Brake pedal is spongy

If the master cylinder is replaced, care must be taken to prime the new master cylinder by removing all of the air and completely filling it with brake fluid. The spongy feeling is air that is still in the circuits. You will need to bleed the back brakes as well as the front ones again. The order that you bled them seems correct, but perhaps there remained some air in the main trunk lines.

For the best results 2 people are needed. Start at the further distance wheel cylinder and bleed at least three (3) master cylinder reservoir volumes of fluid (back brakes). Bleed the fluid with use of a piece of tubing attached to the bleed port that is long enough to reach almost to the bottom of a long neck or tall clear jar (clear drink bottle works well). When the bleeding begins, after one or two brake pedal pushes, make sure that the end of the tubing is below the surface of the fluid and keep it under. It best to have a clear bleed line (to observe air). Keep pumping the brake pedal while being careful to not completely empty the master cylinder reservoir (leave 1/4 full always). Repeat the same technique for each wheel cylinder with at least two (2) reservoirs full for front brakes. Partially close the bleed ports when almost finished (at least 5 pedal strokes without exit of any air). Completely close the ports during the down stroke of the brake pedal, with the tubing still attached. Be sure each bleed port is closed snuggly.
Most of the brake fluid can be reused, but not the darker portion at the bottom of the jar.

I just had a simalar problem on a suzuki sidekick.. It turned out to be a bad piston seal inside the Master Cyl. I went through about a gallon of fluid before i took the master cyl apart.. because it was a "rebuilt" cylinder from a trusted brand name company.. So i called the rebuilding compang and they sent me one that they had checked.. It worked great and fixed the problem.. by the way did i mention that i had received 3 units from the parts store all with the same problem.. finally i took one apart and discovered the problem.

loosen of the hand-brake adjustment and press the brake pedal a few times to self adjust the rear brakes.
Re-tighten the handbrake adj last.
Front brake sounds like a seized caliper,If possible remove caliper and clean and lubricate the piston.
This may work but replacement caliper may be the only other solution.Make sure the caliper slides are also clean and lubricated and the brake pads are in good order.(TRY THIS FIRST)
Also new brake shoes can make the pedal feel spongy for a couple of hundred miles until they have been run in.

I would make sure all the air has been bled out of the abs unit and all other components. Any air in the brake system will cause a spongy pedal and is not acceptable.

sounds like you need to take it back to the mechanic and tell him this. then tell him to fix it correctly or pay for another shop to fix the problem. it seems that he is not getting it bleed correctly.

Did you adjust the rear shoes out? If the rear drum brakes are out of adjustment they will give you a lot of pedal travel. If the pads are worn have no fear of that U-CLIP brake spring, just change one shoe at a time. Take the spring off one side, change the shoe, put the spring back on the post and do the same to the other shoe, no problem.

there is air there somewhere. try manual bleeding the brakes. do the farthest wheel first. if they are calipers all the way around, when you bleed them tap them gently to remove any air that can still be inside the chambers.

robert

I have a 2001 Chevy 1500 4 X 4 that recently had all new pads, rotors, and calipers installed. Since then my brake pedal goes almost to the floor before I get any brakes. I took it back to the shop and they bled the brakes with no better results. I bled them also with no results. I took the truck back and they installed a master cylinder with no results. It's now at the Chevy dealer and they say it's normal - BS! I had good brakes before I had all of the brake parts replaced, no one can figure it out. If you have a load in the truck or if you tow anything you better be looking at the ditch to avoid an accident. The original brakes would put you nose into the windshield and now I could stop it better the Fred Flinstone way. Anyone have an answer????????

I just went to Brake Masters this morning and had them replace the Master Cylinder since I was experiencing the pedal very spongy and going to the floor. When they replaced the Master Cylinder and they gave me back the car, the brakes were still spongy and going to the floor. I addressed this to them and they took another look at it, but when I took it for a second time, the brakes were extremely spongy. It was almost like they gave me back my car in worst condition to when I brought it in. Can you help?

possibly new master cylinder is defective