Was inspecting the engine bay of my 97 Honda Accord the other day and noticed dirt and fluid on the Proportioning Valve, underneath it and along some of the brake lines attached to it. It appears to be leaking from the relief hole on the front, which no longer has a rubber plug in it.

Anyone else have this problem before. I believe I just need to replace the valve, but wanted to see what others have done.

 

If it is leaking, replace it....

 

Just ordered the parts. I plan to replace the master cylinder while I'm at it. Will report back when all is done.

 

The area seems tight, but with the MC out of the way, it'll be a bit easier I suppose.

 

Changing out the proportioning valve ... what a pain! I just got the valve out and it took me hours to do even with the master cylinder out of the way. Taking a short break before I dive back in to install the new one. The little rubber stopper in the middle is missing and I believe there's where it was leaking fluid.

 

Got the new proportioning valve installed. Here's the new and old valve side-by-side. Notice the missing plug on the old one. Installed a new Master Cylinder too. Gave me a good excuse to flush the brake lines with new fluid, which was 6 years old and pretty nasty looking.

 

I feel your pain. We are talking a 1/4 turn (if that) to unscrew the brake lines. I cut off part of the bracket to be able to get to that nut if I ever have to again when I upgraded to a 40/40 valve. I hope I never have to do that again. It is a bitch.

 

It takes lots of turns to unscrew the lines ... a little at a time due to the limited space available to swing a wrench. After starting the one mounting bolt that you can see from above, I used a 10mm magnetic nutsetter to start the other bolt that was obscured by the bracket. The installation wasn't too bad. It was just difficult leaning into the engine bay for long periods of time cranking on those brake line fittings.

 

That proportioning valve plastic plug is a time bomb, mine was also missing when I bough my brakeless (at the time) Accord.
And what a PITA to work on it, particularly re-attaching the brake lines to the proportioning valve. Due to circumstances, I had to put the old one back in after I plugged it ghetto style. I will have to do the job right eventually, how much did you pay for the new proportioning valve? I am also thinking of getting someone to weld that orifice shut - a permanent fix.

 

A new one will set you back between $140 and $150 from one of the on-line discount Honda part houses.

 

Thanks, I was hoping you found it cheaper. It is awfully overpriced.

 

Yeah, I agree it's definitely over priced even at the discounted price point; the list price is $203.55. You may be able to find one at a junk yard for much cheaper.