Yesterday i put new rotors and brake pads on my car, and they work good, only problem is i have to push the brake pedal in a lot farther. I have to push it down to the floor to get it to stop. I bleeded all four tires of air...and it is still doing it...any recommendations on how to make the pedal more stiff, so that you don't have to push the pedal in so far to stop? (i drive a 1995 honda civic lx)

 

Did it act like that before?
you really don't need to bleed them for rotors and pads. chances are you just got air in the line. Bleed them again. Put a hose from the valve nipple to a bottle with brake fluid in it. Pump till no air comes out. Close bleeder valve. If it was like that before and you try bleeding a few more times and it still won't work then you probably have master cylinder trouble.

 

:werd: Depending on if you bled all the lines correctly, it would boil down to a brake master cylinder internal leak if you don't see any leaking out of the cylinder itself. What happens is the seals around both sides of the internal piston of the MC start to leak over time and age and the fluid leaks past the seals and it would cause the pedal to go to the floor. If this is the problem, just replace the MC with one from autozone or something for 80 bucks and you'll be set.

 

u could test ur master cylinder by clamping the 4 brake lines.. than jump in the car.. press the pedal about half way and keep it there.. the pedal should be stiff and not move.. but if it gradually sinks slowly its ur mc... but yeah.. try bleeding it again.. did u disconnect the brake lines when u installed the rotor and caliper??

 

Don't cramp your brake lines. Just pump up the brakes while the car is off until the pedal is nice and stiff. Then keep a good bit of pressure on the pedal, it shouldn't sink at all. If it does, it's probably the MC. But the others are right, if you only changed pads and rotors and bled the lines, chances are you got air in the lines.