I have 97 honda civic ex. Recently my brake pedal has gone soft or spongy. I bled the brakes with a liter of brake fluid. found a few bubbles but my pedal is still soft. I checked the lines if they were cracked. none of them are cracked. fluid level is high. I do not know the problem. now i am think it is the brake master cylinder. the brake pedal is soft all the time. if it was the rubber lines, it would be soft after a few hard pump. the brakes have strong braking but the feel of the pedal is too soft. I want it firm and hard. what do you guys think?
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why were they spongy the first time?
did you recently do a brake fluid change?
if so, if your bleeding them by your self i suggest you do a gravity bleed, crack the bleeders open till you get a steady drip, start 1 by one closest to farthest from the master cylinder
before replacing the brake booster, do the brake booster test, start the car let it sit for 2min. then turn car off.. pump the brakes a couple times if still stiff then your good no need to replace it.
you dont really need to replace the master cylinder, it could just be a leaky gasket from the pistion inside the master cylinder. but only do so if you really think its the master cylinder.
is there a kink in the lines? make sure all lines are curved (not bent) and straight. a kinked line can cause abnormal braking
also look for leaks near the master cylinder, lines, and caliper pistons....
one more thing, check the brake hose! a rusty brake bracket can kink the brake hose
did you recently do a brake fluid change?
if so, if your bleeding them by your self i suggest you do a gravity bleed, crack the bleeders open till you get a steady drip, start 1 by one closest to farthest from the master cylinder
before replacing the brake booster, do the brake booster test, start the car let it sit for 2min. then turn car off.. pump the brakes a couple times if still stiff then your good no need to replace it.
you dont really need to replace the master cylinder, it could just be a leaky gasket from the pistion inside the master cylinder. but only do so if you really think its the master cylinder.
is there a kink in the lines? make sure all lines are curved (not bent) and straight. a kinked line can cause abnormal braking
also look for leaks near the master cylinder, lines, and caliper pistons....
one more thing, check the brake hose! a rusty brake bracket can kink the brake hose
i have pressure bleeder.
before i make any purchases. my brakes feels strong. It brakes very well, no delay but feels spongy. Strong brakes, spongy pedal. I do not have to push the brakes to the floor to stop. what could be it?
rubber lines? maybe. but when the rubber lines heats up, the rubber expands and inorder to stop, the pedal is going to be pushed down all the way. I do not have this.
brake rotor and pads? probably not, im not sliding. its brakes very well.
caliper? i'm not pulling in one side.
fluid. i changed the fluid twice already. (both pressure bleeder and foot method). i am going to do it one more time.
last thing i could think of is master cylinder or brake booster. i have never dealt with these two before so i do not know anything about it.
before i make any purchases. my brakes feels strong. It brakes very well, no delay but feels spongy. Strong brakes, spongy pedal. I do not have to push the brakes to the floor to stop. what could be it?
rubber lines? maybe. but when the rubber lines heats up, the rubber expands and inorder to stop, the pedal is going to be pushed down all the way. I do not have this.
brake rotor and pads? probably not, im not sliding. its brakes very well.
caliper? i'm not pulling in one side.
fluid. i changed the fluid twice already. (both pressure bleeder and foot method). i am going to do it one more time.
last thing i could think of is master cylinder or brake booster. i have never dealt with these two before so i do not know anything about it.
RonJ
Banned
^^^This, if you have properly bled the brakes in the correct order.
what did you do to the brakes that they are soft to begin with. brakes go soft over time, usually due normal wear. you can get them firm but they will only last a while. once the pads start wearing down, you'll be back to the soft pedal again.
if the pedal is really soft...or spongy then you have either air in the system somewhere, faulty master or a line leaking somewhere.
otherwords leave it alone.....your never going to get a firm firm rock hard pedal, no matter what you do....itll only last till the brakes start to wear down.
if the pedal is really soft...or spongy then you have either air in the system somewhere, faulty master or a line leaking somewhere.
otherwords leave it alone.....your never going to get a firm firm rock hard pedal, no matter what you do....itll only last till the brakes start to wear down.
Say guys I have a 98 ex and my e-brake sticks after I disarm it. I've heard of a couple things I can do. But I figured you guys would have some idea on what the issue might be rather than some random person at the parts store. Any suggestions?? Thanks all
nicky
New Member
i have a 94 civic dx and it is leaking brake fluid (excuse for not knowing the name) where all the lines meet at the chunk of aluminum with lines running in and out of it. i am wondering if i need a whole new peice or if the gasket in the middle is whats leaking? will gasket maker fix that?
lethal6
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I want to throw this out there because mine went through it. Shortly after I bought my car I went through it with a fine tooth comb. The brakes were first for the overhaul. I noticed when I bought it that the brakes had a spongy feel like you are describing. The fluid was very dark and dirty so I thought that might be it. I flushed the whole system and bled them completely. I noticed that they were still spongy. More reactive, but still spongy.
I ended up figuring out that the rear drums were so out of adjustment that you could just spin the wheel and it would go forever. No resistance at all. After adjusting them correctly, my brakes are firm as can be and have been for almost 2 years now.
I ended up figuring out that the rear drums were so out of adjustment that you could just spin the wheel and it would go forever. No resistance at all. After adjusting them correctly, my brakes are firm as can be and have been for almost 2 years now.