Okay last week I noticed my brake pedal was getting spongy (going all or almost all the way to the floor). So I read on a forum that one thing of a couple things I could do was to replace the brake pads.

I went to Oreilly's Auto Parts website, and it showed that there were some disc brake pads that were compatible with my car. So I called the nearest Oreilly Auto Parts store and asked if they had them in stock. The man I spoke with said yes, and I asked him to hold for me.

After getting the brake pads, I went and replaced the old ones with the new ones. I took a short drive to test the new brake pads, and I was still getting the spongy feeling in the brake pedal.

So I decided to have a repair shop diagnose the problem. Turns out (aside from the technician noticing one caliper was bent and both were sticking) the women I called to see if they had found the problem said that I had the wrong size disc brake pads (They were a little smaller than the ones she said I need to fit my brake caliper snugly). She said that I need the Nissin brake pads, not Akebono brake pads.

The looked on the web for the best deal I could find on semi-loaded brake calipers (re-manufactured). I found a website that had a quality name brand, but I contacted this company through email to make sure that I was getting the correct calipers before buying. I was emailing back and forth with a man from customer service from this website. The last thing he emailed me was "Any brake pad should work as long as it is the correct pad for the car the caliper should make no difference".

I am now confused. Is there only one type of brake caliper for a 1990 Accord DX? I am stating to think that there is only one (Brake caliper) that fits my car (But why do I see different brake calipers online that are compatible with my base model, that say Akebono or Nissin?), and that there are the different brackets so the Akebono brake pads will fit, and another bracket that makes the Nissin pads fit. Ughhhh!!!!

1990 Honda Accord DX
2.2 Liter
Manual

 

See this:

90-93 Calipers and Pads - Akebono versus Nissin - Honda-Tech

 

Here are some screen shots I took from another website forum that shows the difference between Akebono and Nissin brake calipers. Just in case anyone else needs to know the difference.
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1990 Honda Accord DX, 2.2 L, Manual