andyhundley

i have a 95 honda civic dx hatch non-abs disc/drum. about 6 months ago the front brakes would stick intermittently in the front. it was weird because the problem initially was in the driverside but then it would stick on the passengers side or sometimes both. so we replaced the master cylinder with an A1 Cardone reman. master cylinder. it was fine for about a week thinking that the problem was solved but it came back. so i then replaced both front calipers and brake hoses and the problem of them sticking still occurs. its wierd because they will stick really bad to the point where i have to pull over and i can let the car sit for five minutes and then the brakes dont drag and its fine again. i have only bled the system by using a wrench on the caliper and am curious if i should try one of those vacuum bleeders for there might be air still in the system causing the issue. or possibly a pinched line. the only thing i havent replaced is the booster and prop valve but those are both spendy items from the dealer and would rather not guess. if anybody has any advice that would be great

thanks andy

Former User

If the caliper pins are new and well greased, you may need to replace the caliper bracket.

andyhundley

the caliper pins are greased. but how would the caliper bracket make the brakes stick randomly on either side or both at the same time?

toytech116

sometimes cheap pads can bind in the brackets. maybe some new clips could be your fix.

RockStarKick

Prop valve more than likely.. get one from a salvage yard they are usually still on the vehicles..

Cynical 1

internal booster failure? vacuum check valve sticking or faulty, causing brakes to not release due to vacuum not being released from the booster when you release the brake pedal...

Former User

Yeah, you'd have to have two bent/damaged caliper brackets for that to happen. Does brake fluid flow freely through both front brake lines and calipers? Is the problem possibly a malfunctioning or clogged ABS control unit?

Cynical 1

OP says no ABS - it's a DX.

Former User

Thanks. I misread the post.

strategy400

Does the pedal feel change when the sticking occurs?

andyhundley

the booster kind of makes sense. how can i test to see if the booster is bad?

Former User

A bad brake booster would make the brakes hard to press not lock up.

andyhundley

cynical 1 had mentioned before that a vacuum check valve sticking would cause a pedal to not release. if thats true how would i go about testing that?

s13hero

I just got through a horrible battle with this exact same problem on my 95 dx hatch, except I had a rear disc conversion. I changed the MC, and BB, and then the problem came back, I thought maybe the push rod had to be adjusted, that was a PITA, adjusted it in the car, and out (which is easier), and still couldn't seem to get the problem to go away. Rebuilt the front two calipers and put new pads and new rotors, still a problem. Finally I took the car to a shop, they changed the MC and BB again, seemed fine, except for the driver front caliper then I replaced that. Everything was good for a few days, then it started sticking again, and so I took it back again, and it turned out the BB was bad, it was a reman they just got and was new, but was bad out of box. I couldn't believe the number of problems I had just trying to track the issue down, it was just like yours, as it would be ok some times and not others, sometimes I could pull over, and it wait, and other times it would take forever. One thing I tried, was to relieve the pressure from the BB by pulling the vacuum hose from it, then putting it back on, this unlocked the brakes, and pointed at the BB being the problem. You can test the BB according the FSM, do you have one? I did the indicated tests, and sometimes the car would pass other times not. If not, you can test the BB this way> 1. With the engine off, press the brake pedal several times. Then press it hard and hold that pressure for 15 seconds. If the pedal sinks, a brake line, wheel cylinder or master cylinder is faulty.
2. Start the engine with the pedal pressed. If the pedal sinks slightly, the booster is working. if the pedal height doesn't vary, the booster or check valve is faulty.
3. Press the brake pedal with the engine running. Then stop the engine. If the pedal height does not vary for 30 seconds the booster is OK. If the pedal rises, the booster is faulty.
4. With the engine off press the pedal several times with normal pressure. When the pedal is first pressed, it should be low. On consecutive applications, pedal height should gradually rise. If pedal height does not vary, check booster check valve. The check valve is the thing in the big vacuum line going to the booster, which is below the master cylinder in the engine compartment

(info is not mine, the shop that worked on the car sent it to me, despite me already having a FSM)

EDIT: I didn't read the op carefully enough my brakes locked up quite often but when they did, it was accompanied by a hard pedal, initially but when I had to change the BB again, the pedal never got hard, even with the car off, pumping it, the pedal wouldn't get hard, and the brakemc was loosing fluid, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere, I assumed it was leaking back into the BB (if thats possible?)

Dreamcar98hatch

You don't need a fancy vacuum bleeder thing. Grab an empty coke bottle (wash it, dry it). Fill it 3/4 of the way up with brake fluid. Put a small hose over the bleeder valve and lead the other end into the bottle of brake fluid. Open the valve and pump your brakes. Start at the passenger rear, drivers rear, passenger front, then finish at the drivers side.

You have successfully bled your brakes!

andyhundley

when the brakes stick the pedal gets hard to the point that it wont even set off the brake light switch when i hit the brakes (according to my girl friend that was following me the other day while they were sticking). also when the car has been sitting for a day or so when i get in and start it the pedal will go to the floor and with 2 or 3 pumps it will regain "pedal". the car doesnt have any leaks at all so it sounds like i have a faulty brake booster. does anybody else agree with me?

s13hero

Yeah, that was my exact problem. If you want confirm with pulling the vacuum hose, but I would say faulty BB