Bleed brakes question

Should the engine be running when performing the bleeding?
When we bled the brakes with the engine off the pedal was firm then after
starting the engine the pedal went almost to the floor. All I did was
replace the front pads at that time and I pushed the piston back in very
slowly.

Also why should the bleeding be done in the specific order and if the
caliper is pretty tight to get back onto the rotor can I ground the pads
down a little so the caliper slips on smoothly? I had to tap the caliper
back on with a hammer and my daughter said when she got to the store the
brakes were smoking and when she got home she said they didn't smoke.

Mike

 

When I compress the caliper I open the bleeder, I also clean the rust where
the caliper slides and apply some "Never Seize" compound.

Why they were stinking or smoking I can't say.

I bleed all the fluid on my CR-V this weekend, started at the farthest wheel
cylinder from master cylinder engine off.

The book says different, start at the left front caliper.

Tom

 

According to the manual i downloaded, I have to start at the passenger
rear then the drivers front, drivers rear and last the passenger front.
Car is a '00 Civic Ex

Mike

 

No. the engine should not be running. If all you did was push the calipers
back in you should not be bleeding the brakes at all. The pedal went all
the way to the floor because you pushed the calipers all the way in and it
takes several pumps of the pedal to re-seat them against the new pads. Just
pump them back up, top off the fluid if necessary, and drive.

Supposedly it keeps the air bubbles from just moving back and forth in the
system and actually purges them out.

You should not have done that. If the piston will not go all the way back
into the caliper, try opening the bleeder on that caliper a little bit to
let some of the pressure out (of course you will have to bleed that wheel
afterwards). If it still won't move with the bleeder open, its stuck - just
replace it.

It sounds like that caliper is stuck or binding. Keep an eye on it and if
it doesn't loosen up soon (like two or three stops), replace it or it will
eat the new pads in short order.

 

if the

You probably pushed the piston as far in as it will go. When you then
jam the caliper and new pads in there with a hammer, your brakes are on.
Driving like that, they should smoke!

It is not uncommon to get the wring pads. If your car has vented rotors
and you get the pads for a model without vented rotors, the pads will be
too thick to fit (like yours were). That happened to me last week. If
you can't exchange the pads for the correct thickness you could grind
them down a bit. A belt sander with a coarse grit sand paper will remove
brake lining really fast.

 

I took the calipers off again and I did use a belt sander to remove some
more material from the pads, now the calipers slide on with no binding. I
also checked the pistons to see if they were stuck and they weren't.

Also when I went to Auto Zone to get the pads they gave me a set for a
2000 Civic EX but the new pads were too small, turns out pads for an SI
fit my car. I guess they need to update their software or something.

I'll bleed the brakes today according to the manual and see what happens.

Mike

 

Too small in what dimension? Too thin?

 

Too short from top to bottom. The guy pulled 3 boxes out to find the
correct one and the correct one was listed on his terminal for an SI model.

 

Ain't that a pain. Last time I bought rear *pads* for my Civic Si the
guy at Kragen handed me a box of *shoes*