One of my front calipers was seized, so I replaced it. The mechanic blead the brakes too..Initially the pedal was ok when braking.. after about 15 minutes of stop and go driving,the pedal was very weak and the brakes would barely slow the car after the firs few stops. I felt the pedal being kinda spongy, it wouldnt go to the floor though.. my friend said that when i compressed the caliper pistons sometimes air enters.It feels weak and is very uncomfortable in tight stops. The old brakes felt good. My friend said it is probably small deposits on the MASTER CYLINDER SEAL, causing poor pressure. I can only guess the MC and booster are as old as the car. Also, when I opened the MC resevoir, I saw some bubbles pop up.

Should I bleed the brakes again ?
Has anyone else had a similar problem??
Also, I hear you have to bleed the brakes with the engine running ??


Modified by Rob. at 4:57 PM 6/12/2005

 

my buddy had that problem in his maxima it it was air in the brake lines
good luck

 

Rob.

It's a very real possibility that the guy that replaced the caliper didn't bench bleed it first and it still has air in it that wasn't removed from bleeding it on the car. Try and bleed it again first, being that it's the easiest thing.

Take a look at your MC and see if it's leaking bellow the mounting point (onto the booster) if it is, replace it with a 15/16 civic EX one (about 60 bucks + core at autozone - lifetime warr. )

(also, i've never done brake bleeding with the engine on).

 

Thanks d357r0y,
I doubt it's the Master Cylinder, but if it is...
what year civic EX (Canadian Si) 15/16 MC do I get ? Is it a direct bolt on ? Why get this MC instead of the stock one ??

 

the EX one is bigger so it pushes the same amount of fluid over a shorter pedal distance.

I believe the 90/91 4door EX is the US model, but if you hit the parts store and look at one, it will be labeled 15/16 on the side.

 

Or the 88-89 Accord LX-i, that is what I am using

 

My friend's integra had spongy brakes and we replaced the master cylinder and it fixed the problem.