New brake pads are spongy

Soldato
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I needed rear brake pads on both sides, a rear drivers side calliper and also a new handbrake cable.

I bought these parts myself and gave them and the car to a local mechanic who came recommended from a relative.

Got the car back today and the brakes are worse than ever, extremely spongy and terrible... I thought they were bad before!

He told me when I collected the car about this before I got in and drove off. He warned me they were spongy and to see how they were in a week... Apparently this is normal he says?

Anyone with any knowledge willing to shed some light on this for me? Is this guy an idiot and made a mess of it somehow?

The handbrake now feels very stiff and holds on one click, is this normal?

Thanks.
 
Soldato
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Sounds like he's not bled the brakes properly if they're that spongy.

Occasionally new pads can give a spongy feel which should disappear in 50 miles of driving once the pads start wearing.
 
Soldato
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Sometimes brake systems need to be re-bled after something in the system has been changed (caliper in this case) if there is still air in there.

Handbrake cable should ease it's way back to normal after time.
 
Soldato
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Sounds like there's air in your brake fluid to me,
I've had similar situations before but they usually sort them selves after about 50 miles of usual driving.
If it doesn't, Take it back.
 
Soldato
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You wouldn't get away with not bleeding the system after changing a caliper - he probably just hasn't managed to get it all out. Go out and stand on the brakes a few times to see if it improves - I wouldn't bother waiting for 50 miles would just go back and tell him they don't feel right. Should be a ten min job for the guy to sort especially seeing as all the bleed nipples will have been cracked already.
 
Soldato
OP
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You wouldn't get away with not bleeding the system after changing a caliper - he probably just hasn't managed to get it all out. Go out and stand on the brakes a few times to see if it improves - I wouldn't bother waiting for 50 miles would just go back and tell him they don't feel right. Should be a ten min job for the guy to sort especially seeing as all the bleed nipples will have been cracked already.

Will do.

Shall I stand on them with handbrake off and engine on, in or out of gear?

Not very car savvy.
 
Soldato
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Go out and stand on the brakes a few times to see if it improves

Or not, if you brake extremely hard on brand new pads you'll run the risk of glazing the surface. Just drive normally for a week or so then see how they are. But as others have said, it sounds like they need bleeding more thoroughly.
 
Soldato
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No I meant whilst out and about but wasn't particularly clear I guess.

Brake progressively but hard down to a crawl but not a stop from 30, 40, 50 and 60.

You wont ruin any pads, I've done this every set I've ever changed. The whole idea is you're removing the crap outer surface and bedding them to the disc. They will be fine
 
Soldato
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Took it out a 25 mile run. Braked firm from all sorts of speeds many times during the run.

Pedal firmed up after the first mile or so, but the brakes are still dire... The pedal has to to nearly touch the floor to brake harsh. It stops fine, but it's like standing in a swamp.
 
Associate
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The excess pedal travel points to it being air in the line, the air compresses instead of the fluid moving, it'll have happened when the caliper was changed, take it back and get it bled.
 
Soldato
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He may well have buggered your master cylinder seals.
Hopefully the squelching isn't coming from the rubber boot of the master cylinder inside the car.
It can happen if part of the master cylinder bore that is unused in normal braking gets corroded. Then when you bleed the brakes manually the seal passes over this corroded area and chews itself up. :(

But yea, take it back, get him to bleed it again (preferably with a pressure bleeder and not the manual press the pedal way ;) and see how it goes.
 
Soldato
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that wouldn't lead to a spongy pedal, just crap braking.

It can cause a spongy pedal. With worn (scored/ridged) discs the clamping force is concentrated on a very small area of the pad (until it wears level to the disc) surface and in these high pressure area the can pad deform. More likely to be air in the OPs case though since a caliper was replaced.
 
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