Earlier this year I put in SS Brake lines and Hawk HPS pads into my 1996 Civic EX. I bled the lines and they came out perfect. Through out the time up to now they have gradually gotten worse.

The pedal Has about an Inch before it has effect. After that It firms up nice and hard. There is no ease of uuse with it, It is either I don't stop or I stop really hard. No gradual stops. It still grabs a little bit such as when I'm at low speeds. But at higher speeds it is ****. I bled them today, and no result.

Now what I want to know is could it be the Master cylinder malfunctioning? Should I try bleeding them again? A few months ago there was a backing plate on one of my pads that came off, so I left it off. Should I check the calipers for leaking? Let me know with any suggestions you may have. Thanks.

 

A inch of play is the least it should have cause you have to think that when you put your foot on the pedal the fluid still has to compress but main thing is to while vehicle is off hold foot on pedal and see if it holds position if so then more then likely there is no leak (not definite). then if the pedal starts to fall at all there could be either a leak or internal leak which fluid just escapes by the seals back into res. so if it dosent fall and has firm pedal then probally not a master cly. you can also open a bleeder a press the pedal if it squirts pretty good then still probally not a master cly.

 

Well my pedal is worse then it once was. I don't really call that normal.

 

A inch is small I mean think about a inch and compare that to pedal travel that is little to nothing. something that is really bad could travel as much as 12 inchs maybe more but like I said you have to give the fluid time to compress and if all you have is a inch then your problem is else where and if at one point and time you had less pedal travel then theres really no explanation just cause it defys the laws of hydraulic pressure.

 

check the caliper slides make sure the slides move freely, does the car have rear drums? if so check for a frozen wheel cylinder.