How about another calliper topic - someone please save my sanity

[Butcher]

Approximately 4 years I've had this car now, and every year without fail I've had to change pads. To put it into perspective I do about 10k miles each year! I think one set lasted 6 months. Brake issues are near constant.

 

Does everyone have this, or do you all do the sensible thing and fit new calipers?

 

I would do exactly that if I had a nice Civic like most of you guys, but this is a battered old SOHC 1.6 workhorse. And to be perfectly honest, going into the new year, I think I'm probably going to be buying a new motor. Maybe an Accord.

 

Anyway. Pads are knackered again. Handbrake has consistently being having issues for the past year. I have serviced all of the calipers on the car (more than once), regreasing sliders (which work perfectly) and removing build-up of rust which was stopping pads from sliding freely. I just wanted to check if there's anything else I can do before I go ahead and get my hands dirty. 

 

They are mostly working fine, apart from the OS rear, which is binding a bit. This seems to be what is causing the handbrake issues (and obviously the premature wear), as the handbrake is getting stuck in the on position, and it throws them out of balance. I have lubed up the spring several times, and it works great for a few months, then back to stuck. 

 

I also read somewhere ages ago that there should be grease on the surface of the calipers to help the pads slide and prevent build-up of rust. Typical that I should read this after the fact. But as it's got to be done again, can I use copper grease for this?

 

Since I serviced them all the last time I've only had issue with this one calliper. I honestly don't know that much about the inner workings, so I'm wondering if it's likely to be the piston that is seizing and causing the issues?

 

Bit of a ranty post, but these things will drive me mad. Any help is appreciated.

 

Also, if anyone has am easy and foolproof way of removing half rounded calliper bolts, please let me know. It's not a job I'm looking forward to.   

[Dave]

Unfortunately, almost all civics suffer from rear calliper issues. The problem you describe would point to the Liston itself sticking, as you've already fixed the sliding pins. You can disassemble the entire calipper, and remove the piston too to check for wear and corrosion. If taking v the piston out, we strongly advise buying a seal kit before hand to replace the seals when you rebuild it.

The handbrake mechanism is bad for seizing too, so needs to be cleaned and rebuilt, using copper grease on it to keep it moving freely.

The handbrake cables themselves can also get seized or sticky inside, the only cure being new cables.

Regarding the pads, deffo use copper grease on the rear of them when putting it all back together. Also remember if the calliper has been off, you'll need to bleed the brakes.

Hope this helps.

[Butcher]

Thanks Dave. I just wish I knew everything the first time I did this... Or even the second....or third  It's been a learning experience if anything. 

 

With the copper grease, I mean where the pad sits at the top and bottom. First time I changed the pads and re-greased the sliders, I thought that would fix it. I looked past the fact that I had to hammer out the brake pads because the build-up of rust meant they had zero room to move. Not having much experience doing brakes I didn't see what else I could do. Because of this they still had issues sticking.

 

The next time I removed all of the rust so we were back to a smooth surface. Re-fitted, and I've had no issues since, other than this one calliper which I think may be the piston. But like I say, I'm not sure if I should have added a little grease too, to help the pads slide freely, and prevent rust building up again. 

 

Can the handbrake mech be removed with the calliper still fitted?

[burbleboy]

I had replaced x3 calipers on my civic. Sliders were fine but the rear pads just weren't contacting the disc properly so replaced rear calipers. One day the the n/s/f brakes started to smoke due to sticking. That's when I knew the caliper had seized!

Had to replace the front discs for piece of mind (I'm fussy), so count yourself lucky!

[civicturbo79]

The inner workings of the calipers fail on the rear its a massive commen issue across the hole civic range not just mb's. could be siezed pistons also ,i would get them recondictioned as a pair .

second commen problem is that people keep winding on the cabl to get the handbrake to work better , this does not work you need to make sure the cables are loose and the levers on the rear calipers are all the way back on there stops . at that point pump the foot brake a good 20 times then adjust the cables to get a hand brake . if the levers are off the stops on the calipers (slightly on ) the calipers will not adjust inside for the hand brake .

Rich.

[Butcher]

Thanks for the help. I've done the brake pads, but now my good caliper is really, REALLY tight. To the point where it's difficult to turn the wheel by hand. Does this mean I have to bleed the caliper? And how much?

 

Piston was all the way back as far as it would go. Only protruding by 1 or 2 mm. There's no shims on the pads. 

[Jayhoath83]

Ive been looking into this and im pretty sure the mgzr rear caliper is the same and i rarely hear of them doing this as they are a different brand i just need to get hold of 1 2 check. This would be better as they are half the price of the honda 1's