"Spongy" Brakes?
10-13-2009, 08:56 AM
#1
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NC
Posts: 1,185
"Spongy" Brakes?
I have an 03 GT. For as long as I've owned it, my brakes have had this weird sound when you listen closely to them. "Spongy" is the best I can describe it. It happens when I step on the brake pedal once the car has been warmed up and running a while. The hotter it gets, the more weird it sounds. Almost sounds like there is air in the lines. Kinda like bubbles running through a hose with liquid. Anyone got an idea on this one?
And as a side note, I bought Duralast Gold Ceramic brake pads and got a decrease in stopping power. I have stock brakes on this car and turned rotors, but really? Should it have gone down that much? Just wondering.
Thanks gents.
And as a side note, I bought Duralast Gold Ceramic brake pads and got a decrease in stopping power. I have stock brakes on this car and turned rotors, but really? Should it have gone down that much? Just wondering.
Thanks gents.
10-13-2009, 09:48 AM
#2
Go Texas!!!
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 4,613
When you pushed the rear caliper pistons back in did you line up the notches on the piston so that they were at the clock location of 12 and 6?
You could have got air into the system but I wouldn't think you did unless you pulled the brake line off the caliper. You could always try and bleed the brakes to check if there is air in the lines.
Does the brake pedal feel the same as it did before you put the new pads on?
You could have got air into the system but I wouldn't think you did unless you pulled the brake line off the caliper. You could always try and bleed the brakes to check if there is air in the lines.
Does the brake pedal feel the same as it did before you put the new pads on?
10-13-2009, 10:11 AM
#3
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NC
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Yeah, it really does feel the same as it did before. MAYBE a bit softer, but not much. As for the notches, no, I didn't even notice them. I have never done that on any brake job of my Mustangs. What is the purpose of doing that?
And yeah, I could bleed the lines. But it is such a PITA that I would rather not if I can get away with it.
EDIT: I just re-read your post. I didn't work on the rear calipers that time. Just the front.
And yeah, I could bleed the lines. But it is such a PITA that I would rather not if I can get away with it.
EDIT: I just re-read your post. I didn't work on the rear calipers that time. Just the front.
Last edited by trickdriller; 10-13-2009 at 10:17 AM.
10-13-2009, 11:27 AM
#6
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: CT
Posts: 4,951
The hydroboost on these cars make the braking feel weird. They use hydroboost on some of the bigger GM trucks, and customers complain that the brakes feel soft sometimes, but it's a normal feeling on the hydroboost systems.
10-13-2009, 11:32 AM
#7
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
+1, it took me a while to get used to it--I bled the brakes 3 times before realising that was just the way the hydroboost system feels...
10-13-2009, 11:55 AM
#8
6th Gear Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Columbia, MO
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Yeah, it really does feel the same as it did before. MAYBE a bit softer, but not much. As for the notches, no, I didn't even notice them. I have never done that on any brake job of my Mustangs. What is the purpose of doing that?
And yeah, I could bleed the lines. But it is such a PITA that I would rather not if I can get away with it.
EDIT: I just re-read your post. I didn't work on the rear calipers that time. Just the front.
And yeah, I could bleed the lines. But it is such a PITA that I would rather not if I can get away with it.
EDIT: I just re-read your post. I didn't work on the rear calipers that time. Just the front.
10-13-2009, 03:42 PM
#9
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 1,956
When I bought my car 14 months ago I dont....recall.....it doing this. But it does EXACTLY what you are describing now. It feels and sounds very "spongy." That is the best way to describe it....but I still have great braking power even though my rotors are shot.
10-13-2009, 04:55 PM
#10
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
BTW--I had to change the front rotors because I warped them shedding 55 MPH (the 55 MPH between 125 and 70) in response to a threat detector alert--late one night on I-10 between Tallahassee and Lake City, I bet those rotors were glowing red when I passed by the radar gun...
