Issues with rear caliper/brakes

Lovedoctor · Post by **Lovedoctor** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:06 pm

Hey. Been suffering from the dreaded sicky calipers of late. Main issue was nearside that killed my pads very quickly and after a time off the road managed to solve the issue - it was the piston that had seized. Having detached the caliper and forced the piston out I regreased, used the rubbers from the Big Red refurb kit and refitted. Braking nearside is working great.

Offside was different. Not much issue there. Apart from rewindin the piston and changing the pad that was it. Now the brake doesnt appear to be working - the disc is still showing surface rust after a 20+ mile drive

Furthermore my handbrake isnt working properly now! If I engage it the handbrake goes to its furthest height and doesnt hold the car well at all - very slight resistance at best. With the handbrake disengaged and when driving and accelerating sometimes the handbrake light will flash on the dashboard

Any ideas? Spoke to my mechanic on the phone who had an accord of this age. He remembers having a similar issue with his car and he remembers it being something to do with a mechanism within the caliper that is knackered and the handbrake will never be the same. This would require a new or refurbished caliper. Is this the case? Of course until he has seen the car he cannot confirm. However I might have the chance of a pair of rears in good nick and in full working order. Would it be better to have them swapped out rather than persevering?

Cheers folks

taz8520 · Post by **taz8520** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:15 pm

My n/s hand break didn't work and there is a mechanism inside the caliper that fails and sure it cant be fixed, I replaced mine with a fully working one, I would say if you know the pair available are in fully working condition take them

Post by **vanzep** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:17 pm

swap em out for a quick fix and then refurb the old ones to keep as spares imo
if the rear handbrake is anything like the 4th gen then you need to adjust the handbake cable tensioner which is under the armrest/cubby box - this might fix the problem.
but i think your mechanic is saying that it is the handbrake cam/mechanism that has failed but that a guess.

JayJay · Post by **JayJay** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:20 pm

Lovedoctor wrote:Would it be better to have them swapped out rather than persevering?

I persevered with my brakes (sticky caliper/bad handbrake mechanism) for a while, but in the end I just got new/refurbed calipers. Working on them at home can only do so much, after a while it's just much, much easier to replace the caliper.

Giomani · Post by **Giomani** » Fri May 04, 2012 6:09 pm

I have exactly the same issue on my 5g. I am waiting for my refurbs to be delivered as we speak. I hope they come today so I can fit them over the weekend.

stk prelude · Post by **stk prelude** » Fri May 04, 2012 6:37 pm

With you fitted the caliper when you wind the piston in, bid you wind it back out a bit.. you need to do this to make the caliper to work/hand brake to work!!

Lovedoctor · Post by **Lovedoctor** » Fri May 04, 2012 7:33 pm

stk prelude wrote:With you fitted the caliper when you wind the piston in, bid you wind it back out a bit.. you need to do this to make the caliper to work/hand brake to work!!

Why would this the case STK? Why wouldnt the pressure of the fluid on first use adjust the piston correctly?

stk prelude · Post by **stk prelude** » Fri May 04, 2012 7:58 pm

Not sure tbh

but when i fitted my refurb caliper i wind it right back in and the hand brake didn't work.. somewhere i read you need to put a half turn or a full turn to make it work, i did this and it then worked perfect

Giomani · Post by **Giomani** » Fri May 04, 2012 10:35 pm

stk prelude wrote:With you fitted the caliper when you wind the piston in, bid you wind it back out a bit.. you need to do this to make the caliper to work/hand brake to work!!

I am glad you put that, Ill remember to do that when I fit my refurbs.