kenzaoe

So what is the general consensus about bleeding the brakes after a break pad change? I've read a lot of conflicting information on the intratubes ...

I recently replaced front rotors and break pads and my old man insists I need to do a break bleed. I did push in the caliper cylinder with a C-clamp about 2mm in order to fit it the new pads but I haven't opened any of the lines. So I don't see the point of the break bleed. There should be no air bubbles.

Also my mechanic did replace the brake fluid (it was pretty old and dirty) about 50 miles before I changed the break pads.

Break pedal feels the same as before.

Poopies

iTrader: (4)

If the fluid was just changed and there is no air in the lines, you shouldn't have to bleed them. If you pop the hood and your master cylinder is reading ABOVE the max fill line, you should definitely bleed the lines a bit until the level is normal again. After all, having thicker pads means less fluid is required to move them.

kenzaoe

How does one know there is air in the lines?
Is it possible to introduce air just from removing the caliper and/or pushing the cylinder?

Poopies

iTrader: (4)

Well, there are two ways to tell.
1.) Your brake performance has diminished and you can't stop as quickly, or at all in extreme cases.
2.) When you bleed your brake line, you notice air bubbles in the clear bleeding tube.

If you didn't disconnect the brake line itself and didn't notice any stray puddles of fluid, you're probably fine. You don't normally have to worry about it unless you accidentally disconnect the line itself. If you want to be 100% sure, go bleed both front lines a bit to make sure there are no bubbles. Just get at least enough fluid in the tube/reservoir so that you can be confident that the system is sealed. If there is air it will be near the bleeder valve anyway. I did that when i changed mine and it's one thing I don't have to think about for a while!

The whole process doesn't take long (especially if you have another person to push the brake) and fluid is dirt cheap if you decide not to reuse it.

ezone

Pedal would be unusually spongy or mushy. No.

kenzaoe

thanks all for your input