Did the brakes on my 99 accord last weekend and noticed i was leaking brake fluid from the cylinder area - the boot was brittle so i figured it was time for a rebuild. Got everything taken apart, the cylinder out and cleaned.

the old square cut seal appears to be fine so i left it (could be my problem?), but i did have a lot of trouble getting the piston dust boot sealed so that could also be my problem - but eventually i think i got it. got everything hooked back up and couldn't get any resistance. the first time this was the boot - fixed that (i think) but it happened the second time. So i started bleeding the brakes, which appears to be going fine - but before i keep going i want to know if you have to bleed the brakes before getting some resistance back in the line or if i am still dealing with a bad seal?

thanks!

 

My first question is.....can you see fresh fluid leaking out anywhere?

If there are no signs of fluid leaking. I'd let "newton" take over. Meaning open the bleeder on the wheel - in order - and bleed all of them.

I just looked at the manual I have for the 6th gens and the order seemed strange but I'll go with it......left/drivers front. Right/pass front. Right/pass rear. Left/drivers rear.

I have no special tools for bleeding brakes and anytime I open the system up I have to bleed the system alone. First thing I will do is use a "suction" devise (cooking baster or other handy things) and remove as much of the fluid from the brake master as I can. top it off with fresh fluid.

Then open the first bleeder and let it drip and drip....say 10~15 minutes - never said my method was quick - of course you keep an eye on the level in the master cyl and never let it go dry. Close that one off and go to the next and repeat.

So now I've killed about an hour and done all four. Of course made sure to top off the fluid and put the cap back on the master. Before starting the car I will do several small pumps on the brake pedal - only pushing it an inch or so. This might take a few pumps, once and if the pedal becomes hard I will then start the car and repeat the "small" pumps of the pedal and make sure I have resistance. Once that is done I will then check myself in the driveway......put the car in gear and get a small amount of speed and apply the brakes......then finally a small/slow trip around the neighborhood. Once back home inspect everything....signs of leaks, fluid level and that....call it a day.

Yes it takes me a long time but again I'm alone and too cheap/poor/lazy to buy special tools for doing this........just my personal method that has served me well for too many years.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the reply and thanks for taking the time to look in your shop man! that was nice of you. to answer your question - nope, don't see any obvious leaks. i will do as you suggest and report back - i was just expecting to be able to build up brake pressure beforehand.

more to come :-)

 

So I tried bleeding the brakes and it's running clear but no resistance. I took the caliper off the rotor and pumped the brakes and the cylinder isn't moving. This means a bad seal, right? Pressing the brakes with no pads in there should pop the cylinder right out?

 

It might also mean you managed to get air into the master cylinder.

If the MC was OK you couldn't keep pumping fluid without it leaking out SOMEWHERE.

 

i see - and bleeding wouldn't get that air out?
maybe i didn't push it all the way back when i changed the seals

 

When the master cylinder drains out, it's usually more difficult to work the bubbles out. (Motivation to plug the lines when a caliper is being rebuilt)

I want to back up so I don't take anything for granted...

- Are you talking about front or rear calipers?

- How are you bleeding the brakes? Pumping the pedal seems the best way to clear bubbles from the master. Pressure bleeders (or gravity) work wonderful if the MC is already full.

- Did you have both calipers off? Any chance you have them swapped? The bleed screw has to be at the TOP of the caliper.

- Are you actually ADDING a lot of fluid into the brake reservoir & don't know where it is going? If so, there's only a couple places it can go.
- - Assume fluid isn't making a puddle on the floor, because you'd notice that.
- - Can you rule out the fluid filling the dust boot of the caliper after leaking past the square O-ring seal?
- - Can you rule out the fluid leaking back along the shaft of the master cylinder & filling up the vacuum booster?