front brakes

[zigzag]

the other day coming back home my front brakes locked up for no reason and warped my roters screwed my calipers and ground down every bit of my pads....

what could of caused this? it makes no sense.... if anyone has questions as to what happened ill do my best to answer them.. just want to fix this and be the same problem wont happen again and warp all the new parts....

[itzdave]

were you stepping on the brakes when this happened?
sounds like maybe the caliper might have fucked up on ya. need more details...

[Pico]

calipers sticking.
Did both sides lock up or just one side?

[mephi]

you have a stuck caliper or caliper slide. It happens. You are probably going to just have to replace it. Sucks, but these things fail.

Replace them as a pair though or you are going to have the possibility of further brake problems like brake pull.

[zigzag]

both calipers will be replaced today roters turned and new pads....

i have noticed my car shook when i used the brakes.. never knew if it was just a warped roter or if the calipers were slowly going out.. but i never had the money to do either and as long as the car stopped me i wasnt too concerned.

also i have been having warm up issues alot more lately.... the rpm wont kick up to allow it to warm up.. and when it finally warms up ill start driving it and a mile later the rpm will kick up to 4k and remain there.. ive go to play with the petal for a few minutes for the rpm to sit right, but i noticed when i put my foot on the petal while the car is at that high of rpm the rpm will slightly go down about 500 then will rev back up....
----though when my car runs rough my brakes are stiff and when my car runs right and nice my brakes are a little loose....

that's all the info i have about everything that has been going on.... maybe we can get a better idea of what has really happened....

i appreciate your guys help ^_^ i finally got a new job and its 39 miles out.... all this couldn't of happened at a worse time heh..

[zigzag]

sorry for the double post i didn't want to start a new thread.... i turned the drums and roters new pads new calipers and new drum hardware kit and back cylinders.. but the next day the front brakes locked up on me again.... i think it was caused by high speeds close to and over 70-75 mph.... luckily this time it wasn't permanent.. i shut off the car for 10 minutes and was able to drive it home at posted speed limit.. the only thing i could think of was the flexible brake lines.. so we replaced them the other day and bled the brakes like crazy in sequence till all dirt was out and it looked clear as water coming out for each wheel....

so far no problems.. no air in the lines but petal feels a little weak....

is there a proportioning valve on the 1988 accord lx? could this also lead to the problems i have been experiencing? so far so good but it would be the last brake thing i haven't replaced and i know for a fact my booster is working.

any input would be fantastic. thanks.

[Dr_Snooz]

My guess is that your brake fluid has never been changed. It likes to absorb water over time so you probably have a lot of rust and crud in your brake system. It's possible that you can flush most of it out over time by being faithful with your fluid flushes. You want to change fluid every couple years as a rule. It's also possible that you'll be changing a lot of parts in the near future.

The official answer is that you should take the car to a qualified repair facility and have it properly inspected and repaired. The ghetto answer is a little more nuanced. Try running it for awhile and flushing again. It will probably work itself out over time. In the meantime, drive carefully and watch for tailgaters. :nervous:

[zigzag]

i recently changed the master cylinder las year and i check all fluids frequently.... brake fluid is clear as water when we bled them.. so i know its good.. plus prior to bleeding them i sucked out all the old fluid from the master cylinder with a turkey baster. so far no problems yet and im hoping it stays that way.

[LxAcc510]

So you were running @ 70-75mph? And you were holding the brakes?

What you need to realize--if you don't already-- is that brakes heat up as they're held and if that heating is continuous it will then cause the brakes to seize up and hold together.

To avoid this what you need to do is pump the brakes. My brake fluid is up to par, i've got stock calipers, rotors, and lines. When I'm in a real rush sometimes i'll be going 85-90 and when it comes time to slow down i pump the brakes rapidly until I'm as slowed down as i should be...just my two cents in braking techniques. You seem to know what to take care of as far as the mechanics of the brake system.

[ghettogeddy]

don't turn the rotors lol you can prolly get a new set for the price of turning lol like 15-20 a piece

hell i think you can get brembo blanks for 20 a pop on buybrakes.com

edit: ok maybe not the brembos they used ot be cheaper but still youc an go to just about nay parts store and get them for like 15-20 each

[Discovery]

the other day coming back home my front brakes locked up for no reason and warped my roters screwed my calipers and ground down every bit of my pads....

what could of caused this? it makes no sense.... if anyone has questions as to what happened ill do my best to answer them.. just want to fix this and be the same problem wont happen again and warp all the new parts....

Check the Brake boster, some time at high speed inside boster the membrane does not hold the presure from the intake manifold and pumps the brakes, also a bad caliper could be.

[zigzag]

@LxAcc510
no no no no.... i never touched the brakes before they locked up on me. i never ride my brakes either.. dad specifically drilled that into my head when he taught me how to drive. and when i want to slow down on the freeway i just let off the gas petal.. seems to work just fine.... never use my brakes unless i have to.

@ghettogeddy
i know people at the auto parts shop down the street for me so i had them both turned for about 15 total.... better than spending 15 a pop on rotors :)

@Discovery
ive been told by 2 mechanics that the brake booster would cause the petal to be hard vacuum or no vacuum.. but i will read up more on the brake booster.. it is the last thing to replace brake wise. thanks for the tip ^_^

[2oodoor]

Check the Brake boster, some time at high speed inside boster the membrane does not hold the presure from the intake manifold and pumps the brakes, also a bad caliper could be.

only thing I can come up with too, if all that has been done was done properly===
weird issue

[ghettogeddy]

idk if they were warp there never gona be truly straight plus whats another 15 lol for a peice of mind

i dont hesitate to put brand new ones on

[zigzag]

these rotors arnt even a year old... so they are somewhat like new.. just got damaged when the front braked locked up the first time.... still they haven't locked up yet *knocks on wood*.... but the petal seems to have a mind of its own going from firm and tight to spongy and weak.... pretty irritating if you ask me.. but at least they stop me. thinking maybe my back brakes need to be adjusted out a little more cause i have noticed my e-brake doesn't work O.o and when i do use my brakes i feel and kinda hear something pop.... time to check the bake again..

[ghettogeddy]

starting to sound like a master cylinder prob

[zigzag]

that is also only a year old and bought it brand new.... none of this is making sense to me....

[Oldblueaccord]

How long since the MC has been put on? The rod to the pedal needs to be adjusted correctly or the brakes will slowly lock after about 10 miles of driving. Thats about the only other thing that could cause the problem your having.


wp

[ghettogeddy]

that is also only a year old and bought it brand new.... none of this is making sense to me....

parts fail it just happens

[zigzag]

How long since the MC has been put on? The rod to the pedal needs to be adjusted correctly or the brakes will slowly lock after about 10 miles of driving. Thats about the only other thing that could cause the problem your having.


wp

how would i go about checking this? just stick a feeler guage between the booster rod and the master cylinder piston? should be .4mm right? if it is off then how do i adjust it?

[Dr_Snooz]

brake fluid is clear as water when we bled them


we bled the brakes like crazy in sequence till all dirt was out and it looked clear as water coming out for each wheel

Well now I'm confused. Did you have crap in the lines or not?

[zigzag]

Well now I'm confused. Did you have crap in the lines or not?

yes it was dirty.. but we bled the entire system multiple times till it looked clear as water.

[Dr_Snooz]

yes it was dirty.. but we bled the entire system multiple times till it looked clear as water.

My advice stands. If there was crap in your lines, a mere flush won't un-do the rust, pitting, etc. that's in there.

[zigzag]

son of a bi*ch.... it did it again.... the brake petal got extremely stiff and my car would not do past 50 mph with foot half way down gas petal.. i minute later the brakes start smoking and they lock up.... the only thing i have not replaced is the brake booster and the proportioning valve.... im stuck here.... this is really frustrating.

[ArokASE88LXi]

you've got a weird problem here i doubt it's related to th rotors or the pads. i wouldn't waste money on turning the rotors or replacing them again until you've solved the problem. the brake fluid itself ist highly unlikely to be causing the problem (especially since you said it's been flushed) brake fluid IS very Hygroscopic (attracting water) however water in the brake lines would be causing the opposite effect. the brakes would get warm/hot as usual but if there is only 3% water contamination it can lower the entire brake hydraulics sysytems boiling point by 25% leading to brake fade(loss of pedal or it being "soft") at higher temperatures. if you take off the calipers compress the piston and see if it compress easily if they do they're most likely not your problem especially if you've replaced them. when you replaced the master cylinder did you buy a new one or a reman? (i only ask because i've installed some remans on customers cars and about 90% of them fail but new ones work fine.) that could possibly be a problem but again it's unlikely. The booster seems a bit suspect in this. In general do some checks here make sure the check valve in the vacuum line is working correctly and that you have sufficient vacuum @ the booster (make sure it's at what the manual says as too much could be a problem as well) from what your describing it sounds like what COULD be happening is the booster is not working correctly and once you touch the brake pedal it goes into hyperactive mode and actually holds the brakes applied. this sounds weird but if you've exhausted all other possibilities whatevers left no matter how far fetched must be the truth (sherlock holmes lol) maybe the old master cylinder was leaking out the back seal but instead of leaking externally it was leaking into the booster causing havoc in there (i've actually seen this happen) i'm just brainstorming here i'd see if i could get a junkyard booster and try that it might be worth it. Very strange though!

[ArokASE88LXi]

How long since the MC has been put on? The rod to the pedal needs to be adjusted correctly or the brakes will slowly lock after about 10 miles of driving. Thats about the only other thing that could cause the problem your having.:werd:

i've been looking through the manual and Oldblueaccord is right there is an adjustment procedure in the manual it calls for use of a special "rod bolt adjustment guage" I'll be the first to admit i haven't had much experience with this on our cars lol but if you had pictures of where the adjustment was i'm sure lots of members here could compare them to our own to see if theres much difference. but Oldblueaccord is right that's about the only other thing that could be locking up your brakes most everything else would give you a softer pedal.

[nswst8]

Throttle cable is known to stick on these accords, mine would get stick in the high RPMs after accelerating letting off the gas pedal. You can try and lube it. But I'd just replace it.


both calipers will be replaced today roters turned and new pads....

i have noticed my car shook when i used the brakes.. never knew if it was just a warped roter or if the calipers were slowly going out.. but i never had the money to do either and as long as the car stopped me i wasnt too concerned.

also i have been having warm up issues alot more lately.... the rpm wont kick up to allow it to warm up.. and when it finally warms up ill start driving it and a mile later the rpm will kick up to 4k and remain there.. ive go to play with the petal for a few minutes for the rpm to sit right, but i noticed when i put my foot on the petal while the car is at that high of rpm the rpm will slightly go down about 500 then will rev back up....
----though when my car runs rough my brakes are stiff and when my car runs right and nice my brakes are a little loose....

that's all the info i have about everything that has been going on.... maybe we can get a better idea of what has really happened....

i appreciate your guys help ^_^ i finally got a new job and its 39 miles out.... all this couldn't of happened at a worse time heh..

[zigzag]

well everything has been replaced except thoes two things.... i thought a bad booster would stiffen the brake petal.. it was a new master cylinder.. something like that i dont buy used or remaned.... too many problems.. ill spend the little extra money for somehting better.. shit money comes and goes..

havent had the chance to check the gaping.. though i cant say i really know how to do that.

[ArokASE88LXi]

well everything has been replaced except thoes two things.... i thought a bad booster would stiffen the brake petal.. it was a new master cylinder.. something like that i dont buy used or remaned.... too many problems.. ill spend the little extra money for somehting better.. shit money comes and goes..

havent had the chance to check the gaping.. though i cant say i really know how to do that.


well i think you would want to adjust it so there was a little bit of freeplay at the top of the pedal before the brakes begin to apply but that's as far as i'm willing to venture i've never had to adjust them before and i've never had a problem with one (except for remans of course.). maybe just play around with it a little bit at a time :dunno:

the proportioning valve lessens the pressure to the rear wheels upon hard braking so i don't see how that could be responsible. have you checked the bearings? if they were going bad and leaning the pads and rotor a little bit so the caliper was at an akward angle that may be a possibility. im assuming the brake hoses are straight and not "pigtailed", the caliper is on right side up all the bolts are tight, the bleeder screw is tight and not leaking or something, both the anchor bolts are tight. if both sides locked up then one would assume that the basic brake assembly's were fine and it would have to be something bad from the proportioning valve to the pedal. you said the fluid is new and clear so that shouldn't be an issue at all. any rust pitting in the lines/hoses wouldn't cause the brakes to lock up were there shims on the pads or no shims?.... I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or that im making fun of you its just that going through every little step helps me think better. (and i know i've made some pretty stupid mistakes before)

i'm a little fuzzy though did you say that each time they locked up you hadn't touched the brake pedal they just seemed to lock up on their own? how hard did it seem that the brakes were locked up was it like slamming on the brakes or just a small but constant pressure on them causing heat buildup, or somewhere inbetween?

[Oldblueaccord]

The rod adjustment is on the pedal end under the dash. You may have to readjust the pedal height after. Its set with the booster "on" meaning 20 inches of vacuum. It just needs a little slack is all. ALso any decent Honda mechanic can set it for you pretty quick its common on these cars althought annoying that it needs resetting.

The info in the 88 Helms page 20-24. I think you can DL the manual here somewhere there is a link /sticky. Sorry I forgot about this post would have posted back sooner. Im hoping thats what it is since you have tried just about everything else.


wp

[LX-incredible]

Sounds like a faulty booster to me... I wouldn't drive it until it's replaced.

[zigzag]

well i think you would want to adjust it so there was a little bit of freeplay at the top of the pedal before the brakes begin to apply but that's as far as i'm willing to venture i've never had to adjust them before and i've never had a problem with one (except for remans of course.). maybe just play around with it a little bit at a time :dunno:

the proportioning valve lessens the pressure to the rear wheels upon hard braking so i don't see how that could be responsible. have you checked the bearings? if they were going bad and leaning the pads and rotor a little bit so the caliper was at an akward angle that may be a possibility. im assuming the brake hoses are straight and not "pigtailed", the caliper is on right side up all the bolts are tight, the bleeder screw is tight and not leaking or something, both the anchor bolts are tight. if both sides locked up then one would assume that the basic brake assembly's were fine and it would have to be something bad from the proportioning valve to the pedal. you said the fluid is new and clear so that shouldn't be an issue at all. any rust pitting in the lines/hoses wouldn't cause the brakes to lock up were there shims on the pads or no shims?.... I'm sorry if this sounds stupid or that im making fun of you its just that going through every little step helps me think better. (and i know i've made some pretty stupid mistakes before)

i'm a little fuzzy though did you say that each time they locked up you hadn't touched the brake pedal they just seemed to lock up on their own? how hard did it seem that the brakes were locked up was it like slamming on the brakes or just a small but constant pressure on them causing heat buildup, or somewhere inbetween?

no dude your fine ^_^ i tend to over think myself lol. it is not an instant lockup, but a gradual kind of issue that slowly builds heat till i see the front wheels smoke and smell like brake then it takes all the car has to move forward to a safe place to pull off.... this is my only transportation and luckly i do not have to drive it far.. but i have noticed that when i start the car (usually in the morning) if the brake petal is weak i wont have any problems, but if the brake petal starts off stiff then im in a world of hurt if i venture out toooooo far.... say 20 miles or so.

@Oldblueaccord
im not sure of any honda mechanic shop around here where i live, but there is a just for brakes right down the street.. would anyone trust them to do an adjustment?

@LX-incredible
sorry i must drive my car.. i honestly have no choice in the matter.. but i plan on replacing the booster if an adjustment doesnt work....

thank you guys so much ^_^ i will keep you updated on what is going on.. hopefully if someone else has this problem later on this thread will help them as well :)