Brake problem

[elcuarenta]

I replaced the front calipers, brake hoses , rotors and new pads. I also replaced rear drums , shoes and kits on the back. After bleeding them the brakes feel soft and spongy. Also when I slam the brakes the truck doesn’t stop instantly. There’s a delay. what could be wrong ?

 

[454cid]

Did you adjust the rear brakes? I've just been doing a full drum brake job, for the first time myself.... when reassembling the brakes, the adjuster is usually installed all the way in, and will need to be adjusted to take up the slack/space between the shoe and drum after everything is assembled. Just tonight, I was bleeding the brakes and wasn't getting a good pedal until I remembered that I hadn't adjusted the brakes yet. I adjusted them out until they just slightly started to drag.... instant firm pedal.

You could still have some air someplace, too.

 

[Schurkey]

I replaced the front calipers, brake hoses , rotors and new pads. I also replaced rear drums , shoes and kits on the back. After bleeding them the brakes feel soft and spongy. Also when I slam the brakes the truck doesn’t stop instantly. There’s a delay. what could be wrong ?

WHAT VEHICLE?

Does it have ABS? Did you bleed the ABS system? As said, are the rear brakes adjusted properly?

The 1500s have crappy leading/trailing rear brakes. They suck. They're adjusted by stepping on the brake pedal AFTER using and releasing the park brake. Nobody ever uses the park brake.

If you installed "low drag" calipers on a vehicle that doesn't have a Quick Take-Up master cylinder, the pedal will be low and the front brakes won't work well.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I use the parking brake all the time, and my Suburban never self-adjusted.

 

[Schurkey]

Seized star-wheel?

 

[thinger2]

Some brake drum myths. A brake shop does not set the rears by winding her up in reverse a stomping the pedal untill the adjuster works.
They do it by setting the initial drum to shoe gap and then letting the adjusters work.
There is an initial spec for every drum setup buts its usually about .040 gap per side
This is done by using a brake drum micrometer and a brake shoe vernier gauge.
I get it. You probably dont have either of those.
I only have them because I have a serious tool problem and I refuse help.
When you set the rears, you cant have so much gap that the adjusters take 40 slams to push the shoes out. If they even actually work.
By the time youve been arrested at the Walmart parking lot for doing back donuts.
All youve done is cook the fronts.
Assuming all of the other drum basics have been done correctly.
Set the shoes untill they just barely drag on the drum when you put it on.
Then follow the normal well documented procedures to "burn in" your brakes. ( though I really hate that term)
You need the gap set close enough that the adjusters can work properly

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Schurkey]

Set the shoes untill they just barely drag on the drum when you put it on.
Then follow the normal well documented procedures to "burn in" your brakes. ( though I really hate that term)
You need the gap set close enough that the adjusters can work properly

"Burn in"? I'd hate that term, too.

"Burnish" is a fine word for that process.

bur·nished, bur·nish·ing, bur·nish·es
1. To make smooth or glossy by rubbing; polish.
2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.
3. To improve or make more impressive: achievements that burnished her reputation.​

Burnishing brakes involves using the shoes or pads to "polish" the drums/rotors, the heat created helps to remove manufacturing solvents and to cure binders in the friction material of the shoes/pads. It establishes an "improved" working surface on both the friction material and the mating iron, steel, carbon fiber or whatever the friction surface of the drum/rotor is made of, especially if the drums/rotors have been resurfaced as part of the "brake job".



For the record, every drum-to-shoe gauge (Lower item in the tool photo) I worked with was a (shop-owned, ancient, worn-out) piece of crap. The "points" that set the drum size tended to be worn if not actually bent, and the sizing adjustment was so sloppy as to make precision impossible. I quit using them decades ago. I just go by "feel" when it comes to shoe-to-drum drag. I set the initial "drag" lightly, then step on the brake pedal to align the shoes to the drum as they would be in actual use. Then tighten the adjuster some more. My initial drag may even be heavier than some would permit, because I know that after burnishing, the friction material high-spots are going to be worn away--and it's the high-spots that create most of the initial drag.

 

[Schurkey]

I only have them because I have a serious tool problem and I refuse help.

Marvelous. I just love that line.

(Me, too.)

 

[thinger2]

"Burn in"? I'd hate that term, too.

"Burnish" is a fine word for that process.

bur·nished, bur·nish·ing, bur·nish·es
1. To make smooth or glossy by rubbing; polish.
2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.
3. To improve or make more impressive: achievements that burnished her reputation.​

Burnishing brakes involves using the shoes or pads to "polish" the drums/rotors, the heat created helps to remove manufacturing solvents and to cure binders in the friction material of the shoes/pads. It establishes an "improved" working surface on both the friction material and the mating iron, steel, carbon fiber or whatever the friction surface of the drum/rotor is made of, especially if the drums/rotors have been resurfaced as part of the "brake job".



For the record, every drum-to-shoe gauge (Lower item in the tool photo) I worked with was a piece of crap. The "points" that set the drum size tended to be worn if not actually bent, and the sizing adjustment was so sloppy as to make precision impossible. I quit using them decades ago. I just go by "feel" when it comes to shoe-to-drum drag. I set the initial "drag" lightly, then step on the brake pedal to align the shoes to the drum as they would be in actual use. Then tighten the adjuster some more. My initial drag may even be heavier than some would permit, because I know that after burnishing, the friction material high-spots are going to be worn away--and it's the high-spots that create most of the initial drag.

Burnishing is exactly what is going on.
But the use of the word may not mean anything to someone who just needs to get the brakes to work.
It is somewhat of a fine line to trod when you have to choose between being overly technical with advice or "dumbing it down" so a reader can understand what you are rattling on about.
My goal is always to do whatever I can to help the people who just need the damn thing to run so they can get to work.
God knows I'm not always right.
But I am not here to be right.
I dont need the validation
The thought that perhaps, somebody somewhere was able to repair a truck that they absolutley need, based off of the responses they get from members of this forum?
That my friend is the power of the internet and the amazing ability of complete strangers to try and help each other.

 

[alpinecrick]

I only have them because I have a serious tool problem and I refuse help.

I'm jealous.

My other problem is I have a serious rifle and handloading problem so it's all a tradeoff and compromise.......