Help No Brakes

[frankie406]

Hi I've just changed all the pads on the avensis bled it and now have no brakes?The (!) Symbol comes on and the pedal is hard.then slowly creeps to the floor under pressure?I've done all my own brakes before loads of times and never had this!HELP!

[gazza1286]

The (!) sign normally indicates low brake fliud level. You were topping up the reservoir whilst you bled the brakes? If not air will have been drawn into the master cylinder hence the lack of brakes.

[frankie406]

Yes I kept it on the max line at all times.

[gazza1286]

Are you describing the pedal behaviour with the engine off or running? Any problems prior to the swap? Servo leaking? Seems a bit of a coincidence. Can't explain the warning light except it's also linked to the handbrake operation.

[frankie406]

Sinks slow with engine off and on.no problems before I put new pads in.and no visible leaks.im going to take them all off again tomorrow and go thru it all again and hope I've just missed something silly.was rushing it a bit as the rain started.thanks gaz

[Konrad C]

Don't take this the wrong way, i have changed brake pads on different makes of cars.

Gaz is right about the Brake indicator - it works on handbrake warning as well as low brake fluid.

Good quality brake pads that fit properly and do not cause sticky movement ( had this happen). Clean the callipers and brackets. Cloth to catch the brake fluid from the master cylinder when the pistons are pushed back. Copper ease grease to stop squealing, applied where the back plates contact the calliper and piston.

Once the new brake pads are fitted, I pump the brake pedal to bring the pads into contact with the discs. This should make the pedal solid. Remember I said about free movement of the pads! This is all you need to do, not bleed the brakes. Then you have a running in period, regardless if the discs are changed or not. This is my process of changing pads and discs.

Couple of questions. Are the bleed nipples closed properly and did you pressure bleed the system?

I only bleed the system to renew the brake fluid (recently done), or replace a component within the hydraulic system.

Diesel brake pedals always sink on Avensis.

[frankie406]

Cleaned everything greased the pins the shims the back of pads too.i tried the 1 man way of bleeding then the 2 man.still nothing.i took them all off and re-done them again and still the same.i have pushed thru a full new 1 litre bottle of fluid to renew it and it's still giving a hard pedal then under pressure it sinks to the floor.with the light on . everything it tight on bleeder and piston

[Konrad C]

I use Gunsons Easibleed pressure bleeding kit with 25psi in the spare tyre. With that the the pedal was practically normal. It is much faster and pushes the fluid better.

You also bled the rear left first then the front right, then the rear right then the front left.

I wonder if the master cylinder has an issue, like a seal failure or flipped?

If the pedal is hard then, get the engine to run for a while to get the booster/server charged. If you have access to a quiet deserted road, drive carefully and do some brake tests. Gently at first to medium stopping. After a few miles the brakes should feel much more normal.

When I bled my brakes, the pedal was almost spot on. A week earlier I had replaced my discs and pads. The set I had before had brake judder.

I also had ABS failure, and replaced the ABS ECU.

[frankie406]

Can't remember which order I done them.i gave up crawling around the ground.its getting left in tomorrow.will let you know the outcome..Thanks for both your help guys!👍

[frankie406]

The mechanics took it a drive said it was grand though just for peace of mind he bled her and topped up fluid! think it was just the new pads binding to the old disc that has a bit of a lip round it.thanks again anyway guys for your replies 👍