Hey all
I just replaced all pads(ebe green stuff) and rotors(autozone duralast) for my r56. I replaced the sensors and resetted the service light.
When I started the car, it won't move as if the brake is engaged.
I put it in 1st gear and tried to roll but was like I had my ebrake engaged.

Weird thing is that I saw some grrenish fluid drop from umder the driver seat area when I pressed the driver side caliper piston.

I've done brake changes multiple times and honestly don't know what might have gone wrong.

Has this happened to anyone? Any help is appreciated!! Thanks!

 

Remove the mater cylinder cap, try again.

Is it over full?

 

No, I didn't do anything with brake fluid. Didn't bleed brake fluid...

 

Did you check the master cylinder to make sure it's not over full?

Did you try removing the cap?

Can you jack up a wheel and rotate by hand?

 

Not yet, but I will go out in a few minutes and try those. Thanks!

 

Did you do just the fronts, or rears also?

If you did the rears, did you screw the pistons back in? If not, those could be dragging.

Mike

 

Mike beat me to it. Sounds like you need to rotate the caliper pistons in further. I just replaced front & rear pads and rotors and even with the pistons all the way rotated in, there was a bit of drag. I also used EBC pads (red stuff).

 

Thanks guys.
I did screw the rear piston in..
My question is can pushing the piston back in cause the master cylinder to overflow? I don't know where that fluid came from..

 

Seems to me like it would push that fluid behind the piston back into the master cylinder.

 

Yes....
When you push the pucks in....the fluid (usually pretty dirty stuff) is pushed up into the computers (abs/dsc, etc)and into the master....
One tip...
When you press in the pucks in the caliper...crack open the bleeder...the dirty fluid will get squirted out....keeping the fluid in the lines cleaner....and prevent you from damaging any components with nasty, dirty dot4 fluid.....

 

I nornally do complete bleeding everytime to make sure even distribution of load and clear all the dirt.....also check the vacuum hose that attached to the brake booster, should be under vacuum when the engine is running if this is not working your brake will be stuck in place causing the wheel to locked like your experiencing, sometimes the wire/spring can only go 1 way, simple things to double check.

 

If along the way, during a service call, they topped off your fluid when the brakes were say 50% worn then there was addition fluid as compared to what 100% pad thickness requires. Ditto if you got a 'replace the fluid' under service plan but did not need brakes.

SOOOO when you pushed the pistons back in to make room for the new pads there was 'extra' fluid and it needs someplace to go. Sounds like some of your's overflowed (it went down a drain hole and came out under your leg area, driver side. You might want to see if there is any to clean up under the master . . . AND see if you need to remove some more.)


When I do this job I ALWAYS check the level in the master as I do each wheel . . . NOW ... having one spilled so in just this way.

*************

The 'open the bleeder" argument is one that's been around for a long time.

- if you open the bleeder you can let the 'extra' fluid escape at the wheel rather than be pushed back up.

- on the other hand if the system at the wheel is a CLOSED system, are you potentially introducing MORE water and/or dirt by opening the valve?

service manuals are not consistent in their recommendations on this, nor "how to's", even ones from 'experts'.

And looking at the fluid volumes involved I'd say it is very unlikely that the fluid from a wheel would get ALL THE WAY back to the ABS system ... more problems have probably occurred from OPENING the valve and then getting air in the system due to improper bleeding.

I keep the bleeder closed and watch the master level, loosening the cap so I'm not fighting pressure there, but admittedly allowing some air to reach the fluid.

MY OPINION and not worth the paper is isn't printed on ... but what I DO and have done for years on my cars and those that I do (free) brake work for.

I suspect this is a case where there is a procedure that works best for people who TRACK the car and may be changing pads very often and multiple times while really stressing the brakes and fluid ... and another for average Joe's like me.

 

Thanks all for your help. Thisbisnso helpful.
If its the brake fluid overflowing, does that mean I have to bleed the system or is there an alternative way to fix this problem?
I prefer not to take off the wheels but if beeling is the only way, then I guess I have to do that.

 

What did you see when you removed the cap yesterday just after 5:31 pm? Were you able to rotate any wheel by hand?

 

welllllll an over flow does NOT suggest too LITTLE fluid now does it?

 

I jacked the car up and I was able to rotate both rear wheels and passenger side front but they had some dragging. The front driver side was completely stuck and I couldn't rotate it at all.

I saw the fluid dripping when I pushed the front driver side piston in. Also, I remember having a hard time reinstalling the front driver side caliper back in. I had to use my rubber mallet to get it in.

 

Did you drain a bit of fluid from the master cylinder? If you didn't (or have a bit more fluid to add), you can break the bleeder on the driver side front and drain fluid through that caliper. Especially with the issues that you have, I would use the 2 person method to allow the caliper to self-center and release.

Mike

 

You need to remove the reservoir cap when you push the caliper pistons in. That fluid and pressure has to go somewhere.
It sounds like you didn't get the driver side all the way in. Did you grease the pins or tabs on the pads??

 

So there's your problem. You have to get that caliper off again, take the pads out, and push the piston back in. Take the reservoir cap off first. If the piston won't move, you have a corrosion problem and will probably have to replace the caliper (replace both sides).

BTW, don't ever do that again. If you didn't have all sorts of warning bells go off before you grabbed the hammer, you probably shouldn't be working on cars.

 

When I installed EBC yellows, I found that the front pads have little posts on them to enforce location - one goes on the inside of the rotor, one on the outside. If you install them swapped, the posts will interfere with the piston on one side and the pad holder part of the caliper on the other. You can install them swapped but then the pads will drag on the rotor when you put the caliper back on because they effectively make the pads too fat.

See the picture here: http://www.waymotorworks.com/ebc-yel...rake-pads.html , the pad on the front right with the posts toward the outside edges goes on the piston side.

So if you had trouble getting the caliper to fit back over the pads, check to make sure that you don't have the pads swapped.

I found this out the hard way, I got it right on the driver's side because of the pad wear sensor, but didn't realize it mattered on the passenger side until I couldn't get the caliper back over the pads.

 

ah

good memory on that one and it is true, the difference 'tween the inner and outer pad is subtle but MATTERS

and not unique to EBC pads. Here's the OE front pads from my 07-S which I took off for EBCs but held on to as spares



you can see the wear pattern from the piston and outer caliper ... the OE pads are also marked L and W forming a pair but I have no idea what L and W mean! Note the little black buttons along side the 'TRW' marking . . . note that if the 'inner' (top) pad were used on the 'bottom/outer' the buttons would be under the caliper contact area . . . this adds initial thickness which would probably be sufficient to make the pad hard to reassemble and bind. IF used for any length of time the pad would not be sitting flat.

 

Thanks everyone, especially Capt_bj!!
I had both inners on one wheel and outers on the other. That's what made the wheel lock!
Now there's a slight drag but I guess brake bleeding will take care of that issue!
Once again, thanks guys!! I really appreciate it!