Brakes

I own a 2001 LS (Sport), I too had problems with the rear calipers. Damn piston would not budge. So I purchased all four calipers, new rotors, semi-metallic pads. Now after bleeding the system countless times, pedal is still very spongy. Any ideas on how to remedy this problem? A local brake place suggested it could be the master cylinder.

If you replaced all four calipers, you likely have a lot of air in your system. If the pedal was fine prior to replacing your calipers, it's quite unlikely that your master cylinder would happen to fail at the same time.

How were you bleeding the brakes? Two-person or with a hand vacuum pump? I'd suggest you purchase a full set of Speed Bleeder bleeder screws. With these, you just loosen one bleeder at a time 1/4 to 1/2 turn, connect a hose to direct the fluid to a container, then slowly pump the brake pedal. The Speed Bleeders incorporate a one-way valve so you don't have to worry about sucking air back in to your system. Pick up a quart of fresh brake fluid when purchasing the Speed Bleeders and after 5 or 6 pumps for each bleeder, you should be back to having a firm pedal.

-Rod

hate to sound silly here - but -

you do realize that the rear calipers 'screw in' and cannot be pushed in....

Yes screw inward, damn things are siezed. Had problems with both the rear, so I just puchased all four, without even bothering to look at the front.Just my luck they were just as bad. Two person bleeding was the method I was using. Now my question is am I suppose to connect anything to my diagnostic port under the dash? some forums say to do that and follow the instructions. Is this necessary?

If you really want to flush the entire system, including the ABS pump, the most efficient way is to enable the ABS system via the diagnostic link. Unfortunately, this only works if you have the WDS or NGS or whatever the latest system is that the dealer has.

For most DIYers, you can get by bleeding the brakes normally, then take the car out on a gravel/sand/dirt/wet road and getting the ABS to activate a few times. This will circulate the old fluid out of the pump and new fluid into it.

I did not have a problem bleeding brakes on a 2002 Lincoln LS without connecting the scan tool to it. However, I did experience difficulty using a hand vacuum pump and ended up getting the Speed Bleeders and going that route to flush the system and get a firm brake pedal.

-Rod

Sounds like that is what I will be doing. Buying the speed bleeders first then taking out to atleats get the abs to circulate some fluid. Thank you for all your insight.