Brakes done, still a little mushy

[MSHardeman]

Tom, quick word of advice when doing your brake job this summer; do NOT leave the system, or at least the master cylinder, open for very long. I did the same as you a few years ago (replaced rotors, pads, painted calipers and installed stainless steel lines) and I left the system open for a few days while I got all of that done. Once I put everything back together the braking seemed even worse than it did before. The VX would stop OK, but if I kept my foot on the pedal it would eventually go to the floor. Finally figured out that some of the seals in the master cylinder were bad and had to replace it. Now, it may have been on it's way out before I did the brake job, but a couple of mechanic friends told me that letting the system sit dry may have ruined the seals in the master.

[tom4bren]

Tom, quick word of advice when doing your brake job this summer; do NOT leave the system, or at least the master cylinder, open for very long. I did the same as you a few years ago (replaced rotors, pads, painted calipers and installed stainless steel lines) and I left the system open for a few days while I got all of that done. Once I put everything back together the braking seemed even worse than it did before. The VX would stop OK, but if I kept my foot on the pedal it would eventually go to the floor. Finally figured out that some of the seals in the master cylinder were bad and had to replace it. Now, it may have been on it's way out before I did the brake job, but a couple of mechanic friends told me that letting the system sit dry may have ruined the seals in the master.

Yah, I'll get an early start & try to get'r done in a day. Should be doable (was able to do same on a Samurai once).

[etlsport]

Yah, I'll get an early start & try to get'r done in a day. Should be doable (was able to do same on a Samurai once).

Just make sure to keep the master cylinder filled. I just did hoses, calipers, pads and rotors on my DD. I put pads rotors and new calipers on and got them tight then removed the hose from the old caliper, kept the time the system was open very short.

When you bleed the brakes remember the VX is a little different. If your ABS is working you need to pull the fuse for the ABS then make sure the VX is running through the entire bleeding process. Take a look at my write up on replacing the ABS module for tips on bleeding the system.

You may also benefit from allowing each new caliper to gravity bleed for 30 min or so before pressure bleeding. just keep an eye on it to make sure you dont run the master cylinder dry.