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Larry P

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Since: Mar 03, 2004
Posts: 28



(Msg. 1) Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:07 pm
Post subject: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes
Archived from groups: alt>autos>gm (more info?)
Hi All

I had a front brake Job done on my Car Yesterday. The Vehicle has 45k miles
on it and runs excellent ( No intake manifold gasket Issue yet)
When the brake Job was finished the Mechanic took it for a ride and said its
all ready to go. As I got in and drove around the block I noticed that the
pedal goes all the way down to the floor to stop the car. I immediately went
back and they drove it again and put it back on the Lift. Nothing looked
out of the ordinary. They said they didnt want to adjust the Rear Brakes as
they are self adjusting ( I wonder?) They bled the front Brakes and the
softness has NOT gone away. They again advised me to drive it for a day and
see how it goes. Here's my question, since they never open the fluid system
in any way why would it need bleeding. All they did was compress the Caliper
to fit in the new pads. What else could have gone wrong? The Brake fluid
level was good


Thanks to all who intelligently reply.

Larry

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esp1

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Since: Jan 01, 2005
Posts: 1154



(Msg. 2) Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:56 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
"Larry P" wrote in message

> Hi All
>
> They said they didnt want to adjust the Rear Brakes as they are self
> adjusting ( I wonder?)


They are self adjusting, but that does not mean the self adjuster is
working; many do not. I'd inspect them. A competant shop would have too.


> They bled the front Brakes and the softness has NOT gone away. They again
> advised me to drive it for a day and see how it goes.

Should go great if you have to make a panic stop.


> Here's my question, since they never open the fluid system in any way why
> would it need bleeding. All they did was compress the Caliper to fit in
> the new pads. What else could have gone wrong? The Brake fluid level was
> good

It is possible to get some air in there when putting the caliper back, It is
possible that a hose is bulging too. If they can't fix it, go to a better
shop. There are wrong ways to bleed brakes also.


> Thanks to all who intelligently reply.
>

Well that's no fun.

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Mike Marlow

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Since: Oct 26, 2005
Posts: 669



(Msg. 3) Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
"Larry P" wrote in message

> Hi All
>
> I had a front brake Job done on my Car Yesterday. The Vehicle has 45k
> miles on it and runs excellent ( No intake manifold gasket Issue yet)
> When the brake Job was finished the Mechanic took it for a ride and said
> its all ready to go. As I got in and drove around the block I noticed that
> the pedal goes all the way down to the floor to stop the car. I
> immediately went back and they drove it again and put it back on the
> Lift. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. They said they didnt want to
> adjust the Rear Brakes as they are self adjusting ( I wonder?) They bled
> the front Brakes and the softness has NOT gone away. They again advised me
> to drive it for a day and see how it goes. Here's my question, since they
> never open the fluid system in any way why would it need bleeding. All
> they did was compress the Caliper to fit in the new pads. What else could
> have gone wrong? The Brake fluid level was good
>

Any mechanic who tells you that he does not want to adjust rear drums
because they are self adjusting does not know what he's talking about and
should not be taking money for doing brake jobs. Self adjuster seldom work.
Drums absolutely do need to be brought up with a manual adjustment.

The rear brakes do account for a lot of the pedal, but even when they are
completely out of adjustment, you should still have half a pedal just from
the fronts, if the rotors and pads are in good shape. When they did a brake
job - did they turn the rotors or did they replace the rotors? If they
turned them, you'll likely have found your problem.


--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE RemoveThis @alltel.net
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shiden

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Since: Jun 24, 2007
Posts: 5



(Msg. 4) Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
"Larry P" wrote

> I had a front brake Job done on my Car Yesterday. The Vehicle has 45k
> miles on it and runs excellent ( No intake manifold gasket Issue yet)
> When the brake Job was finished the Mechanic took it for a ride and said
> its all ready to go. As I got in and drove around the block I noticed that
> the pedal goes all the way down to the floor to stop the car. I
> immediately went back and they drove it again and put it back on the
> Lift. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. They said they didnt want to
> adjust the Rear Brakes as they are self adjusting ( I wonder?) They bled
> the front Brakes and the softness has NOT gone away. They again advised me
> to drive it for a day and see how it goes. Here's my question, since they
> never open the fluid system in any way why would it need bleeding. All
> they did was compress the Caliper to fit in the new pads. What else could
> have gone wrong? The Brake fluid level was good

Did they machine the front rotors?

Ian
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Mike Marlow

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Since: Oct 26, 2005
Posts: 669



(Msg. 5) Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
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"shiden" wrote in message

>
> "Larry P" wrote
>
>> I had a front brake Job done on my Car Yesterday. The Vehicle has 45k
>> miles on it and runs excellent ( No intake manifold gasket Issue yet)
>> When the brake Job was finished the Mechanic took it for a ride and said
>> its all ready to go. As I got in and drove around the block I noticed
>> that the pedal goes all the way down to the floor to stop the car. I
>> immediately went back and they drove it again and put it back on the
>> Lift. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. They said they didnt want to
>> adjust the Rear Brakes as they are self adjusting ( I wonder?) They bled
>> the front Brakes and the softness has NOT gone away. They again advised
>> me to drive it for a day and see how it goes. Here's my question, since
>> they never open the fluid system in any way why would it need bleeding.
>> All they did was compress the Caliper to fit in the new pads. What else
>> could have gone wrong? The Brake fluid level was good
>
> Did they machine the front rotors?
>
> Ian
>

Damn Ian - great minds think alike. BTW - where have you been lately?


--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE RemoveThis @alltel.net
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Mike Chris

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Since: Feb 02, 2004
Posts: 21



(Msg. 6) Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:27 am
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
They might of reversed the pads by putting the wear indicator pad on the
inside or the other way around I've seen this happen before causing the
pedal to go soft when you apply it
"Mike Marlow" wrote in message

>
> "Larry P" wrote in message
>
> > Hi All
> >
> > I had a front brake Job done on my Car Yesterday. The Vehicle has 45k
> > miles on it and runs excellent ( No intake manifold gasket Issue yet)
> > When the brake Job was finished the Mechanic took it for a ride and said
> > its all ready to go. As I got in and drove around the block I noticed
that
> > the pedal goes all the way down to the floor to stop the car. I
> > immediately went back and they drove it again and put it back on the
> > Lift. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. They said they didnt want to
> > adjust the Rear Brakes as they are self adjusting ( I wonder?) They bled
> > the front Brakes and the softness has NOT gone away. They again advised
me
> > to drive it for a day and see how it goes. Here's my question, since
they
> > never open the fluid system in any way why would it need bleeding. All
> > they did was compress the Caliper to fit in the new pads. What else
could
> > have gone wrong? The Brake fluid level was good
> >
>
> Any mechanic who tells you that he does not want to adjust rear drums
> because they are self adjusting does not know what he's talking about and
> should not be taking money for doing brake jobs. Self adjuster seldom
work.
> Drums absolutely do need to be brought up with a manual adjustment.
>
> The rear brakes do account for a lot of the pedal, but even when they are
> completely out of adjustment, you should still have half a pedal just from
> the fronts, if the rotors and pads are in good shape. When they did a
brake
> job - did they turn the rotors or did they replace the rotors? If they
> turned them, you'll likely have found your problem.
>
>
> --
>
> -Mike-
> mmarlowREMOVE.TakeThisOut@alltel.net
>
>
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esp1

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Since: Jan 01, 2005
Posts: 1154



(Msg. 7) Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
"Larry P" wrote in message
> The Rear brakes were just inspected for the State Inspection that was
> preformed.

Inspected means they have enough of the shoe left, but it does not mean they
wre adjusted properly.



> THe bleeding was also performed in front of me and I asked if they heard
> any Air rushiung out, the Reply was No.

No, you never will. Most times you get just a few bubbles of air. If there
was air rushing out, you'd have not been able to drive the car at all. Air
is easily compressed while liquids, for practical purposes, does not
compress at all under typical loads of a brake pedal with a master cylinder.
It only takes a tiny bit of air to make the pedal feel spongy.


> How do I, Myself adjust the rear brakes. Seems I might want to attempt it
> as I used to do Auto repair long time ago when the rear Drum brake had a
> star wheel that you turned with a crooked tool from the inside of the
> Axle. Any thoughts, web sites taht might make it a little clearer?

You need an adjusting tool (a few bucks at any auto tool shop) and be able
to jack the car up so the wheel spins. It must be safely supported with a
stand as you have to crawl under the car to get to the adjustment slot.
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warrenry

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Since: Mar 16, 2006
Posts: 37



(Msg. 8) Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:55 pm
Post subject: Re: Malibu 2002 Soft Brakes [Login to view extended thread Info.]
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Anyone know what the final fix was for this post.

Warren
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