Hi,

Looks like a great forum. I have a '95 Civic that I really like! I replaced the front brake pads tonight, took it for a test drive and the driver side wheel was smoking and very hot when I returned!

Also, while I still had the front of the car in the air. I put the car in drive and watched the passenger side wheel spin. It would stop when the brakes were applied. The driver's side wheel wasn't spinning, but I watched the outer pad closely, and it went in and out as the brakes were applied and released.

The driver's side is the side that was smoking. Thanks for any replys!

 

question... did you replace the rotors as well?
if so did you clean off the coating on them before installing them?

if you didnt replace the rotors then i would suggest removing the calipers slide bolts and clean and grease them.... they could be dry and sticking h olding force on the pads which is very very bad! can warp rotors and trash pads very quickly!

 

Hi,

I did not replace the rotors. As mentioned I could see the outer pad moving in and out as I applied the brakes during the test (when car was in the air, and I also was able to use the clamp to get the caliper piston to slide back)

Is there a way to check to be sure the pads will slide smoothly before you put the caliper back on?

Thanks for any replys!

 

you really need to remove the slide bolts and grease them. and how smooth are your rotors? if you feel waves or groves in them its best to remove them and have them turned to smooth them down so the brake pads have a flat surface to work off of otherwise you wont have very good breaking.


the slides may be working that you can see BUT if the pads even stick in alittle bit its constant wear that will build up heat and just eat up brake pads! it can also pull the steering wheel to the left or right which ever side is sticking. your saying drivers side is geting hot so is your car pulling left while driving? if so its the slides most likely.

other things it could be is a crushed/collapsed brake line that is holding brake fluid pressure keeping the brakes engaged.
or it could be the caliper is rusting up on the inside and you need to pull the caliper off completly and hone the cylinder and sand the piston clean as well to free up the pistons movement.

 

I just got back in from another round of taking the wheel off, taking the calliper apart, reassembling everything.

This time, I smoothed the surfaces of the clips.
And decided that the caliper piston is definitely NOT seized. However I did notice a difference between the two calipers. The side that is working can be opened and closed by hand, in other words the two sections of the caliper slide back and forth on the "pins" with the rubber boots on them.
The drivers side (that doesn't work) wont allow me to do this.

 

It needs to be able to slide on the pins.

A sticky piston is hard to detect, may have to just replace the caliper.

Driving with a brake dragging and smoking will usually warp the rotor. Don't replace it until you get it to quit dragging though.

 

Are the pins you guys are referring to the mounting bolts that I took off or the two with the rubber boots? And how do I get them off and lube them?

Thanks for any replys!

 

These diagrams may help:

 

On a 1995, it is likely that the brake fluid has not been flushed per the maintenance intervals. Addictiontobass has given you sound advice, and Ron has provided the pictorials for you to proceed. My guess, which has already been stated, is corrosion causing the caliper piston to stick in the bore. This occurs from lack of maintenance and the hydroscopic nature of brake fluid (gathers water over time). If you cannot get the piston out with relative ease, don’t get ugly, just get a rebuilt unit and turn in the salvageable core.

Good luck

 

As mentioned the piston will go in when I use the clamp. I also noticed movement of the outside caliper. Could it still be a siezed piston?

Regarding the bolts, are you guys referring to Bolt A and B of Rons diagram?

Is this what O should remove and grease?



Thanks for all the help!