1995 Honda Civic brakes.

[kloppilt]

I've got a 1995 Civic that my wife drives. The brake pedal travels a lot more than my Accord.

So I changed the front pads and bled the system. There was not much change. I was playing around with the brakes trying to figure out what mught be happening.

The pedal actually becomes firmer when the parking brake is pulled, the car is running and is in Neutral or Drive.

Does anyone know what the problem might be based on this simptom?

 

[Chris142]

The rear brakes need to be adjusted or replaced. The rears are what
(for the most part) determin the brake pedal travel.

 

[uconn1150]

My '93 Civic did the same thing last year. I had the master cylinder replaced. Was it bad? Well, it still stopped fine although the travel was a bit long--HOWEVER, I enjoy having the peace of mind knowing that my NEW one is not on its last legs!

 

[cryptokid]

try adjusting the brake petal before you replace things.most of the time they develop too much slack which people feel means bad brakes.

 

[oldmoparguy]

quote:

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Originally posted by kloppilt:
I've got a 1995 Civic that my wife drives. The brake pedal travels a lot more than my Accord.

So I changed the front pads and bled the system. There was not much change. I was playing around with the brakes trying to figure out what mught be happening.

The pedal actually becomes firmer when the parking brake is pulled, the car is running and is in Neutral or Drive.

Does anyone know what the problem might be based on this simptom?

---

I have to agree with chris142. I've seen this happen on more then one car.

Most rear wheel drum brakes are so called, self adjusting, but sometimes, the self adjusters will freeze up due to age or corrosion. When you pull the emergency brake, you are in effect adjusting the rear brakes. You can prove it by setting the emergency brake 1 click at a time and testing the brake pedal, as you add to the emergency brake, your pedal will increase as well.

Wayne

 

[acranox]

It's also worth noting that the self adjusting rear drums, only adjust while braking in reverse. And I believe they adjust better when it's a quick stop. So I try and make a point of every once in a while, when I'm backing out of a parking space, I just jab the brakes and stop.
Also make sure your parking brake is properly adjusted.
If it isn't the parking brake, or the rear adjustment, you'll probably have to replace your master cylinder.

 

[Matt_S]

quote:

---

Originally posted by acranox:
It's also worth noting that the self adjusting rear drums, only adjust while braking in reverse. And I believe they adjust better when it's a quick stop. So I try and make a point of every once in a while, when I'm backing out of a parking space, I just jab the brakes and stop.

---

Bingo. On a rear drum setup, this is exactly what you need to do every once in a while. If that doesn't work, though, you need to pop the drums off (not an easy task, usually) and adjust it manually.

 

[kloppilt]

Thanks, guys.

I tried the 'brake in reverse' on a few days ago. It seemed to have helped a little bit.

The pedal would adjust well but after a few minutes it would go back to what it was.

However, the situation is a little better than before I tried the adjustment.

So, I think that the rear drums need to be looked at. We've had the car for the last 4 years/50k miles and the rear brakes have never been looked at. I'll try to work on them next weekend.