Hey guys, so as the title shows, i replaced all four calipers on my 03'. Afterwards, I bled each one starting from RF, LF, LR, RR using the pressure bleed two person method. I bled each one til I saw no more air, and even did a second round just in case.

After taking it for a test drive, the pedal is still nowhere near as firm as it was. There definitely feels like there is still air in the system, so I decided to try bleeding them again today and got nothing but clean fluid.

Before I bring it down on the ground again, do you guys have any recommendations? Should I try gravity bleeding it and leaving the pedal depressed overnight with the BMC cap on (Not sure if it will help, if someone could enlighten me on the purpose of this, that'd be great too... I can't find where I read about this).

Thanks!

 

The pedal overnight thing allows air to escape up, out the mc. By keeping pressed, it opens a pathway for air to pass. The pressurefrom pedal just makes it want to squeeze that air out, so that helps too.

Pull the brake light fuse or put a charger on battery, or you'll have a dead battery. Batteries hate that.

 

I did two-man brake bleeding, the last time I replaced all discs and pads. It took quite a few times to get all the air out of the rear lines. Especially, the right rear.

A lot more manual bleeding than most cars I done.

 

Did you let the master cylinder run dry while replacing the calipers? If so, you probably have air in the ABS block. You can manually bleed it, take it to Honda and have them do it, or try a reverse bleeder.

1 man bleeding works better than the 2 man method. Bleed it with the car on also. Moves more fluid. Find a store that will take your friend as a trade for a hose and a water bottle full of brake fluid (you may have to search some subreddit's to get to the right place).

Don't push the pedal to the floor when bleeding. Keep it within the normal confines. This car has an aluminum MC...but its still good practice not to do that with the pedal.

Also...how are you checking the pedal stiffness? Car on the ground? Wheels bolted up? or car still in the air, wheels off?

Bedding the pads sometimes helps. Maybe you're feeling some pad distortion or compression.

Are the caliper slides AND pad ears lubed and do they all slide nice and easy?

 

Yes, there was fluid in the master cylinder at all times. Figuring with how much air was introduced into the system from 4 new calipers, I thought the added pressure from the two man bleed would work better. I checked the pedal feel with street driving. As for the slides and backplates of the pads, yes I did lubricate them before putting it all together.

I did another bleed with a buddy of mine and we were able to get more air out (My girlfriend's strength wasn't enough to generate enough pressure i guess lol). I went for another test drive which felt better, but not the same. I did notice that the heat markings on the new rotors looked uneven, wearing only on certain parts of it. I'm starting to figure that maybe I do need to bed the pads so you may be correct on that one. I always thought this procedure was only needed when changing to brand new pads for whatever reason. I'll check back again later, hopefully I can find a safe spot to do this when no one is on the road!

 

Good to know, I'll give it a try later tonight... So does this technique require me to leave the master cylinder cap off overnight as well?

 

Its got a vent in the cap

 

I think you're having the same issue I had. I replaced the front brake hoses and then tried the gravity method but forgot to pump the brakes before I started to get the fluid all way through so the fluid had a long way to travel just to get to the bleeder screw. Over an hour waiting for the fluid but nothing so I closed the screw, pumped the brakes then tried it again. Much better, did a short test drive and the pedal felt hard it stopped well. Make sure you get the fluid all the way down the lines and hoses before you start bleeding. The gravity method works very well, I don't know what took so long for someone to come up with that method.

 

i'm chasing a soft pedal with my other Honda, I've been bleeding frequently and it has gotten better but still not good enough. I'm going to try the brake pedal pushed down overnight and see if that helps, I don't have much luck with gravity bleeds for some reason.

 

Follow up to my last post. I have been chasing a soft pedal on my other Honda for many weeks, went through several bottles of brake fluid doing multiple brake bleeds. Nothing helped unitil last night when I left the brake pedal depressed all night jammed in place with a 2x4 piece of wood. Took the car out for a drive today and this is the first time the pedal has felt hard and consistent, huge difference and immediately felt. I don't know all of the mechanics behind this but it has solved my issue with very little effort. Glad I read this thread.