Problem with brakes..please help
 

Hi guys,

Teh brakes on my gf's accord are being really weird.

Her car used to brake like right away when you just touch the brakes... and they would be very easy to push. Similar to the way it feels on my mom's Benz.

But now, she told me it was being weird so I drove it, and the brakes don't even slow dwon the car until you basically push them ALL the way down. And then when you begin slowing down, it's VERY difficult to push it harder in order to brake hard. Even when you bottom out the brakes completely it still doesn't stop at 100% capacity that it used to.

Any ideas? THe front brakes are new... pads and rotors... brake fluid was fine.


Please help

It's a 1990 accord. Thanks.

mine did that when the pads came loose from there backings. They were sort of kept in place but at risk of falling out. As soon as I changed them (they still had tons of meat left too) it was a huge difference. I also changed the master cyclinder and that made a world of difference.

check your rear adjustment.

How many clicks does it take for the parking brake to engage

could be seized calipers rear brakes out of adjust /toast master toast brake booster gone take it to shop brakes are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT

Thanks everyone.

Um, well the weird thing is that today, after teh car sat overnight, it feels more or less fine. I'm sure that eventually it will **** up agian, but since it's on/off now what could it be?

Chris, it takes maybe 4 or 5 clicks for the car to not move when it's in D.

I'm guessing however since at sometimes it's worse than others it can't be something simple like adjusting the rear brakes, can it? ALso if it was rear brakes just out of adjustment...wouldn't it happen gradually, not right away like this ?

If it's master cylinder, how hard is it to change? Can I do this myself? How much do they run?

Thanks.

I was just reading about master cylinders online, and it said:

"When a brake master cylinder begins to go bad or fails, you will notice a soft or squishy feeling when you press down on the brake pedal. When constant pressure is maintained on the brake pedal (like when you keep your foot on it at a stop light), the brake pedal will begin to sink to the floor as the brake fluid leaks internally in the master cylinder. This is called "extended travel" when the brake pedal goes farther down than normal or than it was intended to. When this occurs you will have to "pump" the brake pedal to regain normal pressure and to keep the car from moving forward because the brakes are slowly releasing. "

The pedal DEFINITELY went futher than before, and you had to push it almost to floor to stop... but when constant pressure was maintained, it didnt sunk further... and pumping wouldn't do anything, and the brakes wouldn't release all of a sudden..

BTW my mechanic is really booked so if anyone could recommend a shop somewhat near Bloor and Jane that would have a look at it for a good price let me know via PM. THanks.

try this. With the car off, pump the break pedal. If it goes hard, your master cylinder should still be good. But if not, itd best you change it before break failure