Just got the car, 95 GSR 142K Miles.

While driving the brakes slowly lock up, all 4 calipers will eventually grab the rotors. The brake petal is nearly impossible to push down as they are being jamed on as soon as I touch them, maybe 1/2" of travel. Car shakes, brakes smoke, tranny is whining, wheels are super hot to the touch. I pull over and I pull the brake booster hose @ the check valve to relieve pressure, I can now drive again but will have to stop again soon to do it again.
We have replaced brake booster check valve, master brake cylinder, bleed lines. One side of the car has rubber hoses, one side has steel braded, I order 4 new hoses and they should be on their by the end of the week. I have asked locals and they think it may be the ABS module. If it is I have heard that they are super expensive, like $1,500 on the part alone plus installation,and I have heard that they hardley ever go out. I really want to keep the car but I dont want to start dumping thousands of dollars in it. What do you all think? Thank-you!!!!

 

check your brake calipers 1st , if they are stuck they will do just that, get tighter as they get hotter

 

We thought of that at first, but all 4 wouldnt be doing it at the same time would they? I would think if one was goin bad, then it would do it by itslef, not cause the other 3 to do it as well.

 

well they could all be bad.. it has been doing it since you got the car? or it started all of a sudden?
take the fuse out of the abs to see

 

have you recently replaced or moved the brake master cylinder? check the pushrod (on the booster) to the masters clearence, it's happened to me before in where the booster had the pushrod sticking out a lil bit too far and wasn't an easy fit on the master and then it was applying a small amount of pressure to the brakes at all time, thus stopping and driving like normal would have the brakes applied at all times as pressure built up and didn't get released.

by the way, is the abs light on? if it is not then don't really worry about the abs until last, but i think (pretty sure) that this may do the trick...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CubanoRockr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">have you recently replaced or moved the brake master cylinder? check the pushrod (on the booster) to the masters clearence, it's happened to me before in where the booster had the pushrod sticking out a lil bit too far and wasn't an easy fit on the master and then it was applying a small amount of pressure to the brakes at all time, thus stopping and driving like normal would have the brakes applied at all times as pressure built up and didn't get released.

by the way, is the abs light on? if it is not then don't really worry about the abs until last, but i think (pretty sure) that this may do the trick... </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Is that brake booster push rod supposed to be flush w/ the outter most piece of metal? How would I know if it needs to go or out, or if its ok?

No ABS light is on. What does removing the fuse do?

update: we just replaced the hose's last night, 3 were rubber, front passanger side was steel braided, they are all 4 now brand new Goodridge steel braided. Now it feels like there is way too much play to the brakes, maybe I just got use to them being at the very top. I will drive around on them for a few days to see if they start grabbing rotor again...


Modified by Ohannon7 at 10:50 AM 8/20/2008

 

you'll need to bleed honda's in a certain order from the (as sitting in the drivers seat) the right rear, left front, left rear then the right front. that's their specific order they ask for.

as for the push rod in the brake booster, it a hair past flush with the hole, you don't need to use any effort to have the master cylinder sit flush with the booster, that's the easiest way to tell. try to bleed in the sequence and use the old vacuum hose and water bottle to actually see if there are any bubbles left afterwards

by disabling the abs system (pulling the fuse/relay) the abs modulator is no longer working and the brakes are basically working as normal w/out any anti lock assistance. although this is not recommended for the long haul. it's a way to test if the problem goes away.

by the way have you heard a buzzing/whirring motor noise from the passenger side? that would be from the abs motor (kinda like a power antennae)


lastly the steel braided lines should feel very linear (rubber not expanding) as the more you press the more they grab (they're great!)

 

Different Hondas have different brake bleed order sequences. I know the 94-97 Integras are different from 98-01 due to a completely different ABS system (3 channel vs. 4 channel). You need to consult the repair manual for your year of vehicle to determine the correct bleed order.

 

Thanks guys, you are a wealth of knowledge, I really appreciate it.

I was told that I can also adjust the brake petal from inside of the car, basically adjusting the booster rod, if it is not a simple re-bleed issue I will try that.

I dont hear any whinning from the ABS module, I think getting all 4 brake hoses the same may have fixed the problem. Thanks again.

Im gonna drive on it like is for another week to make sure they arent going to start locking up on me again, then replace all pads & rotors, I dont want to ruin another set. That may be why its braking poorly right now anyways, the rotors have hot spots all over them & are rainbow'ed, plus Ill re-bleed while im at it (in proper sequence of coarse )

 

**UPDATE**
the brakes locked up again on the way to work
What I dont understand is everytime I replace something, it drives fine for about a week, and then locks up again.

So Im thinking maybe the brake booster this time? I have replaced the brake booster check valve/brake master cylinder/and the brake hoses. I think the only 2 things left would be the brake booster, or the ABS module. thoughts?

 

I’ve been having the same problem on my 02 rsx I’ve change all calipers and brake lines I have no abs issue I don’t know what it could be I think it’s the master cylinder or brake power booster I’ve asked my teachers at uti they told me it would probably my master cylinder but ion know