Just wanted to say thanks (is it Brian?) for the stuff. Man, it stops a lot better. Everything went on pretty well. We haven't put the rear stainless lines on yet for the drums, but I'll get that done tomorrow hopefully. Anywho, it definitely does stop better, but I still can't lock them up. Is that just a reflection of not getting the bigger master cylinder yet? The pedal is also still really spongy (and we did bleed the lines several times). It firms up after a few pushes when the motor is off, but as soon as the car is on and the booster going it gets all spongy again. Well, thanks again for developing such a great kit. Hopefully in a year or so I will be able to pick up the wilwoods. Could use the weight loss.


[Modified by moridin2004, 11:46 PM 2/3/2003]

 

If it gets spongy after you start it up your brake booster could be bad.....Might have a leak also?

 

I checked for leaks (hydraulic - spelling?) and didn't find any. I heard that the booster could be bad when reading about someone else's problem. I can't remember how to check if the booster was working properly. I think you had to hold the brake pedal down and then shut off the car or something like that. I'm just not sure and any help is greatly appreciated.


[Modified by moridin2004, 11:45 PM 2/3/2003]

 

To check MC
1 turn off the car
2 pump the brake until pressure is built
3 turn on car

now at this point you should feel the pedal go to the floor if the MC is working
this is just a sinple test and/but there could be many causes for poor pedal pressure but experince says if the MC is ok you bled the brakes wrong or not enough to get all of the air out. good luck

 

The MC is working. I'll try bleeding the brakes a few more times. How do you know if the booster isn't working. It was also told to us that we needed a bigger master cylinder anyways for the greater supply of fluid that the system needs with the new brakes. Thanks for all the help so far.

 

booster is working if brakes are pressing down easy when car is on

the problem is
1. you have a leak in one of your wheel cylinders (if drum in rear), a piston is leaking (caliper)
2. a line running from your mc to your brake lines is expanding not allowing much brake fluid to reach the calipers
3. your proportioning valves are shot
4. rear brakes need adjusted

-i paid $400 total to fix my car, these were all the possible solutions, ends up being #2, good luck

 

What line was it steveeo?

 

i didn't do the work myself... but the line is under the hood and runs from your mc to one of ur brakes line maybe? or it ran to the porportioning valves... it was one of those

all i know, is I did everything he did

bled brakes
new mc with bench bleed
all new braking things, wheel cylinders and pistons, new pads, rear brakes adjusted... ends up being the little $10 part from autozone

sorry i cant provide the info, all the work on my car and just sent it to a mechanic to find out

 

I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about the lines expanding as I have new stainles braided lines. I don't think its a bad caliper, as these were certified (or that's at least what the tag said) and supposed to be good to go. I wonder about air in the master cylinder. Could that be the problem. I don't see how I would have got any in there, but you never know. The spongy pedal has been there before I even changed the brake setup (Fastbrakes bigger rotors, calipers, and stainless lines), so it may be the booster. Anyone know how expensive that could be or what bigger master cylinder I need to supply the proper fluid for the bigger calipers? Well, I'm going to bleed the brakes again. I'll let you know if that worked.

 

Ooops, forgot to ask another question. Anyone know how to check if the proportioning valves are shot? I know they are not rebuildable, so how much for a new set?

 

Again, I just think that brakes on crx's seem weaker compared to newer and other cars. I can lock mine up anytime, although the pedal doesn't feel as firm as other cars, so that's fine with me. But if you couldn't lock them up beforehand, then something is definetly wrong.

 

I bled the brakes one more time. The pedal is a little firmer. I can lock them up now. I'm going to bleed them again tomorrow. I have that little vacuum thing, but it takes for ever. Hopefully I will get the new rear lines on soon. Maybe that will help a little more.

Oh, just wanted to say one more thing. It is not a result of the quality of Fastbrakes' work, but of the company that he gets the stainless lines from. The bango(?) bolts suck. I tried torquing the them down to the proper ft-lbs, but I snapped one of them. Had to use the old stuff. OEM Honda stuff is definitely much better.

 

Well, after bleeding them again the pedal got a little firmer. Guess I'm just going to have to keep going with it. I though I remember reading the smaller the master cylinder, the firmer the pedal. Is that only to a point though? I know Brian (Fastbrakes guy. I sincerely apologize if I've mixed up names here) said I would need the bigger MC. I just don't know what size or from what vehicle it is comprable. Maybe a vehicle from which the bigger setup is from, like a teg or newer Civic.

 

Sorry to repeat myself. I retract most of the last post. Sorry. Stupid noobies screw everything up.

 

the larger the master cylinder, the firmer the pedal. Makes sense because you are using less of the capability if the MC is bigger and will travel less.

 

Thank you for clearing that up for me. I apologize for sounding like an idiot. It does make sense though. Anyways, thanks for the advice. I'm still trying to figure out what MC I need to get though. Any clues anyone?

 

90-91 civic ex

 

Thanks a lot. I very much appreciate your help. Now the question is, can I get away with using the current one as a core, otherwise it is $100 w/o it. Thanks for all the help.