changed the pads all round but got a problem

[mcramsay]

hey guys this is my first post on this forum! i really hope you lot can help me with my problem. right i changed the pads all round today on my mini cooper, first of all i changed the front pads and took the car for a spin and the brakes bit in pretty well and there wasnt much spongyness in the pedal, however after i changed the rear pads thats when the problem started...i used long nose pliers to wind the piston back into the housing, no bleed nipples were touched or brake pipes were removed atall. i wound the piston back, put the new pads in and then put the caliper backtogether, how ever after driving the car there is almost no response from the brakes atall. i mean they will stop the car but the pedal feels very spongy which i find wierd as no air was introduced to the system, i mean you can feel the point at which the brakes bite when you depress the pedal but then the pedal goes spongy and is almost on the floor to get any real force out of the brakes. should i bleed the brakes or is there an underlying problem? any help would be great

[M.O.S]

Sounds like the brakes need bleeding, however, there could be an underlying problem e.g. are the pads the right distance away from the disc - if not that may be why! Good luck with your fix!

[mcramsay]

well im not sure about the distances of the pads...im assuming the pistons would take up any gaps after the pedal had been pushed a few times, il give the brakes a bleed and see how that helps.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by mcramsay (original)

well im not sure about the distances of the pads...im assuming the pistons would take up any gaps after the pedal had been pushed a few times, il give the brakes a bleed and see how that helps.

Well they would, but if a pad was further away, you would have to push the pedal further for it to make contact with the disc. I'm not a mechanic by any means, however thats how I understand it. I suppose you could look at a pushbike for an example - if you set the pads far away from the wheel, you have to pull the lever further for them to make contact.

Its only an idea, but its perfectly feasable for this to happen! Hope you get it fixed!

[mella yella fella]

try de-adjusting the handbrake cable fully,then pump the brake pedal and see if it gets better.
if it does the re adjust the handbrake to spec

[weemark]

yep sounds like you need to readjust the handbrake, normally if you change the rear pads you need to press the foot brake before using the hadbrake, if not it throws everything out of adjustment.