Acura 99 Cl 3.0


I went to work this morning and everything was fine. My brake light had been coming on intermittently for the past week. I got out of work and put my foot on the brake as I was about to move and it went to the floor. The resevoir was quit low so I added some brake fluid but this didn't seem to correct the problem. I checked for fluid leaks around the master cylinder and on the rotor/ calipers but didn't see any fluid. I just checked the brake pedal right before posting this and it seemed to regain some pressure when I pressed it, it did not go all the way to the floor. The resevoir was full. When adding brake fluid do you have to wait or can you check again right away?

is this a bad master cylinder or could the problem lie in the brake lines?

What can I do next to correctly spot the problem and fix it?

Thank you in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!

 

try replacing the master cyclinder. theres a line that goes into the fire wall and the small leak could be at the fire wall, thus the reason u don't see one

 

I think I've discovered the problem. I have included pictures. I checked each tire and noticed fluid all over the right rear. After closer inspection i think this is the problem.

 

I do have one question though. what is that hose underneath the brake line hose in the second picture?

 

E brake cable?

 

So I think if i just get a brake hose for the right rear I should be good. Will i have to replace the rotor and rear pads since brake fluid got all over the wheel?

 

You shouldn't have to replace the rotor or brakes because fluid got on them. Just replace whatever is leaking. You might be able to have a friend push in the brake with the car on and you look to see exactly where it's leaking from if it's leaking that bad. Don't forget to bleed that side after you replace the leaky hose or whatever it ends up being.

 

It looks like it's leaking where the brake line connects to the caliper. There is 2 cooper washer sandwiching the line. Clean the area with brake cleaner rly well, let it dry so there is no more liquid anywhere, and press the brakes, then go check if its leaking from there.

If it leaks through where it connects, take a key or a ratchet with 12 (i think its a 12 mm), and tighten it some more. Clean the area again and push the brakes, see if it leaks again.

If it leaks where the rubber hose goes into the metal, then you need to replace that little 12" rubber brake hose.

If it leaks through the top, where there is a spring, then the caliper needs to be replaced.

The cable/line in your picture is the wheel speed sensor cable, if you look behind the rotor, you'll see the connection.

About if you need to replace the rotor and pads because they are contaminated with brake fluid. The rotor should be fine, if u want, u can sand the braking surface with 100grit sand paper after cleaning it with brake cleaner. About the pads.... you might be lucky. Normally, brake fluid is pretty bad for pads and shoes, but your leak seems to be on the outside of the caliper and not through the piston, so if the pads wasn't wet, you'll be fine. If it did touch the pad, then try to clean it with brake cleaner, and then sand the braking surface rly well. It might work ok, but i might also loose some braking efficiency... it depends on how badly it was exposed to the fluid.

 

I did as you advised and found that Its actually leaking where I've circled and put the arrow. I should have removed that cover. I think I need a new caliper.

 

Junkyard! Just got one for my wifes accord for $37. Been like 2 months and works beautifly!

 

I'm not sure what exactly I need. Is that spring that is circled part of the caliper or a separate component (driver side rear)?

 

The spring is part of the hand brake mechanism. It is leaking from under the spring, where there is a seal. The handbrake cable attaches to that mechanism and pulls a lever to push the piston against the disc.

You can go for a junkyard caliper, but our cars are old, so the caliper will be over 10 years old, and you won't know if it's good or bad until you install it. If you have the 100$ to spend on a new rebuilt caliper, do it. I actually checked a price for a 97 accord coupe rear caliper, it was 87$ canadian.

It's more complicated to install than a regular caliper because of the hand brake cable and system there.

 

got everything back together but now there is a rubbing noise coming from the rotor.

 

Everything works and the rubbing noise is very hard to hear now. I used a broomstick and a shower curtain tension rod taped together to press on the brake when I needed to. Of course that won't work for the front brakes if i needed to do them as well.

I also bought a bleeder kit from harbor freight. I think I pulled the trigger a little to hard because some brake fluid came spurting out the back of the gun. but the brakes are back to what they were.

 

i have the same prob..it was the speed sensor for me..dunno witch one tho o.O