Chunkee: his issue is he took the rear calipers off the car to paint them.

It sounds like there's either a leak or more air in the system. If you introduced air at the master cylinder then it can take a long time to get it to come out at the caliper. Just the nature of the beast.

I'm going to say the caliper still needs bled. But if you reused the crush washers I'd pick up some new ones and start over.

It's very difficult to get all the air out of the caliper.

My guess for good pressure at first then bleed off is because the brake bias is sending a good portion of the pressure up front and once you put a demand on the system the fluid is routed out back to where the air is.

I have been using the Valvoline Synthetic brake fluid. Is this alright to use? Says on the bottle surpasses dot 3 and dot 4 and is compatable with all brake fluids.

I would hate for you to give me wrong information 20gtp02, since I recently asked you a brake question, and you responded with telling me to switch to synthetic! .........

HAHAHA! I just asked the guy to make sure at the auto parts store, and he said it is good to go!

I'm stumped. I just drip bled all four at the same time. Like 20 minutes. Then I bled all four with a friend at once. Then I did the rr, lr, rf, lf in order and still no resistance on the pedal.

Huhh?

Ok get yourself one of those one person vacuum brake bleeders at the parts store ($10 iirc)and a big bottle of brake fluid and do it again. The only other thing it could be is the master cylinder but I highly doubt it. The timing is to coincedental.

Alrighty, I have a feeling you're missing something here. So, here's my how-to on brake bleeding...

1) Enlist the help of a friend.
2) Pop the hood and take the cap off the Master Cylinder.
3) Jack up the rear of the car and support with jack stands.
4) Remove both rear wheels to provide easier access to the calipers.
5) Starting on the Rear Passenger side, put a wrench on the bleed screw and then attach the bleed hose to the screw. Make sure to hold the tube such that it is vertical from the bleed screw for 2-3" before bending into the catch container.
6) Have friend pump up the brake peddle 5-6 times and then hold it down.
7) Loosen the bleed screw to relieve the pressure in the line and let air out of the system.
8) Repeat until no more air is coming out of the line.
9) Repeat steps 5-8 for the Driver's Rear side.
10) Lower the car and repeat the above except for the front.


Now I have to head off to a meeting, but I hope this is enough.

Yeah what Rook and Chunkee said.

My brakes weren't that difficult, so I don't know what could be up.

I went to the store and purchased brand new crush washers though. Two per caliper like Rook said.

Maybe only having one washer is allowing air back into the lines? I have no idea.

You put the calipers on in the right position right? The bleeder valve should be as close to the top of the caliper as possible, since the air inside will rise to the top.

Any fluid leaks at all? If not, it's gotta just be air in the system that needs to be bled out. If there is a leak, then I think air might be getting in.

If you still do not have a pedal after bleeding, and your sure there is no more air in the system, the last thing to verify is that the master cylinder isn't bad.

To do this you will need 4 clamps (do NOT use vice grips). You need rounded clamps so you do not crush the inside of the hose:

Matco line clamps (top one)
Clamp down each wheel's hose, see if you have a firm pedal..if you do not, you have a bad master cylinder.
If you have a good pedal, hold the pedal down firmly and take each clamp off one at a time until the pedal goes limp. You will then know for a fact which wheel has air and can bleed just that wheel until you get your pedal back.

Thanks for all the advice guys.
I took her up to my mechanic today. He bled them all again and installed the crush washers I purchased. All to gaining maybe 10% in the pedal. Still at like 30% pedal, not good.
I am going back up there in the morning, wednesday, and he is going to power bleed the system. I just need my brakes back.

Does anyone have a picture or know which way the rear calipers go on. I am 99% sure I put them back on the correct sides. I did read about the bleeder valve being in the 12 oclock position for air to escape.
This is how I have the rears. This picture is the passenger rear caliper. Is the bleeder valve in position as everyone else's caliper?
As in, did I put the caliper back on the correct side?

When you pump up the brakes to blead them do you get any pedal pressure at all? If not you may have fudged one of your calipers.Have a friend pump up the brakes and see if your pds are holding at all they should turn freely with no pedal applied .Chico(pops)

I think my freakin calipers are on backwards.
I don't know how, but they are. The bleeder valve is facing down. I painted one caliper at a time and put them on one at a time, so not sure how that would get screwed up.

Maybe your car was built on a Friday or a Monday...

Yep, I think you got them on the wrong side.

The way you have it now, when you try to bleed them, the air is getting trapped in the brakelines because they are the highest point.

You need the bleeder to be up top (12:00 position). The air rises, so it will come out the top of the caliper.