Posted by FLIP on March 07, 2001 at 12:56:37:
Well, I picked up my new front calipers yesterday and my friend and I put
them on last night and bled the system. We found out that the three bleeders
on the front calipers make bleeding the system a big pain.
We bled everything out, then tried to go for a drive but the pedal was almost
to the floor before the car started slowing. So we came back, bled the system again,
and got a firmer pedal but you still have to push it pretty far down before they
grab.
Now, as a reference (since the pedals are so close together) I knew that before
with the old pads and rotors and front calipers with 3 working pistons, the brakes
started to grab when the pedal was about even with the gas pedal. Now its
about 2 inches beyond that.
Its still very safe, just disconcerting to have to push that far down before
they grab. My friend said we should bleed them again in a few days after things
settle, but he was still at a loss for why they were acting the way they were.
He suggested maybe having four working pistons now was increasing the volume of
fluid that needed to be moved with the pedal, hence a longer pedal travel? Or
maybe the new pads need to be broken in more before they will grab? Or it could
be just more air still in the system.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Adam Wilson
'81 528i