alright when i bought my car it had the following... Si Brakes/ New master clyinder/ New Brake Booster/...

its been about 3 months, and the brake pedal isnt very firm. I drive my friends' cars and they have drums on their basically stock civics. The brake pedal seems so much more responsive, like when you hit the brake, it STOPS, not a slow stop, it seems like my brakes wont lock or wont get to that point.

I talked to the guy who had it before me and he said.. "you may need to adjust the master clyinder or booster not the
pads." The reason he said i shouldnt have to replace the pads is because they were new.

What all is done when you adjust the MC or booster? Does anyone have any ideas about what the problem is. Let me know

Thanks
-dan

 

i am sorta under the same situatation ... i just put in my new brake pads (disc) and mine are much slower than what they were before... maybe it needs to wear in? it's weird because it's not the master cylinder, for some reason when I took out my brake pads, the fluid went above max .. which cant be a good sign

is it possible that air might be in the lines?

djay, it wouldnt be the master cylinder because that basically would make ur brakes just give out ... like almost not want to work at all, ur problem sounds very similar to mine... please help us out!

 

air in lines.. bleed brakes..

 

any other possible problems?

rexman, what exactly do you do when you bleed the brakes?

 

If you have rear drums I read in Chiltons you are supposed to adjust them once in a while so they brake better.

 

Here are a few good links about brakes in general. http://www.sentra.net/tech/garage/br...eding%20brakes
http://www.stoptech.com/technical/
This is a great article about bedding brakes and overall technique of the bleeding procedure.

 

bleed brakes.. if that fails, check the MC... good to invest $60 into a helms.. or even chiltons, or haynes or what ever they are called.. bottom line.. get a manual... it will help you trouble shoot... (this is not a flame, but words of advice)

 

You have air in the lines. Bleed the brakes.

 

djay, try and bleed it ... just got finished, working good ... go pick up some brake fluid for $3 and buy a haynes @ the autostore ... it will go step by step through it

 

Echo..echo...echo...
I agree with Rexman.

 

ok what if i have done everything you all said to do and my brakes still feel like mush... could it be the calipers

 

buy my rear disc brakes

haha..seriously, you may want to upgrade your brakes w/ brembo discs, hawk pads and stainless steel brake lines w/ dot 4 fluid. breaka19 hooked me up with this place.. http://www.collettimotorsports.com everytime i go to order from them somethin else comes up and waste my cash on wheels or somethin

 

could be your hoses too. get braided ones if you can and you'll feel the difference...after you bleed it too.

 

We had to bleed the brakes 3 times before we got all the air out...are you doing it with a clear tube so you can see all of the bubbles? They get as tiny as this: .....

If your pedal slowly sinks to the floor under pressure (while the car's running) your MC is most likely bad.

 

First-I don't think you have to adjust the booster (how can you anyway. Second, the only adjustment that might be available for the master cylinder is the length of the rod from the pedal to cylinder-that is only needed if there is serious play in the pedal.
NOW-think about this one. We have cars that are anywhere from 12-14 years old. Guess what-brake lines need changed after a reasonable amount of time (10 years tops IMO). I have brand new everything, installed at the dealership, and the pedal is not as firm as my 99 Prelude or even the 96 Civic. Why-because the brake lines need changed out-and they are as I write this. Oh and it won't hurt to rebleed the lines anyway.
Just my experience here.

 

air in the lines. until you bleed them, all you will be doing is basically compressing the air in the line. I had to get mine done.

 

I would also check to see if your caliper slides are frozen. Frozen slides can give a mushy pedal and excessive pedal travel. Air in the lines will give you the same feeling.