EKSedAndy

My brother has a 94 Accord EX-R with rear discs, and they don't seem to work at all on either side. I've been watching them for a while now, and they are always covered in corrosion and rust, even right after he's done driving. Obviously the fronts work (or else he'd have no brakes at all), but the brake pedal is very stiff.

I'm assuming I should just change the rear calipers, but just wondering if I'm right in this? The only reason I doubt myself is due to the fact that both rears aren't working, so could it be something else?

Also of note, he blew out the brake line between the two rear brakes last night. I'm thinking it's just because the calipers are seized solid on the back and the added pressure popped it. Also I don't think it could be the master cylinder acting up because with the one brake line out in the rear the car had no brakes, so if it was a MC issue the car wouldn't have front brakes either.

So can anyone confirm that it's just rear calipers, and coincidence they both are seized at the same time? Thanks!

TASAuto.com

Will the rear brakes bleed at all? That would tell you if you have fluid getting back there. It is very strange to have brake pistons freeze like that especially both at the same time. Was the car sitting for a while?

afreeclimber

jack up and support the rear of the car, press the brake pedal and try to turn the rear wheels by hand. this will give you some idea if they are working. (if brake line is fixed)

frozen pistons won't make your brake line blow. it was rotted out to begin with.

EKSedAndy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TASAuto.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Will the rear brakes bleed at all? That would tell you if you have fluid getting back there. It is very strange to have brake pistons freeze like that especially both at the same time. Was the car sitting for a while? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll have to try to bleed them to see if the fluid is getting to each caliper, but with the fluid leaking from the line connecting the left and right rear wheels I'm assuming fluid is getting there (this fluid was really crappy, dark looking stuff, does that mean anything?). But I guess the bleeder screws will tell me for sure.

As for the car sitting, we don't really know any history on the car. My brother bought it from one of those shady used car lots, and we don't know anything about it. It appears at one point the car was in an accident, as I found shattered glass under the rear seat, and noticed odd things missing like the inner fender lining on the driver's side. Also, the wheels are aligned (the tires are wearing evenly), but driving straight the wheel is ****-eyed by a quarter turn. So really, nothing would surprise me about this car.

So if both bleeder screws bleed, I can assume that the reason neither rears work is because of the calipers? And also, I've never done any work on rear discs, how does the parking brake tie in? Is it self-adjusting or is there some special way to adjust it? Thanks for any help.

afreeclimber

fix the blown line then bleed all four brakes to get rid of all that 14 year old brake fluid.
Then you'll know if fluid is flowing out of the rear caliper bleeders, which it probably will.
sounds like the car sat for too long and the rear calipers froze. the rears were more likely to fail because they have the extra mechanical parts to integrate the parking brake.
the rear caliper pistons work in conjunction with the parking brake by twisting in/out. the cables have no adjustment where they meet the calipers.
you may want new rear rotors also, if they're severely rusted/pitted.

EKSedAndy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by afreeclimber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">fix the blown line then bleed all four brakes to get rid of all that 14 year old brake fluid.
Then you'll know if fluid is flowing out of the rear caliper bleeders, which it probably will.
sounds like the car sat for too long and the rear calipers froze. the rears were more likely to fail because they have the extra mechanical parts to integrate the parking brake.
the rear caliper pistons work in conjunction with the parking brake by twisting in/out. the cables have no adjustment where they meet the calipers.
you may want new rear rotors also, if they're severely rusted/pitted. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Alright, thanks. I'm planning to swap out the calipers, rotors, and pads, so is the parking brake assembly self-adjusting with the twisting pistons, or will I have to adjust them somehow further up in the cables?

Also, when I take everything apart, if the calipers truly are frozen then the piston won't retract at all, correct? So if I try to turn them in and they won't budge I know they're frozen, and if they screw in easily then that's not my problem, right? Thanks again for all the help.

afreeclimber

you shouldn't have to adjust the cables at all, but you should check for proper operation after the work is done. they may be frozen up too!

If you can compress/turn the piston back into the caliper without Herculean effort, then they're ok.

EKSedAndy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by afreeclimber &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you shouldn't have to adjust the cables at all, but you should check for proper operation after the work is done. they may be frozen up too!

If you can compress/turn the piston back into the caliper without Herculean effort, then they're ok.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Alright, I think this is my last question: Is there any chance of "un-freezing" the pistons? Like when you've got a really old frozen bolt, once you break that initial bond the bolt more or less works like new. So is there a chance of "breaking" the piston's stuckness, and then it working like new again, or is it kind a case where once they get stuck they're broken for good?