# 2005 Mercury Sable - My friend helped with brakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mercury\ **Created:** [May 3, 2021, 10:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517 "2021-05-03T10:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@Rissa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rissa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/1 "2021-05-03T10:32:11Z")
My friend just did my front brakes and I’m going to be getting my rear brakes done here soon. But I noticed when I pushed down on my brakes I have to go all the way to the floor, is that common or should I just have to barely tap them to break? And if so should I have him fix these? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/2 "2021-05-03T12:18:15Z")
No, that is not common. Yes, it needs to be fixed. By your description, it should **not** be driven **at all** until repaired. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/3 "2021-05-03T13:15:13Z")
> [@Rissa](#): > > And if so should I have him fix these? Does this friend actually know what he is doing ? Have you never driven anything else ? Of course this vehicle has brake problems and I would just have a real shop do the whole brake repair . I also would not drive this thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/4 "2021-05-03T13:43:48Z")
> [@Rissa](#): > > is that common or should I just have to barely tap them to break? NO, not common. This is an error. And dangerous. Not safe to drive. > [@Rissa](#): > > And if so should I have him fix these? NO, your friend screwed this up. Your friend clearly does not know what they are doing. Please find a real mechanic to fix your brakes. Your life depends on it. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/5 "2021-05-03T14:20:50Z")
Did he bleed the brakes? As everyone has said…this is not right. ---
**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/6 "2021-05-03T17:04:14Z")
It depends! Did your friend press on the brake pedal a few times after he replaced the pads? Did you test drive it and you noticed the pedal was low? ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/7 "2021-05-03T17:38:11Z")
> [@COROLLAGUY1](#): > > Did your friend press on the brake pedal a few times after he replaced the pads? It’s common to have to press the pedal a few times to pump up the calipers again after new brakes. Also the car should have been taken out and and the new pads broken in by heating them up with a couple quick stops. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/8 "2021-05-03T22:04:38Z")
> [@Rissa](#): > > I noticed when I pushed down on my brakes I have to go all the way to the floor, is that common or should I just have to barely tap them to break? Hmmm… You might want to check to see if that “friend” took out an insurance policy on your life, with him as the beneficiary. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/9 "2021-05-04T14:40:20Z")
Be prepared for a likely master cylinder replacement in your future. This is a classic cause of internal leaking. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/10 "2021-05-04T14:56:49Z")
@Rissa - you need to tell us if the brake pedal went back to normal after the initial pedal to the floor event, and is the brake fluid level at the correct point? if it’s now acting normally after adding some brake fluid, that initial pedal drop was caused by the new pads moving out to contact the discs. Your friend should have taken care of this before you got in the car. I wouldn’t have them do any other work on your brakes. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/11 "2021-05-04T17:33:05Z")
Since Rissa has not been back, I suspect this is a dead issue and perfectly normal after new brakes. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2005-mercury-sable-my-friend-helped-with-brakes/176517/12 "2021-05-04T17:41:27Z")
If your rear brake shoes are worn and out of adjustment that can cause the pedal to hit the floor. Was the pedal hitting the floor what prompted you to have the front brakes done?