Honda 1995 Accord EXI Auto (Australia), RH Driving

Hi Folks, hope all you are great.

Couple of brake related questions and hoping to get great advices as you guys always do

Issue # 1
a year ago replaced rotor and brake pads, problem is when the left hand (passenger side) front wheel enters in an uneven surface / Pitt hole there is a bang noise comes, feels like something rattling with each other. first went to honda, they said nothing wrong, went to several mechanic and they replaced the whole suspension, one changed strut and Shock, another changed bushing, another one changed control arm, recently changed lower ball joint, but the noise is still same. one mechanic says, its the pad rattle against caliper and will be gone if i changed brake pads. which seems reasonable because when the wheel is wet (rainy day) i don't hear any noise. what you gurus think of?

Issue # 2
need to change brake fluid, i wont do bleeding as i cant take wheels off, i will just replace main reservoir fluid several times. but i dont know if DOT3 or DOT4 already in the system. say its running on DOT3, if i put new DOT4 fluid in reservoir (or vice versa), would there be any safety prob? if not, whats the best way to do it? i mean engine hot or cold? shall i press brakes during change? there is a ERIC THE CAR GUY video and he says most of the people does only change the reservoir fluid. please express your thoughts.

thanks guys!

 

The rattling is going to be tough because I can't hear it from here. There's any number of things that might be loose, but you say they've replaced all kinds of stuff. You almost have to get it to make the noise by bouncing the car & listening to pinpoint the location of the sound.

Brake bleeding gets the fresh fluid down into the brake calipers which is the whole point. If possible I think you should try bleeding them.

The bleed valves are almost accessible from underneath when the wheels are on. You might be able to drive the car up onto boards or blocks to give more room to reach underneath. I never had a 1995, but a few other Honda I could reach the valves with a bit of difficulty when the car is down on it's own wheels.

 

As Jim has stated the purpose for flushing the brakes is 1: to get new fluid into the calipers, thus increasing the boiling point to help prevent a braking failure, but 2: is to clean out the reservoir because if it gets too dirty the piston seals within the reservoir will fail causing braking failure. I have owned and work on countless more of that generation and recommend the following:

Suck out the reservoir (you can even use a turkey baseter if you don't have a plunger ball)

Replace fluid, wash the filter screen with hot water and let air dry as you don't want particulates from a cloth getting into the system.

Once the above is done (FYI - shop manual states DOT 3 or 4) you can bleed the brakes without removing the tires, but it takes a bit more time, or you can use the jack in the car to do one at a time. You want to gravity bleed them BUT ALWAYS make sure you keep fluid in the reservoir. The bleed sequence for your car is pass. rear, drivers left, drivers rear, pass. front. Note that it takes a while for the clean fluid to make it through to the rear cylinders so be patient and wait for the fluid to drip clean. Some rags on the inside of the wheel well helps prevent polluting the environment as it will catch the drip. If you live in a city type are you can even drive one side of the car up on a curb to get better access to the underside since you mentioned you can't take the tires off.

Again, as Jim stated, we can't hear the noise but I don't think the pads are the cause. Usually if the pads are loose as they should be anyway, they can make a single click sound when going from reverse to drive or vise versa. It could be a rusted out backing plate but is nearly impossible to diagnose online.

Best of luck!

 

Have the anti-sway bar or stablizer bar bushings been replaced? These wear out and will cause a clunk/rattle when turning or going over a bump on one side.

I have always bled my 94EX w/ wheels on. Harbor Freight has a vacuum pump bleeder that makes bleeding very easy, fast, and a 1-man operation.

Gravity bleeding will also work but is painfully slow, perhaps an hour or more per wheel. Make sure bleeder is fully open (loose a full turn at least)

good luck

 

DOT3 and DOT4 fluid are fully compatible with each other. So it doesn't matter if you don't know which one is in there right now.

DOT4 has higher boiling points, wet or dry.

Some DOT3 fluids have a tendency to absorb moisture more slowly, so it'll degrade more slowly. Like for instance it can be better for someone who doesn't always remember to bleed their brakes every 2 or 3 years.

 

Wow!

high profile members of the forum are here to help...honored

Thanks Jim, i have tried pushing but couldn't replicate the problem, even honda mechanic tried but failed to locate. i will try again and let you know any update.

Great advise Turtle, i bought a one man bleeder kit, problem is i live in an apartment and keeping tools is a big prob, my back of car is full of tools and old junks (radiator, PS pump, u name it ) thats why i cant buy a hydraulic jack and stands, where shall i keep them after work, but good news is my car has low profile tyre and chrome wheels, there are lot of space between wheels but not sure if i could reach bleed screw through them, worth a try but scared if i loosen bleeder, fluid drips and cant finish the job properly, brake stuff u know

Thanks Texas, sometimes over learning caused me big problem and bushing is one of them, serach net and people said polymer (sorry for the spelling) bushings are great, so bought the whole kit a year ago from USA (cost me five times for shipping) and throw off original honda bushings, every bushing, u name it, since then bushings are noisy, i cant forgive myself for that mistake of replacing with this rubber junk, but be assured all bushings are new, the rattle noise problem was before and after replacing bushings.

Brake Issue # 3

A/C on, idling at stop light, radiator fans are running, fans stop, suddenly loose pressure at the brake pedal, pedal sinks about 1/2 inch, check brake vacuum lines and valve, they looks great, booster to hose clamps are good, not sure where to look.

waiting to welcome your advice again sir !

 

With the car off pump the brake pedal until it is stiff and hold it. Does it stay stiff and is there no drift of the pedal towards the floor (note it may be a slow drift it it is present). If the pedal sinks there is an issue with another brake component other then the booster. Holding the pedal down while it is stiff, start the car, does the pedal sink slightly. If so then the booster is working. If the pedal height does not change much then it could be the booster of a faulty check valve.

Honestly, it's sounds normal given the load on the engine with the AC on and then the load removal when the AC cycles off. Just do the steps above to verify that the braking system is functioning properly, if all checks out fine I have to assume it is something to do with the load on the engine.

 

i do booster test every now and then, this morning did it again
pressed pedal couple of times, in third press pedal was firm, hold the pedal for 15 sec then started the car, everything was okay as you described, pedal moved down after the car start.

 

Back to square one on the banging noises over bumps ...
My thought too.


OP, maybe post a video/audio as you go over your noisy bumps.

 

Still commenting on the banging noises OP experiences when going over sharp bumps.



I've a '92 EX with 243,000 miles (acquired at 202,000) with original suspension components
and have front axle clunks/bangs similar to OP's description in #1.

I travel a washboarded gravel road with a short section of exposed sharp bedrock and hear these clunks
when going over the rocky section at 15 mph. Mostly left side, like the OP.

IMO, it's too loud to be 'brake pad rattle against the caliper,' because surely 'brake pad rattle'
has got to be a small volume noise, and my noises are loud.



Don't know how relevant, but a car ago I had the same noise over the same road and shop replaced both front struts
and noise pretty much stopped. During this repair my car got a defective replacement strut unit
right out of the box (from AC Delco, FWIW; so they're on my bad supplier list).


Best to OP ...