well, my daily (97 civic dx, no anti-lock) had brakes go bad, pretty much went down to nothing, so i babied it home usin ebrake with the reg brakes, did the pads, bled the system, felt the pedal, it was fine, then i go and start the car, as soon as i turn the car over the pedal is just as bad as before i did the brakes.. im lost.... bad booster? i got no leaks i can find, and idk what else it can be, unless i just bled the brakes crappy cause it was dark out and i just did em without a hose and all taht jazz (always worked for me before)... let me know.. i HAVE to drive this thing THANKS!
to be fair i should say the brakes were BAD before i redid em, heavy grinding before they went pretty much 90% out
Sounds like mater crapped out-could have been damaged if if dirt went through seals?Be sure all the air is out first,gently,but firmly apply pedal,does it sink slowly or if release slightly and reapply pressure?If so I'd start with master
Sounds like the Master is bleeding off internally,especially when you first start it & vacuum is high. In this case,the fluid is usually dark in color in the resevoir... sounds like the master is junk. tc
i was thinkin master too, but i can drive it, it doesnt feel too too safe, but i can drive it.. stops like a car with drums that need adjusting.. if it was a bad MC, i wouldnt have ANYTHING.. im thinkin booster or vaccuum line
You replaced the front brake pads? Did you clean and lube the caliper slides? Was it hard to push the caliper pistons back in? Did you push them back in straight, and did you open the bleeder while you did it? Sometimes if you just force the pistons back, it will blow out the master. Is it drum rears? If so, are they adjusted properly? In your area, its not uncommon for the calipers to stick, so if you push them back in to change the pads, they wont come back out. When you bleed them, take a bottle of brake fluid and put it in the master hole upside down. Then open a bleeder and wait until air and cruddy fluid is gone. Gravity bleed. Dont push the pedal. If the calipers are good and theres no air, then your master shit the bed. I've never seen a booster go on these, but it would have a hard pedal if it did. You would have a check engine light for the big vacuum leak too.
ive had a check engine light for a while... hahaha, bad C02 sensor.. went out and checkd vaccuum line seems fine, i can feel air going through it and doesnt seem to have any leaks... guess it must be the MC hey? i mean the brakes were SHITTY before i replaced em... so it might have been... damnit, i cant afford this shit...
If the front pads wore down to metal on metal then it is a good chance that the front brake resevoir went dry letting air into the M/cyl.. If that happened then you need to bench bleed the M/cyl just like you would with a new empty M/cyl.. Bench bleed the M/cyl until all air is removed and then bleed the brakes at the wheels. If you still have a problem then you most likely need a new M/cyl.. Don't forget to check and ADJUST the rear drum brakes. They have a big impact on pedal height and feel.
Wrong- when the master cylinder seals go bad, they can sort of flop around. One push you may have pedal, the next you may not. The fact you had to bleed the air out points to the hydraulics, not the booster. Bad booster won't let air into the hydraulics, only bad seals or pinholes will do that. Look the whole system over real close for any leaks that might be letting air in. Also- not sure if the honda is like an old chevy, but on those you've got to manually reset a button on the proportioning valve if the brakes are applied with a huge problem. After the repair you'll never get full pedal without resetting the button. Personally I wouldn't be driving it. Next time you push the pedal there may be nothing. Good Luck!
and I think on a honda of this vintage the ebrake was (Is) what keeps the rear brakes adjusted.. If you've been using the ebrake then its likely they are adjusted.. but the rear cyls could still be the cause of air leaks.. check everything.. its your life and everyone you share the road with..
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