🔧 Technical Brake pedal issue in 2007 Honda CRV, need advice

[Broke EF]

Alright guys, my wife drives a 2007 Honda CRV that while old is still in great shape. We don't really have any plans to get rid of it any time soon, so we stay on top of the maintenance pretty well. A while back she had a terrible brake pedal. It would go to the floor, but if you pumped it, would be much better. The brakes are good, no leaks, fluid level fine, so I assumed it was the master and put a new one in. I bench bled the new one, bled the brakes and it seemed fine. Now, its exactly the same again. Pedal goes way low and is soft, you can pump it and its better but still not great. I assume its air somewhere, but what do you guys think?

Click to read more...

 

[DEEZUZ]

bikrboy128

 

[bikrboy128]

Fluid level is good? Where did you get the master cylinder from?
Caliper slide pins good/not seized in the brackets?

 

[Broke EF]

Fluid level is good? Where did you get the master cylinder from?
Caliper slide pins good/not seized in the brackets?

Fluid level is good. Master came from Auto Zone I think? I have not checked the slide pins.

 

[bikrboy128]

Seized slide pins can cause a low brake pedal, I would check those first.

I've never had much luck with aftermarket master cylinders. Whenever I have to do one, it gets an OEM unit. Not saying its your issue, but most reman'd cylinders are trash.

 

[Broke EF]

Seized slide pins can cause a low brake pedal, I would check those first.

I've never had much luck with aftermarket master cylinders. Whenever I have to do one, it gets an OEM unit. Not saying its your issue, but most reman'd cylinders are trash.

I will check them when I get some time (if that ever happens). The OEM wasn't in stock when I was looking, or was going to arrive too late (I had like 1 open weekend). Also I remember it being like 3-4 times the cost (around $400).

 

[DEEZUZ]

Possible swolen rubber line.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

Good time to also check the rear unibody and suspension mounting points of that CR-V model year. Those years were known to rust prematurely and cause separation of the rear trailing arm, axle, body mounting points, etc... Canada even issued a full recall on those models a few years ago due to how road salt expedited the corrosion. Could be related to your braking issue...

 

[Broke EF]

Good time to also check the rear unibody and suspension mounting points of that CR-V model year. Those years were known to rust prematurely and cause separation of the rear trailing arm, axle, body mounting points, etc... Canada even issued a full recall on those models a few years ago due to how road salt expedited the corrosion. Could be related to your braking issue...

Ill also check that out, but its pretty rust free. Its always in a heated garage, and she doesn't drive it much any more.

 

[sktchy]

Is it possible the abs module had air in it? They can be a bish to bleed without a scantool to cycle it

 

[Broke EF]

OK, probably going to be a dumb question, but how can I better diagnose this issue? I pulled the wheels off the passenger side this weekend, and the pads/rotors looked OK. I didn't want to start tearing it apart, so I just did a visual inspection. However I had someone press the brake and I didnt see anything happen on the front right at all. Would a frozen caliper possibly cause this issue?

I already priced out changing EVERYTHING on the brakes (calipers, pads, rotors, lines) and I am not totally against it. But I would rather not spend the money/time if I can diagnose the issue better.

 

[bikrboy128]

I would start by making sure everything is sliding properly. Then bleed the brakes again. Take a look at the brake fluid coming out. Does the pressure coming out at each caliper seem even? You say nothing is happening at the right front, what about the left front? If the stream of fluid coming out while bleeding isn't strong you may have a collapsed line or bad master cylinder

No need to start throwing parts at it just yet. A little time on diagnostic will save you

 

[Broke EF]

I would start by making sure everything is sliding properly. Then bleed the brakes again. Take a look at the brake fluid coming out. Does the pressure coming out at each caliper seem even? You say nothing is happening at the right front, what about the left front? If the stream of fluid coming out while bleeding isn't strong you may have a collapsed line or bad master cylinder

No need to start throwing parts at it just yet. A little time on diagnostic will save you

So basically take it apart and see if they move freely? I was on pedal duty when we bled the brakes, so I am not sure how it was reacting at the wheels. I know that we kept going until we had good clean fluid coming out for a while since it was all old and burnt up. I did not look at the left front. I was being lazy yesterday and brought it to my neighbors house to check it out. I just jacked up one side and took the wheels off an looked. Lines seemed fine, pads/rotor seemed fine, when he hit the brake pedal I didn't see anything at all happen on that front right.

I hope its not a master again. Not the worse thing ever, but more of a pain in the ass than I want to deal with. I will keep you guys updated with what I find.

 

[bikrboy128]

So basically take it apart and see if they move freely? I was on pedal duty when we bled the brakes, so I am not sure how it was reacting at the wheels. I know that we kept going until we had good clean fluid coming out for a while since it was all old and burnt up. I did not look at the left front. I was being lazy yesterday and brought it to my neighbors house to check it out. I just jacked up one side and took the wheels off an looked. Lines seemed fine, pads/rotor seemed fine, when he hit the brake pedal I didn't see anything at all happen on that front right.

I hope its not a master again. Not the worse thing ever, but more of a pain in the ass than I want to deal with. I will keep you guys updated with what I find.

Yes. Make sure the pads move freely and the slide pins aren't stuck

 

[rdsnake]

I would try bleeding the master a few times on the vehicle as well. (Normal bleeding process but crack the line at the master) See if that helps. It might have another bad master as said previously.

 

[smug]

Possible abs unit has a partially stuck valve? Common on fords.

 

[Broke EF]

Well I think its fixed. Like I said, it didnt really NEED brakes, but here we are.

So I started on the driver front. Nothing seemed bad honestly. Thats the old rotor in that pic above, the pads were even and probably half worn if that. The sliders were fine, so I was kind of at a loss. I ended up going and getting new front calipers anyway becaiuse it looked pretty crusty.

I have front brake lines too, but it wasnt wanting to come apart so I left it alone. So new front caliper, bracket, hardare, pads, rotors, and in the rear new pads and rotors and just cleaned and regreased the sliders (which were fine). I did the driver side first front and rear, bled the front, When I spun the car around to get to the other side it was MUCH better. Did the same on the other side, and the wife took it out and said it was fixed, so I guess its fixed.

The rears were worse. both sides had one pad worn uneven. The rears were also due to be done soon anyway. I thought about replacing the calipers in the rear, but its rear brakes so fuck it I did also find a broken sway bar end link in the back. Guess Ill add that to the list for later.