Braking Problem on a 92 Accord

One of two things.

1. Something is letting the fluid leak out of the right front brake, or the pad is stuck.

2. Or, condition 1. is allowing brake fluid onto the brake rotor and this allows the car to pull to the left.

Somebody's been drinking tequila . The first possibility is #1, the second possibility is #1.Ground control to major lyn?

Don't get him started. He will go back to blaming the fuel tank pick up .

When I inspected the rotor it was dry and free of fluids

Clean as much of the back of passenger side wheel area as you can. After it is dry, have an assistant push the brake pedal hard while you watch for fluid leaks. You might have damaged a brake hose, or caliper in the parking lot. If nothing shows, check driver's side. Good luck.

When inspecting the brake lines I had someone pumping the brakes for me. There was no sign of a leak, puddles or even drops. This is why its mystifying me.

You are welcome to post as long as you like under Guest, But please put some ID mark on your posts so we can know you are the original poster.

Are you finding your master cylinder is loosing fluid between bleedings/ If so it has to go somewhere. If you can not find any leaks, front or back, try this. Loosen the master cylinder from the booster. Leave the brake lines attached for this test. Pull the master far enough away to inspect for fluid. If fluid is here, the master is bad. Good luck.

My personel opinion is you should register here. It is free, and no background checks. Hell, you can call yourself a doctor, lawyer or whatever you like.

ok, I checked the booster and the lines connecting it, it about 8 inches from the master. I see no leakes from the lines. I can tell my master is going out by the pressure im losing when I keep prolonged pressure on the brake, but why are my brakes regaining pressure when I bleed the problem passenger side? If my master cylinder was going out I would lose pressure in both front wheels and bleeding one side wouldn't make such a significant difference.

If the system is allowing air into it at any point, bleeding at any location will remove the air. If the master was allowed to draw air into it from the booster side, it would get in the line closest to the booster. or if the master is mounted on an incline, the air would go to the front section of the master. Bleeding from either wheel that has the air in it's line will remove the air.

If I understand you correctly, your pedal will go down if you sit with your foot on the brake when stopped. If that is the case, the answer becomes easier. 1) If when doing that repeatedly, the fluid in the master does not go down, your master is bad. 2) If when doing that repeatedly, there is fluid loss in the master cylinder, then you have a brake fluid leak, and need to find the wet spot. (no jokes needed here)

Thank you for having a name. Welcome to the insanity.

Sounds as if the right front brake caliper is stuck. Remove it , and the pads , and notice if the two steel guide rods are bent. The hydraulic cylinder in the caliper itself may also be jammed . Again - remove caliper & inspect actuator , looking for corrosion and/or anything that would cause the application cylinder to bind . Put new brake pads on , too. A stuck cylinder will not only not apply brake at the required force , it may also allow air into the system .

The only places where air can get into the brake fluid, is past the "rear" primary washer of a master cylinder or when the reservoir is empty....or if a brake bleeding screw is open while the brake pedal is released.

jurie sa

If your master cylinder reservoir needs brake fluid when the pedal goes to the floor, you have a brake fluid leak.

If air can not enter the master cylinder at the master filler cap, air will get into the system via the master cylinder secondary washer!

If there is no external leaks and the pedal goes to the floor,there is air in the system or the primary washer inside the master cylinder is worn or broken.

It will be a good idea to check camber and wheel bearings on the accident side also.

Jurie sa

How about this novel approach: Bring the damn car to a local mechanic and let him fix it. If your brakes are giving problems and you are still driving the car then that is, in my opinion, a very careless act.

Here is a news flash. There is a new show on on the speed channel. It is a repair show for autos, and it is hosted by people hiding under paper bags, and refusing to give their names. Now that is where I want to get information from.

Ok, I'm still having troubles. Yes it is obvious that air is getting into the system somewhere, but I am not losing any brake fluid. If the Master Cylinder was going bad I would most likely have a fluid leak inside the car and would hence lose fluid. Continuous bleeding temporarily solves the problem, generally for a week, then the pedal starts going to the floor again. Someone suggested that the accident could have possibly knocked a brake line seal slighty loose somewhere and that air could be creeping in without any fluid getting out. Anyone have any good ideas where I should start looking first? and what exactly should I be looking for? And no, I stop driving the car the minute the brakes start losing any pressure. I'm not that stupid

You should be looking for a hole in a brake line.

You can try this. Put the car on jack stands, and remove the wheels. Do a thorough search for any place along the brake lines, calipers, wheel cylinders and brake hoses. Start the car and wedge the brake pedal as hard as you can. (Think about a small scissor jack or similar device to hold pressure on the brake pedal) Now all parts will be subjected to very high braking pressures. If there is a leak, it should show up in this fashion. After an hour or two, see if the pedal had dropped, or if you can see any leakage.

Considering that the problem occured after your "curb" incident, I would replace the caliper on the right front brake. When you have the two guide bolts out which hold the caliper on, (NOTE These loosen from the outside of the caliper.) verify that they are still straight by rolling them at the edge of a flat surface (with the bolt head hanging over the edge). Lube these bolts with high temp grease when you put things back together.

You might want to consider replacing the rotors also. Mine were press fit on, and were removed by screwing two bolts into the rotor, which pull the rotor off the hub as the bolts are tightened. I can't seem to find the size of the bolts... but I have them out in my tool chest. I believe I just used lug nuts to press the rotors back on, possibly using the wheel to take up excess space if needed. FYI, I had an '83 Accord which I drove for twenty some odd years, and I am speculating that Honda did not make alot of changes in that area.

My wife had a similar curb confrontation with her Dodge caravan. We didn't have any air leakage, but it ate brake pads like crazy on one side of the rotor. Changing the caliper fixed that problem.

Bill