Soft Brake Pedal After New pads and rotor

2001 Tacoma 3.4L non-TRD.
I just replaced my old rotors and pads with new Hawk LTS pads and Brembo Blanks. I followed many threads on how to properly bed them in and its been about 50 miles now and the pedal still feels soft. I didn;'t mess with the brake lines when replacing the brakes and have replaced brakes many times on my older trucks. I decided to bleed them yesterday evening and still the same. THis morning i had my brother help with the bleeding again and his dumb A$$ let the MC run dry, while I bled. So i bought another quart of fluid and bled all the wheels and still have the same outcome. I dont see any leaks or twisted lines. If i push hard enough i can push the pedal almost to the floor. While stopping sometimes the pedal feels firm and other times it feels soft. Any suggestions? Has anyone had this issue after installing this same setup?

 

Are you running ceramic pads now?

 

master brake cylinder, fluid bypassing seal failing to build enough pressure perhaps.

 

Are you running ceramic pads now?

 

They are Ferro-carbon pads. I bled them again one last time making sure there are no bubbles. I followed the DIY brake replacement on TW and my dad said I could have damaged a seal when I pushed in the pistons into the caliper. Could using to much brake grease on the back of the pads be an issue? One last thing, I can hear a clanking sound coming from the front when i apply the brakes. Sounds like the pads are loose. I've never encountered this issue before. Sorry for all the questions. If it is the MC where is the cheapest deal?

 

put the front on jack stands and pull the wheels. check to make sure the pads are correctly secured with the pins and retention spring (that piece of flat metal bent to fit). spin the hub and have the bro/dad apply the brakes and see if it grabs correctly.

 

Thanks for the responses! I'll jack up the truck tomorrow morning before work. When I checked them today, I noticed that the pads were still loose and can be moved by hand. When I have replaced brakes in the past it was for an 80's runner, Datsun 510's, 80's pickups. I never had any issues

 

If all installed correctly I'd bleed all 4's starting in backdoing a simple "8 pumps & hold" on each wheel, make sure resevoir doesn't empty this method hasn't failed me yet..

 

Everyone left for the lake early morning so I didn't have a chance to work on it. Can someone give me the right sequence to bleeding all four wheels. There are different sequences that other ppl have posted, and I'm not sure if I'm doing the correct one. RP, RD, LSPV, FP, FD. Sorry for all the questions and thank you everyone for your help.

 

right rear, left rear, right front, left front...

 

For bleeding I use a motive brake bleeder. I've heard somewhere some times you might have to do a bench bleed. Remove the master cylinder and bleed it manually.

 

Only if you replace the Master Cylinder, and only on some Models. Do not jack with the MC unless it is the problem. Bleeding the Brakes and the new fluid should be all it needs if there is air in the lines.
If that does not cure it, then you need a MC replacement, then find out if it needs bench bleeding when you buy it. The surest way to tell if it's the MC is to slowly apply pressure to it and if it goes all the way to the floor, then it's bypassing the inner seals then it's the MC.

 

Had same problem after lifting and adding aftermarket proportioning valve, make sure rear brake drum pads are adjusted correctly!! Adjust till u fill little drag then stop, mine are like a race car now!

 

Update- I bled all the wheels today and made sure I didn't open the bleeder valves excessively. The Lsvp was the only one that still had small itty bitty bubbles coming out of it. I bled the LsVP for about 20 min and it continued to throw bubbles. Looks like like I got a lot of air in there. I didn't get to finish bleeding the rest of the bubbles out since I had to work. I'll finish it tmrw. The brake pedal still has about half inch of softness to it but then stops on a dime. They feel 95% better than before. The pedal also does not mush down while the brakes are pushed in. I'm guess I won't be needing an MC anytime soon. On a side note, while bolting up my front left wheel in a hurry to go to work I broke the lug nut bolt stud completely off

One thing after the next. Anyone know where to buy a new one? And the easiest way to remove it.

Thanks for all the help!!

 

Just about any auto parts store should have them, & you'll need to knock the remaining broken stud out, after that take the new stud & start it in from behind the hub, if theres no room to smack it down into place dont worry just get enough of it sticking thru hub to get a lug on it , tightening down will pull the stud into place & notice they're splined just dont fuck it up & it'll go smoothly

 

I have the soft brake issue again. I had my buddy that works for Toyota look at it. We looked at everything from bleeding the brakes, adjusting the rear shoes, and looked for leaks, but everything looks good. He said the brakes feel normal, but I refuse to believe they are "normal". My mothers 99 4runner and fathers 04 Tacoma feel night and day compared to my truck. They are firm and very responsive as to mine are soft and pedal needs to be pushed way down to grab. I don't think the brakes should feel this horrible after new pads and new rotors. My friend said the only thing left is to change out the MC and see if thats the problem. For a second we thought they had sent me the wrong rotors, but i checked the sizes and the rotors are identical..ANy more advice? Should i just buy the new MC?

 

Sounds like a bad square cut seal in the the master cylinder but I've been wrong before...

 

Did you ever replace the MC? I'm having similar issues.

 

You can crack the banjo bolts loose when pumping and hold the pedal while cracked, a lot of air can get stuck in the banjo bolts on the fronts, and still not bleed fully.

 

2x