My son bought his Honda used, and it had been in a front-end accident previously. We replaced shocks, a broken right stabilizer bar link, ball joints and had the front-end aligned. We also replaced the front brake pads, which had uneven wear, and replaced the brake fluid. The car did slightly pull to the right when braking, but he had to get to college. After doing that, he drove from California to Florida. He found the car squealing when the brakes were applied, especially in wet conditions, and the pulling and instability grew over time.

When he returned to California, I discovered his right stabilizer bar link had broken again, so replaced it. I also took apart his right caliper, put anti-squeal paste on the back of the pads (which had no unusual wear, as compared to the left side), along with a light coat of brake grease on the guides the pads run on. The brakes are quieter and don't pull as much, but still pull to the right and there appears to be a rubbing noise, especially during hard stops. I see no signs of any rubbing or anything else out of the ordinary.

I'd appreciate some help in diagnosing this problem. The car runs great, other than the pulling and noise when brakes are applied.

 

Drop links don't just break for no reason. There is probably some binding or excessive movement of the front right wheel under braking. Have someone drive the car straight and brake in front of you, watch the left wheel how it reacts, then watch the right wheel.

Does either wheel move aft more than the other side? How is the front tire wear?
Check the right side radius rod and bushings to make sure they are intact and not damaged.

What kind of uneven wear did the pads have? Were they tapered or did one side have more(even) wear than the other? These cars use a diagonally split system FD/RP and FP/RD are the two circuits. Not front and rear. Does the car have rear discs or drums? Are they adjusted correctly?

Where in Calif are you, a member may be nearby and willing to help diagnose.

 

I had my son observe the car while I braked (since he's the engineer), and he saw no difference between the sides (neither movement nor locking up). Everything that was slightly worn was replaced before the front end was aligned. The radius rod and bushings look fine. All four tires show no abnormal tread wear. The old brake pads weren't tapered; there was just less lining on the right side. There are drums on the rear, and all wheels are adjusted correctly.
I am located in the north end of Los Angeles County (Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley or San Fernando Valley). During the week, my son works in El Segundo (south bay area). I'd love to have someone help us diagnose the problem. Thanks for your response.

 

You said you worked on the right caliper. What about the left one. I would suggest that whatever you do to one, you do to the other.

I once had a Chrysler with a bad caliper. The piston would bind in the bore. But this is a Honda and much better than a Chrysler, but just keep in mind that it is always a possibility. Trash could have entered the brake system when it was previously owned.

 

I compared both sides and could see no difference between the two. All the noise comes from that right front wheel, so I know something is wrong there. I just haven't figured out what it might be.

 

It could very well just be the rotors. I would swap them out. You mentioned uneven wear on the pads. If it's uneven, as in one pad has more than the other that could be grease inside the sliding pins has worn out...if it's side to side uneven this is caliper is bad.

 

Would it make sense to start out by regreasing the pins rather than buying a new caliper assembly? Would both rotors need to be replaced or just that side? Is there a way to measure their flatness without buying new ones?

 

This happened to my '91 Accord, the caliper on the right side was froze. It pulled to the right even without applying brakes. Replaced the caliper and it didnt pull anymore. My brake shoe was bent on one side too.

 

This caliper definitely isn't frozen. My son is coming over today, and I'll clean and grease his caliper pins along with checking the adjustment of all 4 wheels. I'll check for bearing abnormalities, also. Any other suggestions or volunteers to look at it with me?

 

This didn't fix the problem. I guess he'll have to take it to a mechanic, unless someone else has some suggestions.

 

When was the last time the brakes were bled? The system is diagonally split.

 

We recently completely replaced the brake fluid, but saw no change in the problem. I'm sensing the caliper may have been damaged in the accident that occurred before he bought it, but can see no damage and don't want to be the one to have him take on the expense of a new caliper based on just a guess. The front pads are new, but the rear shoes may be original. What is the minimum thickness of shoe lining before they need to be replaced? There's probably about 3/16" of lining left on the shoes. The car still pulls to the right upon braking, and hard braking results in a low pitched rumbling noise, which appears to come from the right front brake.

 

I have to ask, what does the left caliper look like? If it is not doing its job and the right front is doing most of the work....I'd guess the car would pull right.

 

Actually, both calipers look fine, but we ordered a reconditioned caliper online for the right, anyway. He preferred paying the $34.20 (delivered) for the caliper rather than pay more to have it diagnosed by the mechanic. I guess the only other possibility would be the rotor, but I don't feel anything out of the ordinary there, either.

 

If it wasn't the calipers look at the tie rod. I forget what it's called but it's connected to another rod with a boot. Check if this boot is busted, if so that could be it. But seeing a mechanic is your best bet.

 

The tie rod connects to the steering knuckle arm, but that looks fine, also. It is so much easier to diagnose when something looks obviously bad (ie the stabilizer bar link we just replaced).

 

Okay because in the repair manual they call it 3 different things like manual steering rack. But if nothing looks bad then I'd check for play in the upper lower ball joints and anything else to do with steering and alignment. My mechanic said if you can turn the tie rod with your hand and the tire still on it needs to be tightened.

 

Thanks for getting my mind thinking straight. I got under the car and checked out every aspect of the suspension. Can you imagine my surprise when I got to the right radius rod to crossmember connection and discovered nothing? I mean nothing... no washer, no donut, no nut, no nothing. I didn't even think to look there, as who would imagine the nut would fall off. Luckily, I had some spare parts from an old shock absorber replacement, so I improvised and put it back together again. The car rides like a dream. I'll have my son take his car back to the mechanic who did his shocks and alignment (adding shims to that radius rod) and see if he'll check the alignment and replace the proper parts, at no charge (maybe even cover the cost for the broken link). Luckily, also, this is a holiday weekend, so I was able to cancel the order for the new caliper before anything was processed. My son is very happy. We replaced his brake fluid, cleaned and greased his caliper pins, cleaned the oxidation from his paint and waxed his car, and it even runs perfectly. This has been a productive weekend.

Sorry, Mad Mike, I know you suggested this from the start, but my cursory inspection didn't catch the obvious. You were right on. I guess I'm just getting slow in my old age. I appreciate everyone's help. This problem has been solved.

 

Jack up the left front wheel only, start the car and place it in gear. Is there any unusual noise from the wheel, go no faster than 30MPH as indicated by the speedometer, as the one wheel will be doing double that.
Do the same with the right side.
Slowly stop the wheel. Don't just stop it as there is a bit of mass spinning.

How are the adjusters on the rear drums? Are they extended out or have they seized? The drums should not just fall off, there should be some drag, or will require manually adjusting the auto adjusters when removing them, if not the shoes are not adjusting out. Take the auto screw jack out, clean and grease.

 

Mike, I guess age is creeping up on both of us. I'm not sure exactly what your last post means, but let me reassure you that all is fine. My son couldn't be happier with his car. Thanks for your help.

 

When you mentioned the broken drop link the only way that would have happened if there was an impact or severe fore/aft movement.

I posted at 2:48PM, while I was writing you posted at 2:46PM, so I did not see your posting until after I had posted and was running out the door.

Glad to see everything is working, if you need parts diagrams/parts pricing go to Majestic Hondas website...http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...artsSearch.jsp

 

The parts diagrams on that site are CRAZY helpful for so much stuff - thanks so much for that link!!!!