This post makes me sad. 
brakes are soft C230 Coupe with C32 brakes
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brakes are soft C230 Coupe with C32 brakes
ok so saterday morning i put my new brakes on my 03 230 coupe the brakes or of a c32 cailpers and roter and stainless steel cailper lines on install was easy all the stuff fit wheels fit and all looks good i used a power bleeder i filled the bleeder with 5 bottles of mb brake fluid and bleed a fuild bottle or fuild out of each cailper then got in and started car and pedel is soft then the last inch of pedel you can start feeling the car slow i dont know im used to my mustang with out esp bas and all that stuff i drove at about 3 mile then bas esp light came on it comes on when u start the car and drive for abou 3 mile. well this is my dd so i had to take it the richmond to drop my gf off and drive back to arlington i made a few stops to check and make sure there ant any leaks the fuild level never moved and that was a 220 mile drive so i dont know what do yall think it may be and it still feels the same way
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Caliper over return
I posted this to LILBENZ's thread - copied here. This is likely the cause. Manual pumping instead of pressure bleeding can sometimes resolve.
Caliper over-return is caused by pushing back the pistons in the caliper further than necessary when changing pads. The pistons have a D shaped cross section seal. When braking the seal sticks to the wall of the bore of the caliper & distorts to allow the piston to move forward against the pad. All that returns the piston with brakes off is the seal going back to it's normal shape. If the pistons are pushed back too far into the caliper when changing pads - i.e. by more than the thickness of the new pads - the seal sticks to the bore - distorts more than normally required - and thus returns further than it should. This gives you a low pedal because you have to displace more brake fluid to bring the pad in contact with the disc. The only fix is to strip & dry the entire braking system. Assemble the calipers, pads & all dry. Use compressed air to blow the pistons, seals & pads hard up against the disc & then bleed the brakes. I have done it many times in racing & it's a right royal PITA. It's frequently the cause of a slighly low or spongy pedal on Mercs & other cars. People frequently go changing flexible pipes etc to try & cure it. Frequently they are partially fixing a symptom without understanding the real, underlying problem.
Caliper over-return is caused by pushing back the pistons in the caliper further than necessary when changing pads. The pistons have a D shaped cross section seal. When braking the seal sticks to the wall of the bore of the caliper & distorts to allow the piston to move forward against the pad. All that returns the piston with brakes off is the seal going back to it's normal shape. If the pistons are pushed back too far into the caliper when changing pads - i.e. by more than the thickness of the new pads - the seal sticks to the bore - distorts more than normally required - and thus returns further than it should. This gives you a low pedal because you have to displace more brake fluid to bring the pad in contact with the disc. The only fix is to strip & dry the entire braking system. Assemble the calipers, pads & all dry. Use compressed air to blow the pistons, seals & pads hard up against the disc & then bleed the brakes. I have done it many times in racing & it's a right royal PITA. It's frequently the cause of a slighly low or spongy pedal on Mercs & other cars. People frequently go changing flexible pipes etc to try & cure it. Frequently they are partially fixing a symptom without understanding the real, underlying problem.
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
I should note that my brakes are no longer soft. Maybe it was having to press harder since pads and rotors were new or something but my softness disappeared on its own.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: So. Oregon Coast
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort RIP
Get your fluid flushed properly. I find that when I get it flushed, despite my best efforts, it still feels better when they do it, vs me doing it.
It'll cost you C note, but it's worth it.
You need to do that every 2 years.
Glad to see you getting down to the business of modding.
Re: the comment on your grammer and puntuation, well apparently that guy didn't read your earlier posts.
You're improving.
In the beginning, I didn't think you were for real.
A little work on the grammer, spelling and punctuation wouldn't hurt though....
It'll cost you C note, but it's worth it.
You need to do that every 2 years.
Glad to see you getting down to the business of modding.
Re: the comment on your grammer and puntuation, well apparently that guy didn't read your earlier posts.
You're improving.
In the beginning, I didn't think you were for real.
A little work on the grammer, spelling and punctuation wouldn't hurt though....
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