Brakes binding caliper

oxymoron · 27th May 2007, 02:57

wonder if anyone can help me out with my civic aerodeck's binding caliper?

i took the car out the other day and drove about 4 miles, parked up to realise there was a horrible amount of smoke and heat from the drivers side disc/pads. called the aa out and we came to the conclusion i'd been a prat and left the handbrake on a notch and not noticed...

i drove the car home and it seemed fine and it hadn't got hot. took the car out today and i soon realised it was binding again and had got pretty hot. aa came out again and said I need to strip down the caliper and clean it out and then think about renewing the disc and pads both sides (which haven't long since been changed-doh!).

i've got as far as getting the caliper off the car but i'm no expert with brakes at all. i've taken out the (self adjusting?) pins and rubber boots and they seem quite free although one seems to have a lot of play - is this bad news? in the civic aerodeck shop manual it lists specific greases for different parts of the caliper - what should i use for regreasing the pins?

is it worth me attempting to recondition the caliper with a seal kit and whats the best way of going about this? or should i try and locate a caliper from a scrapper (not many aerodeck vti's or 5 door vti hatches being broken around though)? plan c I guess is buy a brand new caliper but thats gona be around £230 from honda. any help would be appreciated, my poor civic is currently grounded on axle stands with brake fluid dripping everywhere. lol

czechplastik · 27th May 2007, 03:38

This site is for the 06/07 Civic, but maybe someone can help you out.

3rd Honda · 27th May 2007, 06:53

On brake components - if there is ANY doubt - I would fit new parts.

I had a similar problem with a Fiat years ago. I was told the heat could have damaged the caliper (distortion?) and the disc (warped). The cost of all the seal kits etc, and the labour was a fair proportion of the price of the new parts too. I ended up replacing the lot.

As for grease - there used to be special greases made by Girling for various brake parts, but it was important to use the right one in the right place because as well as the risk of contamination to the disc, the seal materials can also be damaged by the wrong petroleum based products.

Its worth checking the handbrake mechanism carefully - as these can get dry/corroded and stick, causing the caliper to appear siezed - when in reality its only the handbrake parts - this may prevent similar damage to the other side at some stage

Hartside · 27th May 2007, 09:53

Quote:

i've got as far as getting the caliper off the car but i'm no expert with brakes at all. i've taken out the (self adjusting?) pins and rubber boots and they seem quite free although one seems to have a lot of play - is this bad news? in the civic aerodeck shop manual it lists specific greases for different parts of the caliper - what should i use for regreasing the pins?

No offence mate, but if you don't no what you are doing with brakes, then you shouldn't be touching them. Take it to a local garage and be sure the job is done 100% right

cylon2007 · 27th May 2007, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hartside

No offence mate, but if you don't no what you are doing with brakes, then you shouldn't be touching them. Take it to a local garage and be sure the job is done 100% right

yep wot he said

czechplastik · 27th May 2007, 13:53

I misread that to read that you knew what you were doing. Brakes would be the one thing you should really have done my pro's. What happens if you got it wrong and the brakes fail?

Charles_Harding · 27th May 2007, 16:15

oxymoron

Please don't play with life saving devices, like brakes, without having enough knowledge to understand the problem and complete the job.

I highly recommend getting an engineer to find the answer.

It will likely ensure that you and yours have along and happy life!

Hope you get it sorted anyway.

Sorry can't help but moan rather than cure!

"Edible underwear? You just wear them for a few days and seem to taste the same as the ordinary ones!"

Charles H.

MC Hammer · 28th May 2007, 23:31

If you don't know how things work best to leave them alone and get someone who does to fix it.
However on your plight, the pins do need freeplay as the caliper slides on these to follow the disc and adjust to pad wear. Excess wear on these can give a clunk on application of the pedal. If these are tight on the caliper then they can cause brakes to bind on , but generally only on one face of the disc; as you have removed the caliper this seems unlikely.
If the binding is on both faces then the most likely cause is a sticking piston. This is normally down to poor maintainance, leaking rubbers and internal corrosion. All of which can be repaired, but you do need to know what you're doing or a major brake failure could result. Even if you try to repair you may still need a new caliper if the corrosion has caused heavy pitting.
As for the discs and pads, they are designed to get really hot so unless they were really abused and show heat damage they may be ok. A thorough inspection is recommended before re-using of course as the cost of new parts is small compared to the risk. A new set of pads is always worth while as a minimum.
Not sure which car you have but if it's the 1.8Vti circa 1998 (MB* or MC* ?? not sure) then the brakes are common with some Rover 200/400's of that era. You need to be very careful though as they look similar but the Vti had larger discs and calipers.
Not really recommended using used parts especialy brakes as you can inherit more problems than you had to begin with.
Whatever you do make sure safety is your number one priority.

27th May 2007, 02:57	#1 (permalink)
oxymoron Valve Cap Join Date: 27th May 2007 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	binding caliper wonder if anyone can help me out with my civic aerodeck's binding caliper? i took the car out the other day and drove about 4 miles, parked up to realise there was a horrible amount of smoke and heat from the drivers side disc/pads. called the aa out and we came to the conclusion i'd been a prat and left the handbrake on a notch and not noticed... i drove the car home and it seemed fine and it hadn't got hot. took the car out today and i soon realised it was binding again and had got pretty hot. aa came out again and said I need to strip down the caliper and clean it out and then think about renewing the disc and pads both sides (which haven't long since been changed-doh!). i've got as far as getting the caliper off the car but i'm no expert with brakes at all. i've taken out the (self adjusting?) pins and rubber boots and they seem quite free although one seems to have a lot of play - is this bad news? in the civic aerodeck shop manual it lists specific greases for different parts of the caliper - what should i use for regreasing the pins? is it worth me attempting to recondition the caliper with a seal kit and whats the best way of going about this? or should i try and locate a caliper from a scrapper (not many aerodeck vti's or 5 door vti hatches being broken around though)? plan c I guess is buy a brand new caliper but thats gona be around £230 from honda. any help would be appreciated, my poor civic is currently grounded on axle stands with brake fluid dripping everywhere. lol

27th May 2007, 06:53	#3 (permalink)
3rd Honda Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 24th July 2006 Location: Tewkesbury Posts: 384 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts iTrader: (0)	On brake components - if there is ANY doubt - I would fit new parts. I had a similar problem with a Fiat years ago. I was told the heat could have damaged the caliper (distortion?) and the disc (warped). The cost of all the seal kits etc, and the labour was a fair proportion of the price of the new parts too. I ended up replacing the lot. As for grease - there used to be special greases made by Girling for various brake parts, but it was important to use the right one in the right place because as well as the risk of contamination to the disc, the seal materials can also be damaged by the wrong petroleum based products. Its worth checking the handbrake mechanism carefully - as these can get dry/corroded and stick, causing the caliper to appear siezed - when in reality its only the handbrake parts - this may prevent similar damage to the other side at some stage Last edited by 3rd Honda; 27th May 2007 at 06:55.

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This thread is about: binding caliper, it's in Wheels, Tyres, Suspension and Brakes at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; wonder if anyone can help me out with my civic aerodeck's binding caliper? i took the car out the other day and drove about 4 ...

27th May 2007, 03:38	#2 (permalink)
czechplastik King of the rodeo Civinfo guru Join Date: 24th October 2006 Location: Belfast Posts: 4,672 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	This site is for the 06/07 Civic, but maybe someone can help you out.

27th May 2007, 13:53	#6 (permalink)
czechplastik King of the rodeo Civinfo guru Join Date: 24th October 2006 Location: Belfast Posts: 4,672 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	I misread that to read that you knew what you were doing. Brakes would be the one thing you should really have done my pro's. What happens if you got it wrong and the brakes fail?

27th May 2007, 16:15	#7 (permalink)
Charles_Harding Civinfo guru Join Date: 14th August 2006 Location: S.E. London Posts: 3,303 Thanks: 113 Thanked 27 Times in 26 Posts iTrader: (0)	oxymoron Please don't play with life saving devices, like brakes, without having enough knowledge to understand the problem and complete the job. I highly recommend getting an engineer to find the answer. It will likely ensure that you and yours have along and happy life! Hope you get it sorted anyway. Sorry can't help but moan rather than cure! *"Edible underwear? You just wear them for a few days and seem to taste the same as the ordinary ones!"* Charles H.

28th May 2007, 23:31	#8 (permalink)
MC Hammer Kids use a lot of space Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 16th June 2006 Location: UK Posts: 622 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	If you don't know how things work best to leave them alone and get someone who does to fix it. However on your plight, the pins do need freeplay as the caliper slides on these to follow the disc and adjust to pad wear. Excess wear on these can give a clunk on application of the pedal. If these are tight on the caliper then they can cause brakes to bind on , but generally only on one face of the disc; as you have removed the caliper this seems unlikely. If the binding is on both faces then the most likely cause is a sticking piston. This is normally down to poor maintainance, leaking rubbers and internal corrosion. All of which can be repaired, but you do need to know what you're doing or a major brake failure could result. Even if you try to repair you may still need a new caliper if the corrosion has caused heavy pitting. As for the discs and pads, they are designed to get really hot so unless they were really abused and show heat damage they may be ok. A thorough inspection is recommended before re-using of course as the cost of new parts is small compared to the risk. A new set of pads is always worth while as a minimum. Not sure which car you have but if it's the 1.8Vti circa 1998 (MB* or MC* ?? not sure) then the brakes are common with some Rover 200/400's of that era. You need to be very careful though as they look similar but the Vti had larger discs and calipers. Not really recommended using used parts especialy brakes as you can inherit more problems than you had to begin with. Whatever you do make sure safety is your number one priority.