[Silvestris]

Ok, so I finally got lowering springs in the front of my car. I had to take off the brake calipers to get the arm down far enough to pop the old springs off, and in order for me to do that we had to cut the boot that covered the bolt in the front of the caliper since we couldn't get them off. We got everything together, and when it came to tightening the lugs for the wheel, I had my friend hold down the brake from inside the car so I could torque them. Had no problem at all. We brought the car down, I pumped the brakes, and turned the car on. The petal pressure was extremely soft. I pumped the brakes some more with no luck. I had to keep a lot of stopping distance because I had to pretty much put the petal to the floor to have a decent stop. The petal doesn't sink like it would if it had a leak, and it was perfectly fine before. Please help me out here with any kind of suggestions because this is my daily driver and I don't want to be driving around like this.

[Jazzer The Cat]

I cannot see a way to install the caliper so that is NOT on correctly, so this is a tough one

OK... silly question time.... did you rotate the caliper around in a circle and maybe kink or twist the line?

Pics?

Jazzer

[Silvestris]

No, the lines aren't kinked. I checked for ballooning of the lines with a dial caliper and it's the same exact size at any point on both front lines with someone pressing on the brake. Now, it did get a little better after sitting a bit and it's actually drivable now, but it's far from what it used to be. I bled the brakes, and the fluid does look kinda nasty. Probably never been changed before and it's well overdue. Calipers aren't seized at all. Looks perfectly normal besides the boot we cut off. One of my friends said I might have damaged a seal in the master cylinder from when I set the caliper piston farther back into the caliper to get them back on the rotor. It's a wild guess, but is it possible? I had another one of my friends who's working as an auto mechanic and he was stumped. I was kinda wondering if there might have been something special I needed to do for Mustangs that aren't normal on other cars.

[1996 GT]

I push the piston back with a c-clamp all the time, but sounds like either air is in the lines and if not, something might be up with the master cylinder. Make sure you start bleeding from farthest away from the master cylinder. Right rear, Left rear, Right front, Left front. Correct me if im wrong

[Jazzer The Cat]

Silvestris.... you bled the brakes AFTER the issue of soft brakes was present?

1996.... Can the rear pistons be pushed in to the caliper via c-clamp? The New Edge calipers must be rotated back into the calipers, as they are threaded.

Jazzer

[Silvestris]

Idk, I didn't mess with the rear brakes at all. I had the rear springs on for a while and it was just fine. When I did the front, that's when it started acting up.

[Jazzer The Cat]

For some reason, I was thinking this was rear springs.... don't know why.

Either way... did you notice the softness of brakes PRIOR to bleeding brakes?

Jazzer

[Silvestris]

yeah. I tried bleeding the brakes to fix it but it didnt work

[97S281]

Originally Posted by Jazzer The Cat 1996.... Can the rear pistons be pushed in to the caliper via c-clamp? The New Edge calipers must be rotated back into the calipers, as they are threaded. Jazzer

The same is true of the 96-98 rear calipers. They must be turned in.

[1996 GT]

My front can pushed in with a c-clamp, i have yet to try to my rears though.

[97S281]

Originally Posted by 1996 GT My front can pushed in with a c-clamp, i have yet to try to my rears though.

Go to harbort freight and buy a disc brake service kit for $30. It will make it so much easier when you do.

[Silvestris]

Well, I'm going to see what new front hoses will do. The calipers fell a few times so maybe it's the culprit.

[Jazzer The Cat]

Maybe you kinked or damaged a hose in some way

If you need to bleed them again, and sounds like you do, i recommend you put some aftermarket SS braided hoses on anyway. You probably have enough miles to benifit from them and are a nice upgrade anyway.

Jazzer

[MustGT98allday]

and make sure you get a new boot to go on that slider ou cut off. Grease it up with brake grease also

[1996 GT]

Originally Posted by 97S281 Go to harbort freight and buy a disc brake service kit for $30. It will make it so much easier when you do.

Okay thanks, i think i can probably just borrow one from work too

[Silvestris]

All I can really afford is a rubber hose and brake fluid to replace the old nasty crap.

[Jazzer The Cat]

If you need to get hoses, SS ones are not much more expensive and a VERY good upgrade. 5.1 fluid is also the same, or slightly higher cost and a great upgrade as well.

Jazzer

[Silvestris]

Links?

The SS lines I'm lookin at are $70 for just the front. What happened that I failed to mention was that when we tried to bring the arm down to get the spring out, the calipers werent disconnected and the line was holding the weight of the spring. So I'm only getting that one line which is $15. I'd have to get SS lines for all 4 corners if I go that route. For brake fluid I'm looking at the Amsoil Series 600 since I've been very impressed with the products I've gotten from them so far.