Paul, you're funny!

Probably right Paul. The stubborn Irishman is going to believe the his car is worth more than others, because it's his baby. I asked the mechanic if he bench bleed the master, he looked at me like who the heck are you.

I'll let you know what happens

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2005 350Z Grand Touring Convertible

After all this is fixed Kevin, and you know for sure what the problem was and who failed to fix it properly, I urge you to tell your story in our VENDORS RAVES AND GRIPES forum. That way you can help other members avoid the place(s) you got poor service from.
Frank

Hey Kevin, it seems i had a similar prob on one of my Z's, can't remember which one though. Check the pistons of the calipers you squeezed in to insert the pads, make sure they are travelling as they should, in and out, may be a hung piston in one of the calipers... If you haven't done this it's worth a shot, in my half Polish memory this may have been a resolution to one of my past brake problems, Going thru a similar prob with my 94 turbo Volvo, swapped out the power brake booster due to a squeal coming from the bladder, got rid of the squeal but now have a low pedal... Post back on that hanging caliper piston...

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Now on my 15th/update/16th Zcar, Z's4vr....

A low pedel with a siezed caliper? ummmm, I guess anything is possible, but usally you would have a firm pedal and a pull to one side. Good thing to check, and if your depressing the pistons in and they're tuff to push in, then you crack the bleeder and they now go in easy, it's your brake hose, it's collapsed inside. If that man did not bench bleed the master, DO NOT go back there, he does not know what he is doing obviously. My teenage students even know this. Sounds like you just need to do some bleeding. If it takes awile, that's ok, have patients, it could take a few hours, but at least do it right. It's like a 2 litter bottle with a pin hole on the bottom, pour fluid in the top, and let it drip from the bottom, if you put the cap on the resevoir, you just stopped the process, if you keep the resevoir full at all times, the more weight you have in fluid to do the pushing.

So, what became of this?

Is the problem solved, and if so, what did you decide it was?

Just resolved a low pedal on my 94 940 turbo Volvo wagon today with assistance from a tech i've become friendly with around the corner from my house, a few weeks ago i changed the power brake booster in the car with another unit from the j-yard, my pedal got consistently lower and lower.. found out there is a threaded rod coming out of the booster that was in too far, he adjusted it out for me and i remounted the Master cyl back on the booster, brakes are now rock hard.. Not sure of master cyl booster correaltion on Nissan application but this sure worked in my case... Just a thought/suggestion.....

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Now on my 15th/update/16th Zcar, Z's4vr....

Well, according to the 1987 HAYNES repair manual for the 240/260/280Z, if the symptom is, "PEDAL TRAVELS ALMOST TO FLOORBOARD BEFORE BRAKES OPERATE", the diagnosis is (1) a leak somewhere; (2) Brake fluid in reservoir too low; (3) Brake pads over 75% worn; or

(4) Bubbles in the Master Cylinder brake fluid.

Since Kevin attests there are no leaks, and he just replaced the pads, my best GUESS would be improper bleeding. (Since Zs use two independent systems, only the front brakes OR the rear brakes need to be bled. Since Kevin worked on the front pads and apparently forced air into the system, he'd bleed the front brakes).

The remedy suggests rebuilding the Master Cylinder, then bleeding ~ bleed the master cylinder FIRST (nipples on the side), THEN bleed the farthest wheel next (that would be the R/F for a LHD car), then bleed the L/F wheel.

This is a great opportunity to get one of your kids involved in your Z car. The assistant has a VITAL but simple task ~ "depress the brake pedal until I tell you to let it up".

The kid goes off to school next day with a great story about how (s)he helped dad fix the Z, which he couldn't have done without him/her. Two years later some family member pops up with a clandestine photo of the kid sitting in the car, bopping to the radio, with dad's head under the front wheel, and a family memory is relived.
By then it's time to change the brakes again.

Frank

The verdict is in, it was a bleeding problem as Prof Paul suspected. The Nissan dealer put high pressure machine flush on the the lines and it cleared out. So persistence on my part probably would have payed off. I haven't let the interim garage who put in the master cylinder know it was fixed. I'm out $700 but learned the persistence lesson. This coming from the weekend repair warrior who bled the lines 3-4 times and felt it wasn't going to work.

Lesson learned.

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2005 350Z Grand Touring Convertible

Have you bled the master cylinder? Not sure of your car year but my 71 has bleed connections on the master cylinder. You should bleed the master before you bleed the calipers.

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John Kish
1971 240Z - original owner

Well good to hear, and yes John, bleed the master first. and Tom, Volvos have a oppisite bleeding process, start with the left front first, then, RF, LR, and RR. (just thought I'd throw that in there.)

Thanks Paul, appreciate that, you da man....... Tom

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Now on my 15th/update/16th Zcar, Z's4vr....

I try.