Funky Brakes

[Civix]

Hey guys, what's happening?

Well, just after christmas, my brakes were feeling funny and so every time I touched the brakes the steering wheel would shake back and forth. This led me to believing it was the rotors and so I replaced it with raybestos rotors. Once on, they felt perfect when I braked, no more shaking. But after a week of having them on I started to notice the shaking coming back. Now some 3 months later, they are still doing it but a little worse. But the odd thing is that whenever I drive to work in the morning, I go down this long hill and that's when i start using my brakes for the first time that day. I start to push on the brake pedal and the car slows down very smooth, no shaking whatsoever, then after i brake a few more times you can almost feel the shaking starting to come till it gets to the piont where every time I hit the brakes the rest of the day, they're like that. I can't understand why they work just fine and then all of sudden it starts coming back. It's done this every morning I go to work too. And even sometimes in town, I don't feel it, but then later I do. What the hell could be up here? When i put them on, I never rode them hard at first and I rarely ever slamm on the brakes to begin with. Help me please you civic guru's

[4G4D Store]

What kind of brake pads are you using?

[Civix]

Raybestos pads

[Jos4DCivic]

does it shake only when braking? had same problem a while back and was caused by cv-axle destoyed. sticking calipers maybe? steering column coupler bushing cause steering wheel to shake? just some things to check

[BullShifter]

Sounds like you have a bad caliper or incorrectly installed pads.

Did you lube the pads, retainers, slides, etc? If not your caliper could be junk. Brakes need to be serviced at least once a year.

Also rust on the hub can cause all sorts of odd vibrations. That should also be cleaned when installing new rotors.

[civickiller]

probably because you didnt change yoru pads when you changed the rotors

[Civix]

Is it always customary to change the pads the same time with the rotors? The pads are but a year old.

And Jackasssi, what do you mean by lubing the pads? I thought you just changed them out as needed and your done.

[BullShifter]

Yes you should install new pads with new rotors.

Lubing refer to this recent post -

Originally Posted by Jackasssi

The CRX online manual site is down which sux. It's a lot easier to show pic's than it is to describe, at least for me.

Bleeding isn't really needed for just a pad slap. Just make sure to compress the calipers piston with a C-clamp or large channel lock pliers. And don't forget to pump them brakes up before you go for a test ride. There's nothing like checking brakes and you don't have a pedal. If the brake fluid is very dark it would be a wise idea to suck out the master cylinder then bleed all 4 wheels until clean fluid comes out, keeping the master full the whole time.

By lubing I mean, the back of brake pad surface or shims if included.

The retainers are the "little metal clips that are on either side of the pads and go into the caliper assembly" I usually remove the caliper bracket, remove the retainers and clean the rust build up from underneath, lubing the retainer and where they sit on the bracket.

The above could cause noise if not properly done and maintained at least once a year. Use the lube supplied with the pads, we use Molykote at our shop. You can get it through Honda but it's very pricey, about $125.00 a tub.

The main lube points are the slides, this is what the caliper moves on. Remove the lower brake caliper bolt, slide caliper up, push caliper off bracket to expose top slide. The bottome slide you will need to pull out yourself. make sure the little rubber boots seat before install. Use Silicone grease, I've seen people try anti-seize but that's not lube and will swell seals giving a sticky brake system.

Rotors should be resurfaced or replaced with new pads, otherwise the uneven rotor will chew up pads, vibrate, and/or pulsate.

check this link - i think it shows every thing been a while since I read it.
http://importnut.net/brakes.htm

I still can't figure out why people do and say to remove both caliper bolts, only one per side needs to come out - the lower one. Simply pivot the caliper up and pop it off, it's that simple.

A nice finishing touch, besides painting every thing to make it look all pretty put a small about of white lithium grease on the rotor "hat" The part that the wheel touches. next time you remove the wheels they wont get stuck.

Any thing else?