I have been trying to get my brakes to work properly- but I may not fully understand what has happened; I recently changed the trans and clutch- used an engine support and then dropped the cradle and trans....when I was re-installing the parking brake cables, I found that the left side actuated the brake slightly so the hub would not turn freely- I took the lever off (carefully) and rotated 1/6 to the next flat to loosen the parking brake slightly.

When I test drove the car, the trans and clutch worked perfectly, but the brakes were spongy.....I thought that the Master Cylinder had gone bad so ordered a new one and installed it...but after many attempts at bleeding- both the MC and all of the brake calipers, it is still spongy.

I would not think that backing the parking brake lever off a bit would create this problem- but what do you guys think?

Can you loosen the adjustment at the adjuster sleeve and reset the arm to its original position?

Firm brake pedal is largely from the rear brakes, so check the gap between the pads and the rotors.
If it is much more than a playing card width, then a fair amount of the brake pedal travel could be used up (and feel soft) just moving the pads to make contact with the rotor.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: Can you loosen the adjustment at the adjuster sleeve and reset the arm to its original position?

I decided to try this- return the left-caliper parking brake lever to it's original position...and then test-drove and brakes work perfectly now.

Don't understand how turning that PB actuator screw 1/6 a turn could make the brakes feel spongy- OK, maybe at first- but after bleeding multiple times I would think the hydraulic brakes would work correctly....

quote Originally posted by cvxjet: I decided to try this- return the left-caliper parking brake lever to it's original position...and then test-drove and brakes work perfectly now. Don't understand how turning that PB actuator screw 1/6 a turn could make the brakes feel spongy- OK, maybe at first- but after bleeding multiple times I would think the hydraulic brakes would work correctly....

Rotating the parking brake lever pulled the piston too far from the rotor.
Pedal travel was used to close the gap, which will feel spongy.
By rotating it back, you closed the gap and now the rear brakes work like they should.
The rear calipers are hydromechanical and the self adjusting feature takes a long time to work.