i just replaced front brakes pads on a 96 ford windstar van,have no pedal after adding brake fluid?

Question

after replacing pads and having a little difficulty of pushing back the caliper,and after loosing a little fluid ,i never had any pedal even after pumping up brakes and adding some fluid,almost had accident.im assuming that the brakes in front need to be bled,which i never have done before

Answer 1

Damn dude, your lucky!!, NEVER NEVER NEVER assume anything when it comes to brakes! anytime the system is opened or fluid loss occurs, you MUST bleed the air out of them. When you have to push in the caliper piston, you must use a "C" clamp or a brake caliper piston tool to make the job easier. Yes that piston is hard to push in, but the right tool makes it a litte easier. now, as far as bleeding the system, READ THROUGHLY!! First, an assistant to help you will make things easier. Have your assistant pump the brake pedal several times then push it all the way down and hold it. each wheel has a nipple that can be loosened with the proper wrench. USE A BOXED END WRENCH TO PREVENT SLIPPAGE. loosen the nipple just enough to allow fluid to escape. you should see and hear air bubbles escaping. as the fluid escapes, the pedal will go to the floor, be sure to tell your assistant not to release it at that point, just let it go to the floor and hold it there. when you tighten up the nipple, repeat process again until all the air is out. I would do this at each wheel just to be sure that all the air is out the entire system. Just remember to check the master cylinder each time that there is enough fluid in it to do this process.

Answer 2

david c is correct, but being certified he didnt tell u in which order to do it in. Get a manual, but most of the time I do it rear passenger, rear driver, front passenger, front driver side.. use a clear bottle with some clean fluid in it and a hose long enough to submerse it in the clean fluid, when they pump it up have them hold pressure on the pedal until u open the valve and then close the valve before they release the pedal,(so your not sucking air back into the system, its nice to have a third person monitering the fluid level in the master cylander, because u will have to repeat this several times for each tire/brake.. until u get all of the bubbles out, thats where the hose in fluid helps, easier to see bubbles and also helps if mistake is made with pedal so u wont suck air back into system.

Answer 3

If you can get it to a repair shop, I'd advise you to have them bleed the brakes for you because it's difficult to do sometimes without the right equipment. You could have them flush the old brake fluid out at the same time which is a recommended service nowadays to extend brake life.

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troubleshooting/a/bl302a.htm

Answer 4

the front and rear brakes need to be bled