Screwed up my front brakes. How?

[kirkhilles]

New-to-me-2014 with 106k miles. The brakes were clearly in need of some attention as there was vibration when braking, so I decided to order new Rotors and Pads from RockAuto:

CENTRIC 12052002
BREMBO P09004N

Those parts should be correct.

So, I believe that I did it "by the book" and removed everything, put the new rotors on, pushed the caliper back in (although it kinda had a see-saw motion as I pushed one the other went up), lubricated the ends of the pads, put them in and fed one pin (lubricated) in the bottom and then pushed the spring thing down till I could put the other caliper pin in and then lightly hammered the back until they were seated.

Did that for both and then got in the car.

- Pushed the pedal and it went down to the floor (expected)
- Tesla showed a warning about low brake fluid for a few seconds (unexpected) and then went away and didn't mention it again
- The pedal had too much movement and it felt as if the front brakes weren't engaging
- I moved forward a few feet and could hear rubbing
- Checked the Brake Fluid and it seems full, so I can't imagine how air would've gotten in.

I'm not a super-pro on brakes, but I've done front brakes several times and never run into issues before and don't know what I've done wrong. I took a (bad) picture of it and marked where the front right seems to be dragging.

What the heck did I do wrong and how do I fix it?

 

[CorneliusRox]

Just take it apart again and put it back together. I bet there's an anti-rattle clip installed incorrectly, or you accidently bent the 'low brake pad noise maker'.

 

[kirkhilles]

Well, I went through and did it all again and clearly still have a long way to go. I don't know if it's because I twisted the lines or what, but there definitely HAS to be air in there, so I've ordered the Motive adapter (I used it on a couple of my vehicles before) and will see if that helps. Worst case, brake fluid is pretty cheap.

A more concerning matter is a sound coming from the left that I'm thinking is a damaged rotor. It's a low rubbing sound. Both rotors were shipped from Rock Auto in one box and the top one had crushed the box of the bottom. It sucks to have to buy another one, but I'm not sure what else it could be.

 

[CorneliusRox]

You should get yourself a dial indicator. You'll use it on more things than you think.

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment & SAE Dial Test Indicator & 22 Piece Anvile Point Set with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDIAP: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment & SAE Dial Test Indicator & 22 Piece Anvile Point Set with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDIAP: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Basically toss the rotor on a hub, tighten the lugs so it's tight and true, put the dial indicator against it and zero it out, then rotate the rotor and observe the runout. Typically rotors only allow 0.002" ("two thousandth") of runout. If it's more than that, return it.

As for the Motive bleeder... I bought one about 7 years ago when they were really popular and didn't care for them. My advice would be, pour your fluid into the Motive bleeder a couple hours before bleeding so 100% of the bubbles leave the fluid first. When you pour it in, there's bubbles, and when you go to pressurizing it right away, those bubbles never seem to separate out, then are pumped into your brake system.
I like a typical old bleed the best. Call a buddy and get under the car while he pumps the pedal.

I'm also not sure of this on Tesla, but on previous Audi's I've had, I needed to tell the computer to actuate the ABS module to get 100% of the old fluid/air out. This is probably overkill, but without a manufacturer style vacuum fill, it's almost impossible to get all the air out without doing this.

Last thing, make sure you're doing a proper burnishing on the new brakes. Any brakes will give you a slight sound when turning the wheel, just make sure the pads are seated to the rotor properly and that sound isn't excessive.

 

[CorneliusRox]

Oh, and take better pictures ;-)

 

[kirkhilles]

You should get yourself a dial indicator. You'll use it on more things than you think.

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment & SAE Dial Test Indicator & 22 Piece Anvile Point Set with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDIAP: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment & SAE Dial Test Indicator & 22 Piece Anvile Point Set with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDIAP: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Basically toss the rotor on a hub, tighten the lugs so it's tight and true, put the dial indicator against it and zero it out, then rotate the rotor and observe the runout. Typically rotors only allow 0.002" ("two thousandth") of runout. If it's more than that, return it.

As for the Motive bleeder... I bought one about 7 years ago when they were really popular and didn't care for them. My advice would be, pour your fluid into the Motive bleeder a couple hours before bleeding so 100% of the bubbles leave the fluid first. When you pour it in, there's bubbles, and when you go to pressurizing it right away, those bubbles never seem to separate out, then are pumped into your brake system.
I like a typical old bleed the best. Call a buddy and get under the car while he pumps the pedal.

I'm also not sure of this on Tesla, but on previous Audi's I've had, I needed to tell the computer to actuate the ABS module to get 100% of the old fluid/air out. This is probably overkill, but without a manufacturer style vacuum fill, it's almost impossible to get all the air out without doing this.

Last thing, make sure you're doing a proper burnishing on the new brakes. Any brakes will give you a slight sound when turning the wheel, just make sure the pads are seated to the rotor properly and that sound isn't excessive.

Thanks! Great stuff. I'll check out that device.

 

[airborne spoon]

Get rid of the potato you took that pic with and use a good camera
here is the directions for removing the brake calipers Brake Caliper - Front - LH (Remove and Replace)
also you should flush the brake lines about every 100k miles, i do it every 50k. and if you're in there already why not flush the lines with new fluid, its like 7 bucks at AutoZone and if you think there is air in the line somehow then hell yeah blead them suckers.
bleeding the brakes is easy if you have 2 people, if its just you then the easiest way is to use a handheld vacuum pump, which is the way i do it because its the fastest way IMO.