brakes OMG
whoodie
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
Allright, I have a 95 Accord 5 spd, 136k. When I am driving in hot weather and come to a stop, the brake pedal goes to the floor. In cooler weather this does not happen with as much frequency. When I pump the brakes the pedal height goes back to normal but will gradually go towards the floor with nominal pressure. When the car is turned off, no key in the ignition, the brake pedal slowly goes to the floor, my repair manual said this symptom was caused by a faulty brake booster. I'm really confused and frusturated at this point. What can I do to correctly diagnose this problem, I'll be damned if I take it to a dealer. Please help me out.
jeffcoslacker
05-24-2005, 06:42 PM
The pedal shouldn't be able to go to the floor if you aren't pushing it. The pedal return spring should at least prevent that. Do you mean when you get back in to drive, there is no pedal?
If you aren't loosing fluid, then the seals in the master cylinder are bypassing, allowing pressure to bleed off when in a "hold" position. Sometimes temp will affect this.
I'd put a master on it. If the booster was faulty, you'd have a rock hard pedal, not a sinking one.
If you aren't loosing fluid, then the seals in the master cylinder are bypassing, allowing pressure to bleed off when in a "hold" position. Sometimes temp will affect this.
I'd put a master on it. If the booster was faulty, you'd have a rock hard pedal, not a sinking one.
AccordCodger
05-25-2005, 07:14 AM
Yup _ agree with Jeffcoslacker - classic master cyl failure symptoms. Get it replaced (or replace it yourself) before you kill someone.
whoodie
05-25-2005, 02:40 PM
What brand should I replace my master with? I can save about $50 going with non-OEM, or should I bit the bullet and stick with honda?
jeffcoslacker
05-25-2005, 06:04 PM
Most remans are pretty good, and Honda masters are a pretty simple design. Stay away from AutoZone, but anything else should be OK.
Have you done one like that before, where you have to swap the resevoir from the old one?
Have you done one like that before, where you have to swap the resevoir from the old one?
whoodie
05-26-2005, 02:25 AM
Never attempted this before but I have a Haynes and I'm pretty mechanically inclined. But Autozone is no good huh? Thanks for the advice, plan to do it sunday, my next day off.
AccordCodger
05-26-2005, 06:46 AM
Do you have ABS? If so, I believe you may have a pretty tricky job.
jeffcoslacker
05-26-2005, 11:39 AM
I've just had to re-do too many jobs to trust AZ reman parts anymore. I gave up on them long ago. Haven't had any problems with Advance, and their prices are usually very close to AZ's.
I just wondered about changing that res, that freaks people out when they see the new one doesn't have a resevoir on it, and they have to be swapped. The one from Honda might come with a new one, maybe that's the big difference in price.
The trick is just to pull and press real straight up and down, and use some brake fluid on the grommets before pressing it back down into the new one. Two big screwdrivers placed under the res from either side and levered up at the same time will usually pop it right out without trouble.
I always suctioned the fluid out before working on it, so you don't end up with it on painted stuff. When you work with brake fluid it's always a good idea to have a big container of water around, to flush any spills off paint.
As far as bench bleeding goes, I always installed the master on the car, attached the bleeder kit and filled the res, then just stroke the pedal until it gets firm and no more bubbles come through.
Don't want to bottom the pedal out if you do it this way, your foot can put too much pressure on it and hurt the seals if you bottom out in the bore.
I just always found this to be quicker and since you can feel the pedal firm up as it bleeds, you know when it's done. Pumping it in a vice on a bench is a pain in the ass. Plus clamping in a vice isn't real good for them either...
I just wondered about changing that res, that freaks people out when they see the new one doesn't have a resevoir on it, and they have to be swapped. The one from Honda might come with a new one, maybe that's the big difference in price.
The trick is just to pull and press real straight up and down, and use some brake fluid on the grommets before pressing it back down into the new one. Two big screwdrivers placed under the res from either side and levered up at the same time will usually pop it right out without trouble.
I always suctioned the fluid out before working on it, so you don't end up with it on painted stuff. When you work with brake fluid it's always a good idea to have a big container of water around, to flush any spills off paint.
As far as bench bleeding goes, I always installed the master on the car, attached the bleeder kit and filled the res, then just stroke the pedal until it gets firm and no more bubbles come through.
Don't want to bottom the pedal out if you do it this way, your foot can put too much pressure on it and hurt the seals if you bottom out in the bore.
I just always found this to be quicker and since you can feel the pedal firm up as it bleeds, you know when it's done. Pumping it in a vice on a bench is a pain in the ass. Plus clamping in a vice isn't real good for them either...
mpumas
06-01-2005, 12:57 AM
One thing not mentioned by anybody......When removing the brake lines from the master cylinder, use a brake wrench. It looks like a box end with a small slit which just fits over the brake line and then slips on to the nut fitting. The lines are so tight that using anything else will slip and round the nut and then you really have a problem.
jeffcoslacker
06-01-2005, 01:42 AM
One thing not mentioned by anybody......When removing the brake lines from the master cylinder, use a brake wrench. It looks like a box end with a small slit which just fits over the brake line and then slips on to the nut fitting. The lines are so tight that using anything else will slip and round the nut and then you really have a problem.
Line wrench. Good point!
Line wrench. Good point!
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