Brakes went out

[FestYboy]

Crack the soft lines and bleed them with the banjo bolt in a vertical position to allow the air to escape. This requires the caliper to be removed from the knuckle.

[fudge]

Crack the soft lines and bleed them with the banjo bolt in a vertical position to allow the air to escape. This requires the caliper to be removed from the knuckle.

Sweeeeet I'll do this tomorrow! thanks, you're the man!

[firebush357]

Check to make sure that both of your Crush Washers on each side of the Banjo Bolt are in good conditions while you are at it, if not they are only a couple dollars in the HELP section of your auto parts store.

[fudge]

So I went to the shop to check out how bad the brakes were currently. They are bad, barely do anything, but I'm glad the master cylinder, brake booster, brake lines, and wheel cylinders are all working and well!
I asked them about bleeding the brakes from the banjo bolt and they said they did that! They said they couldn't get all the air out of the front calipers or something along those lines but they said I need new front calipers. Where can I get a set of two calipers? everywhere I'm looking I only see left and right individually sold. Also can I buy upgrade calipers for an aspire/rio or do you need to upgrade more than just the calipers for stuff like that?

[Rick the Quick]

If you have all good connections, in other words no leaks in the system the air in the front calipers very well may eventually bleed out via the master cylinder. May sound funny but the air will find it's way out. The best thing you can do when finances allow is a complete conversion to Aspire or Rio steering knuckles with calipers and rotors as part of the deal. You will find information on here regarding the swap if you look under suspension and brakes......Good luck!

[FestYboy]

So I went to the shop to check out how bad the brakes were currently. They are bad, barely do anything, but I'm glad the master cylinder, brake booster, brake lines, and wheel cylinders are all working and well!
I asked them about bleeding the brakes from the banjo bolt and they said they did that! They said they couldn't get all the air out of the front calipers or something along those lines but they said I need new front calipers. Where can I get a set of two calipers? everywhere I'm looking I only see left and right individually sold. Also can I buy upgrade calipers for an aspire/rio or do you need to upgrade more than just the calipers for stuff like that?

At this point, I'd say you're being taken for a ride. There's no way now that the air can't be forced out. Time to change shops or begin learning the process yourself.

[fudge]

At this point, I'd say you're being taken for a ride. There's no way now that the air can't be forced out. Time to change shops or begin learning the process yourself.

ok thanks for letting me know, so if I ride around the brakes will get better? My family has gone to this shop for years so I do trust them. Right now my brakes are not safe, how can I go about getting the air out on my own? I guess this is something I can look up on youtube...so I really don't need new calipers?

[FestYboy]

Even if the calipers were completely locked up you should still be able to get a good pedal feel. There's either something they're missing or something they're not telling you.

[fudge]

Even if the calipers were completely locked up you should still be able to get a good pedal feel. There's either something they're missing or something they're not telling you.

I took it out on a quick ride, the pedal feels good to me...other than the non-stoping part lol. I'm not exactly sure what you mean but when I press the brake pedal it barely engages until I hit the floor but I can definitely feel the new master cylinder and brake booster making the pedal more firm. What do you advise me to do next?

[FestYboy]

When you apply the pedal, does the car dive or squat? A good system will make the car sit down with a bit of dive. Also with the engine off, the pedal should be very firm at the top of the travel.

First thing I would do is verify their work and then attempt air removal on your own. A 32oz bottle is more than enough to bleed a whole Festiva.

[ryanprins13]

When you apply the pedal, does the car dive or squat? A good system will make the car sit down with a bit of dive. Also with the engine off, the pedal should be very firm at the top of the travel.

First thing I would do is verify their work and then attempt air removal on your own. A 32oz bottle is more than enough to bleed a whole Festiva.

From his last post im gathering that he is calling the pedal going to the floor without activating the brakes good pedal feel.
Im not sure enough of whats going on to comment, sorry.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[FestYboy]

Well, I've regularly been able to bottom out the brake pedal on a known good system while running, but doesn't exibit a lack of stopping power as suggested above.

[firebush357]

Sometimes you have to bleed them Multiple Times to get all of the Air out. Here is a decent Video on how to do it. The way I was taught was to start with the brake farthest away from the Master Cylinder and work your way to the Closest. (RR ~ RL ~ FR ~ FL)

Since your bleeder screws are broken and you have to bleed through the Banjo Bolt the method in the video for doing it by yourself will not work so you will have to use 2 people. Like I posted earlier, make sure the Crush Washers on both sides of the Banjo bolt are in good condition because if they are not it could be pulling air back into the system or leaking brake fluid when you press the pedal.

Did you check for leaks after you drove the car?


If you wanted to see if the Front Calipers are even working then just put the Car on the Jack Stands in the front and make sure it is super secure then just put it in gear and then press the brakes to see if they stop the front wheels from spinning. (If Manual Trans make sure to use the Clutch while braking)

[WmWatt]

After you pump he brake pedal to build up pressure does it hold or slowly loose pressure?

I broke off a front nipple and was able to drive the car until I eventually replaced the front brakes. I bled the brake at the bottom or top of the rubber hose, I forget which. In your case I would try tapping on the caliper to see if that would make the air rise in the hose and fill the cylinder with fluid. I don't know if you would have to have pressure on the pedal or not to get the air to bubble up out of the cyclinder. Worth a try? Once the cylinder and bolt are full of fluid you should be able to bleed at the hose connection to fill the line then reconnect the rubber hose. Good luck.

[Rick the Quick]

I have resorted to bleeding brakes at the banjos on more then one occasion and it worked. The biggest problem are the crush washers which tend to leak if re-used or torqued multiple times as in bleeding. As soon as you have a good pedal that may be quick to change with the slightest leak. I am talking about a leak so small you may have to do some real close physical inspections to see the small amount of fluid leaking. I have worked on old Japanese motorcycles with dual disc front ends and counted as many as 11 crush washers on the front brakes alone. The slightest leak (like from re-using a crush washer) will let air in the system. As small as it may be it is allowing fluid in every time you release the pedal. It goes downhill fast. Literally. I think I would try a different shop.....Good luck! :woc: