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Hey Everyone,
I have a 1996 Honda Accord EX Coupe, and the past couple months I have been chasing a Brake fade away…with no luck.
The Symptoms:
- The Brake pedal sinks very slowly when I press it down, if I lift my foot and press it again, theres pressure, but it continues to sink
- When I do get it to stop, it sometimes will creep forward slowly
I have seen no visible leaks, so I thought what most people would, theres a problem with the Master Cylinder. So I went and picked one up, and a master cylinder bleeder kit. When I went to disconnect one of the lines from the MC going into the ABS Modulator, it got rounded (Yes I was using a line wrench). So I replaced that line. I didn’t have a bench vise, so I bolted it on, and hooked the MC bleeder kit up, and pumped the pedal until my buddy said he didn’t see any bubbles.
We went to bleed the system, had no problems with the back wheels. When we went to the front, the bleeder valves wouldn’t come open. My buddy said we could bleed it from the lines, and it should be fine.
In the end, this didn’t fix the problem. What really got me was the fact that the problem was EXACTLY the same as it was before. Confused, I said forget it, and took it to the dealership and told them to bleed it, just to make sure we had all the air out. He calls right after he started working and was confused because of the new MC. So I told him what was going on, and he said he’d look at it.
Apparently, the Brake Pads on 3 of the 4 wheels were seized. He unseized them and told me I needed new front pads and rotors. He said he took it for a test drive, and everything was okay. He asked when I wanted him to start the brake job… I laughed and took it home to do it myself. Only thing was, the pedal was still sinking.
I did the front brake job, and there was still some problem, but not as bad. I drove it 2 1/2 hours (only because I had to) and parked it. I went to drive it the next day…like magic, they worked like they were supposed to! I didn’t think anything of it, so I ignored it.
A couple days ago, the problem came back. Can anyone shed some light on this?
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Replies
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Like Yogi Berra said “It’s déjà vu all over again”
Does the brake light work (I.E. does it illuminate when the emergency brake is on, or when you initially turn the car on)? If not, check and replace the bulb, then check for ABS codes with jumper wire on blue connector.
Another thing, is your Master cylinder a rebuild? Inexpensive rebuilds can cause issues because the cylinders have been honed out too far and do not seal properly…. A possibility if your MC was a rebuilt one…
Since you did open the ABS, Try taking it down a gravel road and slamming on the brakes (so the ABS cycles)… You will know it cycles when the pedal vibrates… This can push air through the system if it got in there by activating the solenoids…. After doing this 5-10 times, if the pedal does not go normal, then go back and re-bleed the regular way at the wheels…
And lastly, did you ever take off the lower plastic piece covering the brake lines and inspect them?
-Karl
The Brake light works fine. I believe the master cylinder was a new one. I could be wrong though. It also came with a lifetime warranty, so I have been tempted to pull it of and take it and get another one.
I was told about the plastic cover, and was going to look this weekend. I am not sure if there is a leak since it keeps magically fixing itself for a while.
I also feel like there’s air somewhere since we couldn’t use the bleeder screw…any tips on breaking that loose without breaking it :P. I am not sure if its new air in the system or not. I will have to try locking up the brakes when I get the chance as we’ll
If I read you correctly you didn’t replace the master cylinder you just bled it out. By the sound of it, you’re going to need to replace it. What you describe is a classic master cylinder problem. Videos on master cylinder replacement as well as other helpful information about solving brake problems can be found here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-brake-problems
Keep us posted.
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