Well after installing new front pads and rotors, correctly bleeding the brake fluid, and searching on here for a bit, i am stumped.

The car is a 90 Civic HB si, and the problem is a soft brake pedal. I can almost put it right to the floor, and no matter how hard i slam then brakes, it will never lock them up. It has somewhat decent braking power, but not good enough. Could it be that my master/slave cylinder is on it's way out? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

That's a good possibility. Check them for leaks. If they are leaking, it should be apparent. Otherwise, you could also have fatigued/leaking lines. You could check/replace all of them (Lines with SS braided) if you have the money, and it will most likely fix the problem, and give you the braking power you want.

 

I checked for leaks around the cylinders, but to no avail. It looks like it just came out of the box. I inspected all brake lines, and they look quite good for an older car.

What I just want to confirm is that the symptoms I am seeing are possibly the slave/master. Which one would be more likely to kick the bucket?

 

Either. It is likely that if you replace one for leaking, a little down the road, you'll get the same from the other. Voice of experience. Why don't you take it to your local shop and tell them your problem? I'm sure they can give you the official answer, since this is more of a deal where I'd have to look at it myself to know if there's a problem.

 

A dealer is out of the question. (it's in my blood to be cheap), and I do all my own work. One final question before i have enough info. my friend is letting me have a slave and master from an EG. Will these two units fit on the EF in question?

 

if i was ypu i would not be cheap once and get the right master cylinder for your car in new condition. everyone knows speed doesnt kill but stopping does. so it would be in your best interest to not have to do this again for a while and make sure your brakes are reliable. ive done this on an EG and a MS is only likr $65 at the delership. takes 30 min to do so just do it the right way. sorry if you didnt wanna hear that man. my motto is do it right the first time so you dont waste ur money and do it again.

 

oh I have no problem buying new parts. I just don't like paying for labour. I just want to use the friends cylinders to make sure it's the problem.

 

o ok. yea its an easy job i did mine in 30-45 minutes. im dont know if an eg MS will fit EF...ive had both cars. a slave cylinder has to do with the clutch so you should need that. is your brake pedal sinking to the floor when your at a stoplight pressing on it?

 

As mentioned ^^, the brake system has no slace cyl so you won't need to buy one.

If there are no leaks, you may have incorrectly bled your hydraulic system and I'm willing to bet that's your problem. If you did it in an incorrect order, you may have reintroduced air into a line you just bled without realizing it. It depends on how empty the lines were when you started.

btw, now that I re-read the post, you don't need to even open up the fluid lines if you're simply replacing the rotors and pads. Just unbolt the caliper, replace, then tighten it back to spec. done!

 

Right, i replaced the rotors and pads. And by slave, i meant the brake booster, woops.

The order I bled them was rear right, rear left, front right, front left. (farthest to closest). That was correct right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Elevorett &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well after installing new front pads and rotors, correctly bleeding the brake fluid, and searching on here for a bit, i am stumped.

The car is a 90 Civic HB si, and the problem is a soft brake pedal. I can almost put it right to the floor, and no matter how hard i slam then brakes, it will never lock them up. It has somewhat decent braking power, but not good enough. Could it be that my master/slave cylinder is on it's way out? Thanks in advance for the help.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I had issues like this, I had to adjust the pedal inside. Basically I made it press the MC in more, it did not overextend mind you... A quarter turn does a lot. Try it out, carefully!!!!! You don't want it going too far and possibly breaking your seal, and likewise you do not want to have it primed so much that the brakes are on all the time... Lift it up, and check to be sure each time. Just be sure the wheels are not gripped, rears are easiest to check.

 

Lol, damnit, mixed up the clutch and brake systems.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Elevorett &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The order I bled them was rear right, rear left, front right, front left. (farthest to closest). That was correct right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea, that's how I do mine. It's actually been debated whether this is the "right" way to do it but I've always done it like this with no problems. Some argue its closest to farthest. Nonetheless, as long as it was done properly the way you specified, that's fine.

 

Bump I have the exact same problem right now....

 

id say its the Master Cylinder. I had the same prblem with my DC and had to replace it. One i did, it was back to being firm again. It costed like 100 from advanced. Good luck