wannaBjdmca6

i have a 96 civic dx
my front caliper (stock) makes a noise when i let go of the brakes like a little squeal
and i took off the wheel and the caliper can be moved back and forth < > a little i also noticed there is no bolt or nut at the top that connects it to the bracket. my accord did, do civics have 2 bolts also?

wannaBjdmca6

anyone?

phunhaus

The top is a pin the caliper pivots on. The lower is a bolt that secures it to the knuckle.

wannaBjdmca6

sooooo....... is the back and forth play normal?
i dont thinks so but
hey is my first civic

phunhaus

No, it shouldn't be normal.

wannaBjdmca6

anything else in particular i should check for?
the bolt loose, that pivot might be loose. ?
the caliper bracket is nice and tight but the caliper can be rocked back n forth a little

phunhaus

Sure. Look for all that. Since I'm not there I can't be of much help but it sounds like you've got the right idea.

envybryce

if i were you id go to the junk yard and get that bolt i had this problem with a 94 hatch on the drivers side. I replaced the bolts in the back on the caliper and everything was all set

kommon_sense

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your statement.

However, there are 4 bolts. 2 larger bolts secure the caliper bracket to the spindle and 2 smaller bolts that secure the caliper itself to the slide pins on the bracket.

Here is a pic of the backside of a caliper. This is an ITR caliper, but it is the same setup on your dx.

wannaBjdmca6

exactly!
i knew there had to be 2 for caliper then 2 for bracket
maybe the prev owner(woman) took it to a shop and the head of the top one broke cos wen i stuck my hand behind it i didnt feel nothing but like a lil stick stickin out on the top one but there was a bolt on the bottom one


ill check thorougly today
if irs missing its freakin dangerous
my accords top caliper bolt broke at the track
my rim was trashed but better than ending up dead

^ thanks

phunhaus

The ITR is not the same as the small (DX) EK brakes. Here you can see there's only 1 large (long) bolt that attaches the caliper to the bracket. It's difficult to explain but the other acts as a "pin" instead of a traditional EX/Si/DC setup.



Here's a write up. Check the third picture down showing the pin and further down you can see how it "pivots" on the pin for pad access.

http://spoon.org/civic/DIY-Brakes/



Reading through that it's a pretty good write up.

Here you can see there's only one bolt head (lower) that you can take off:

wannaBjdmca6

ur right i just confirmed it today.
i tried tightening that lower bolt but is too hard already
theres still play

kommon_sense

Thanks for teaching me something new!

95streetciv

The caliper is supposed to have back and forth play... It is called a floating caliper.

your welcome.

phunhaus

N/P man! I remember seeing one the first time and was like WTF? I thought it was a stupid idea then thought about Honda cheapening-out all their stuff. This was years and years ago and happily they haven't cheaped out . . . too much.

wannaBjdmca6

so if the caliper play is not causing the squeaking noise when i let go of the brakes the what is it? brake booster? cos it seems coming from the front drivers side

phunhaus

It could still be the brakes - cheap pads, cheap rotors, worn, grooved, misaligned, etc. It's just not coming from the caliper.

darkenedsol

Actually, it COULD be your caliper. The problem with most driveway brake jobs is that people are not ASE certified nor properly trained to recognize/repair brake problems. The brake booster going out would cause you to have an excessively hard to depress brake pedal during stopping as the internal rubber vacuum diaphragm failing, or a mod-severe vacuum leak as the brake booster is vacuum-operated. What I would do in your shoes would be to take the brake caliper off, inspect the top pivot bolt, verifying that it is tight as you cannot do this with the brake caliper still on the spindle, then apply HIGH-TEMP DISC BRAKE Grease to the pivot bolt to ensure that the caliper can "float" freely. Then, inspect the brake pads, caliper, and rotor for signs of your problem. Just from your description it sounds like you could have squeaking caused by improperly lubricated slide hardware, or possibly a dragging caliper. The piston inside the brake caliper operates because of a square-cut fluid seal that hardens over time; The resulting hardening causes the piston to have problems (friction/resistance) both in expanding to apply pressure to the pads to stop the vehicle, as well as problems (friction/resistance) returning back into the caliper body after pressure is relieved when you let go of the pedal. After checking all that, I would apply more HIGH-TEMP DISC BRAKE Grease to the edges of the pads, where they contact the little metal clips (Disc Pad Hardware) to ensure free movement, as well as applying DISC BRAKE QUIET which is a tacky spray to the BACK of the pads to prevent vibration. Then, after everything has been inspected THOROUGHLY and properly assembled and you're finished, take it for a drive and see how it behaves now. Best of luck!!!!

wannaBjdmca6

^ very thorough explanation.
im thinking its the disk or pad now. here is why:


the squeaking noise only happens when the car is up hill or down hill.
it never squeaks when the car is on a nice flat surface. so that rules out the calipers

pads are fine (1/2 worn)

but the disc is not nice and flat.
it has that circles or maybe warped but brakes work perfectly. is just that the noise is freakin annoying when i let go of the brakes at up/downhill stop lights etc.

maybe some grease like u said to the back of the pad where piston hits it would help.


ill try on the weekend as im super sick (swine flu ) jk

wannaBjdmca6

also when i unscrew the bottom caliper bolt does that top pivot just slide out?

grandtheftauto

I have a question does any know how To fix 88 Honda civic ef sedan emergency brakes? when I pull the ebrake my tire still spin i need to fix this so I can have legit brakeing

wannaBjdmca6

you need to take the center console off and behind the e-brake you can see if the cables are broken or yea. go from there.
also does it feel like it has some pressure when u use the ebrake? or is so loose it can go all the way up without using any force.



START A NEW THREAD lol


MR JACKTHREADAUTO

grandtheftauto

yeah it has some pressure. the mechanic said there is somthing in the drum to tighten. he didn't want to explain it to me cuz I didn't have cash.

darkenedsol

Okay, if your discs are possibly warped it may not be a bad idea to take them to a shop to have them turned/resurfaced or replaced whichever is cheaper. Proper thickness and disc runout is CRITICAL for proper operation. You know what I mean? If you want to ensure great quiet braking, make sure you're thorough. That way you know exactly what's going on with your car at all times. As for your other question, after you unbolt the bottom bolt, pivot the caliper up and if you push inwards (towards the transmission) it should slide right off the slide bolt. Make sure that bolt is lubricated THOROUGHLY. That's what the caliper slides "floats" on to apply pressure. As for the drum brake question from grandtheftauto, it sounds like your clevis pin (starwheel) needs to be adjusted. Also, check your cables first for tension. Theres generally a 10mm stud that adjusts the e-brake tension, but check everything because as previously mentioned, you have to be thorough if you want to do the job right. Best of luck to you!!!!!!

darkenedsol

Well? Any developments?