i just replaced all 4 corners.
rebuilt front hubs. changed rotors.
changed front calipers.
changed rear calipers.
changed rear rotors.

i bled the brakes 2 times.

the brakes feel soft.
i will press on the pedal but they wont engage firmly but if they were pumped they they would engage better, but they still arent what they should be. they feel like they need to build up pressure. im sure there is no air in the lines, ive bled then twice and the second time found only clear streams of fluid.

i have the stock brake set up with the 17mm master cylinder.

im using ceramic front pads.
and organic backs.

as i was bleeding the brakes there was a rubber line on the back(toward the driver) side of the resivoir that had broken off. i couldnt figure what it was going to so i just capped it.

anyone have any idea whats going on?
thanks
-jim

Sound like you still got some air in there. Keep bleeding the brakes. You could also have air in the proportining valve. It can be a source of trapped air in the system. Lots of past threads about this problem. Try searching. I hope you didn't cap off one of the two supply lines from the reservoir to the mc. Did you?
Cheers, Elliot

My understanding is that if you can pump up the brakes, it's almost always air in the lines.

Did you adjust the PB on the rear calipers? If not do that first and check the

brakes. If no better do what was mentioned above.

how do i adjust the PB(?) on the rear brakes?

looking in to the proportioning valve air problem now.

thanks for the help!
-jim

The parking brake is adjusted at the ends of the parking brake cables near the cabin. There should be a nut that can be turned in and out. I don't think this is your issue.

If you can pump up the brake and get a hard pedal (somehow that sounds sexual), then there is still air in the lines. When you changed the calipars, did you keep the brake pedal depressed? My repair manual stated that if you remove a caliper, keeping the brake pedal depressed will keep the master cylinder from draining the brake reservour.

Keep bleeding and make sure the reservour has sufficient fluid so you don't drain it and add more air into the system. Chances are the rear brakes still need bled. They have the longest lines and the proportioning valve to boot.

About the rubber hose from the reservour, did it connect to the reservour on the top? I think they have an overflow hose. Make sure that the hoses to the master cylinder are intact and in good shape.

Spoke

ths thign i capped looked like an over flow to me, but i couldnt find where it came out of the bottom of the tub. it is at the top. so i just capped it.

i actually dont have a parking brake

when i changed the brakes all of the fluid came out of the system.

i cant figure out how to bleed the proportioning valve let alond figure out where it is.

the factory manual isnt mentioning it, by that name at least. and my haynes has fallen apart and is currently MIA.

anyone know what the next step is?
-jim

On the rear calipers there are two caps, one on the front and one on the back of

the caliper. This is how you adjust the pads on the rear calipers the cable

adjustment is at the firewall. There is a hole clear thru the trailing arm to get to the

rear adjuster on the caliper.

Your pedal may be a little soft until you bed the new pads in. Drive it around the neighborhood for a bit, and bleed, bleed, bleed.

If you put new pads and calipers, the brake pedal will usually be a little soft until everything settles in and wears a little bit.
The proportioning valve is on the firewall. You might need to drive it a few miles and re-bleed the brakes to get the air out of the prop valve.
You need to adjust the parking brake gap on the rear calipers. There is a screw on the outside and the inside of each rear caliper. There should be caps covering the screws, 10mm heads I think, and there are lock nuts on the screws, also 10mm. Remove the caps and loosen the lock nut. The lock nuts are all normal threads. The lock nuts are easily damaged, so get out your nicest 10mm socket and take your time. The adjuster screw is an allen, I think it's 5mm. Place a .006" feeler blade (a clean one) between the brake pad that you're adjusting and the rotor. Turn the adjuster in and/or out until you have a lot of friction on the feeler blade but you can still pull it out with you fingers, tighten the lock nut, and check your clearance again. You must end up with .006" clearance with the locknuts tight, it sometimes takes several tries. Half of the adjuster screws are L hand threads, half are R hand threads, I can't remember if the insides or the outsides are the goofy ones, but you'll figure it out just like everyone else.

Pelican perts has an article on this subject that's much better than the slop that I just wrote.
It's here- http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9..._brake_pads.htm

I want to hear more about this "capped" line thing.

That's not right.

The best thing I ever have done, brake wise, was to install speedbleeders.

You should do that.


KT

This is exactly why I changed to M front calipers and then placed my old 914-4 front calipers on the rear...no more air gap spacing for the parking brake....also go rid of the proportioning valve...so the brakes are now easy to bleed...
No more adjusting screws....just replace your pads and do a nice bleed job...

Not for everyone but it works for me with the proper pads front and rear.

nomex on

I'm here to help you.


the easy way


KT

Takeing a wild guess I would say the capped line is the M/C res overflow line you

find on some early 914's.