I got a good one for you guys! I recently changed the front rotors and pads on my 90 Civic LX sedan. I drove it and the pedal kept going almost to the floor so I bled it thinking maybe that was it even though I never cracked the line open. That didn't help. No evidence of a leaking master cylinder either. Put it back on jack stands and took the wheels off and then started it and put it in gear and let it go. The passenger side spins but not the driver's side. I pushed the piston back in on the driver's side and tried it again and it would spin. As soon as I applied the brakes, it stuck again and wouldn't spin. Any ideas on what would cause that? Maybe a bad caliper all of a sudden? Thanks guys for your ideas and suggestions.

 

Possibly a frozen caliper. When you replaced the pads, was one side more worn than the other?

 

Hmmmm. You know I didn't look. The brakes were fine other than what appeared to be a warped rotor due to the thump in the pedal. I'll have to take a look at the pads and see if it eveident. Thanks for the idea.

 

Went out and took a look at the pads. Two of them were slightly thinner than the other two. Enough to notice but not a ton.

 

seems like the caliper needs a rebuild. the piston is sticking to the seals, perhaps leaking underneath the boot, which is why you cant get enough pressure. replace the caliper.

 

That's kinda what I'm leaning towards. They're prolly not that much anyway and I guess with 180,000 miles on them...... Thanks.

 

Rebuild both calipers. It's real easy and doesn't cost hardly anything.

What you want to buy from the dealer is; the inner seal (this is what the piston seals against), the outer dust seal, and also while you are there the brass washers for where the hose attaches.

Get a couple cans of spray carb cleaner to clean out the caliper.

And if you use that old trick of using an air hose to "blow out" the piston, be REAL carefull. If you don't know what I'm talking about, contact me before you crush your fingers!!!! (it's real hard to type with crushed fingers)

Wes

 

Thanks for the idea to rebuild! I have one of those Haynes repair manuals and it gives fair detail on how to do it. It also says to make sure your fingers are out of the way if you use compressed air. I'll compare the cost of the parts to a rebuilt one from Advance or AutoZone. I don't have a compressor so may have a problem there.

 

well, to do it right, you should replace the pistons too. its likely the pistons have become pitted and corroded. you can scotch brite all the crap off, but theres probably pits that will affect the seal. pistons can cost $40. basically the cost of a rebuilt caliper.

i personally would rebuild them myself, but thats only because ive done it before, and plan on doing it again in the future for yearly racing maintenence. but if its just this once for a street car, then i wouldnt bother. it was a pain learning how to do it the first time.

oh and btw, its normal to have one pad wear *slightly* more than the other. but the one caliper shouldnt be more worn than the other caliper. however, its very likely why youre having problems now is because the "exposed" portion of the piston that was extended past the seal got a bunch of crap and rust on it, which when you put new pads on, you pushed the piston back in along with all the crap, which is why youre haivng problems now, just after installing new pads and rotors.


Modified by Tyson at 3:40 PM 11/23/2004

 

I agree. You're right it is just for a street car and for my 15 year old son and I certainly don't want to screw up the brakes and he be the victim! Thanks dude for your info!

 

About the safety issue;

Dang, I'd trust myself to be more careful in rebuilding a set of calipers than the care spent by the guys that do them for TrackAuto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just about the only area where you can go wrong would be if you pinched the inner seal while trying to install the piston.

The pistons shouldn't need replacement. They are made of stainless steel and unless scored bad they are normally fine. You can clean them off with a scotch bright or brillo pad.

Wes

 

i should take a pic of mine. yes theyre stainless steel, but they needed replacement...

 

Tyson; OK, I'll take your word for it. I just think it's rare.

Dbailey; Why not spend the time and rebuild them WITH your son. It could be "a good thing".

Wes

 

Good point. Even if I get rebuilt ones, I may just get the kits and let him do it for the experience. Thanks for the great idea!


Modified by dbailey at 12:08 PM 11/25/2004

 

OK, I replaced the calipers and bled the system. STILL STICKING in driver's side. Could it have something to do with the CV axle? I changed the engine and maybe when I pulled it out or put it back in I screwed something up? I know it'll drive because I test drove it after I changed the engine. I can push the piston back in and it will spin (not as freely as the passenger side but will spin) but when I step on the brake it sticks again. Any ideas???? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

Did you lube all the little parts where the pads slide? Oh and that one long piece where the caliper slides on? (forgot the name of it)

 

Hmmmm. Didn't know there was a place to lube where the pads go. I thought they just slip into those clips and that was it. Are there places where the pads go that are required to be lubed? Thanks.

 

the rubber brake line could be bad also, it would cause the same problem. if both sides are doing it, it could be the master cylinder.

btw... it is nearly impossible to find a rebuild kit for a caliper. I just spent a week contacting every auto place around me and all of them said they could only get me a caliper so that what i ended up getting.

 

The hoses seem to be fine. No leaks. There was no problem before I replaced the rotors, pads and calipers. It's all brand new. SUX that I just bought 2 new calipers thinking they were sticking and that's not the problem!! I'm just wondering if I screwed up the axles yanking them out and ramming them back in. The boots don't appear to be ripped or anything. Just wonder if I messed up something inside of either end removing or reinstalling them?

 

the brake line on the side that is sticking could be torn internally. a little flap of the line internally could be causing pressure to be held and causing the caliper to be constantly applied

 

Can anybody think of anything else it could be that is causing the caliper to stick?

 

when u took the caliper off did the caliper hang by the brake line at any point?

 

Not before it started sticking. When I changed the caliper I let it hang for a minute at the most but it was already sticking before I did that.

 

OK guys. Who's the master mechanic here that knows their stuff when it comes to the problem I am having? I am totally lost and don't want to keep throwing money at it until I luck up and stumble on the problem.

 

Long shot, but, make sure your brake line isn't twisted. I once bolted my calipers on, everything looked 'okay', but one of the lines were twisted. Unbolted the calipers, turned it around, bolted back up, no problem.