sti brake pedal
01 November 2006, 06:57 PM
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sti brake pedal
after changing the brake fluid on an 02 sti (brembos) i felt the pedal had more free play,before i went at it, the brakes were pin sharp with the slightest touch and the pedal was hard. at first i thought air was in the systrm so i took it to a main dealer and changed it again with the pressurised system and i also changed the front pads but there still seems to a lot of free play,as in i can press the pedal about 3/4 inch while driving and not feel any braking,sometimes there is a clonk from the pads when i hit the brakes.the abs seems to cut in alot sooner now as well. the discs appear to be in good condition. any ideas??
01 November 2006, 09:02 PM
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I'd doubt theres any air in the system but the pads are clicking a bit i've also noticed the calipers are deflecting abit when the brake is applied.if i pump the pedal a few times it might be o.k for a couple of days
06 November 2006, 02:01 PM
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If the pedal is spongy (slowly increasing resistance over some travel) then you have air somewhere in the system. If you have a lot of travel before a firm pedal then something like a stuck pad or piston is likely. Older pads tended to jam up in the front calipers on Brembos. I wore the inner pad out while the outer pad was only half worn. They have been modified now to let the pad find it's own place in the caliper. Not sure what you mean by deflecting the caliper but its sounds pretty scary to me. I can undestand the ABS problem too because you don't have a progressive pedal the brakes are snatching on when you eventually take up all the freeplay in the system. Just pop the front wheels off and check out those front pads are not jamming or unevenly worn. Good luck.
06 November 2006, 08:02 PM
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i have solved the problem the new pads were slightly wider than the old ones this combined with some disc wear meant the pad was acting on a shoulder on the disc instead of the full face of the disc, i simply removed the pads and filed a bevel on the outer and inner edge,pedal is perfect now. i have also been told it is normal to see the caliper flex a little when braking. thanks 
