott]

I replaced the front brake shoes. The car stops now, but not without pushing the pedal all the way to the floor. I bled the brake lines last night, but I have a feeling that I'm missing something. Does this have anything to do with the little rubber-covered nipple on top of the caliper?

Thanks!

[slartyblarfast]

The rubber cap just keeps the hole from clogging up. My guess it that you got air in the system when you where bleeding it. Could also be a caliper issue, but most likely air in the system.

[soonercruiser]

...Or...after you bled the system, did you refill the resorvoir??

[sifu_scott]

Yeah...I stupidly drained the caliper to get the piston down (don't ask me why...I don't know) and I just realized that I need to refill it...Time to take the calipers off again. Oh well...You live and learn, right?

[garyerrol]

Doesn't the caliper get filled back up when you bleed the brakes?

[sifu_scott]

I assumed so, and they're slowly getting better, but I'm trying to get them done quickly. It would be nice if I didn't have to take the things off again, but my thought is to remove them, refill them using an industrial-sized syringe, then put them back into place. It shouldn't take too much to do...Just time.

[Hooligan]

You may get more air into them that way!!!

[sifu_scott]

Any suggestions as to how to get the darned things refilled then? I'm such a total noob at mechanic work, but I'm really enjoying the learning process.

[slartyblarfast]

Ok... the best way to bleed brakes is to have one person press on the pedal and hold it. You crack the bleeder open and let the fluid run out. When it stops the person pressing the brake lets up anjd pump the pedal 2 or 3 times and press and hold. Do this till there are no air bubbles in the fluid coming out. Be sure and don't let the master cylinder get low. If it sucks air then..... well it gets to be a real pain after that!

[sifu_scott]

Just to let folks know -
It was just me working on it, so I couldn't do the whole two-man thing. But my plan with the syringe worked like a charm. The brakes are nice and tight now. The only real pain was how big a mess it made. Like I said, learning here. I'll know better what to do next time. I think the next thing I'm going to try to do is replace the calipers and the rotors.