Royce Han

hello, i have this problem concerning my new brake discs and pads i just installed a few days ago. i changed the front and rear at the same time. both of the rear brakes make this constant grinding sound alomst like a "whisk whisk whisk" that gradually increases with my rate of speed. and at freeway speeds it sounds like a constant "phffhffffffffphphphphhhpfff" im assuming its what they call when a caliper sticks or brakes "drag". when i hit the brakes, it either stays the same (amount of noise) or gets even louder. it will not go away. i dont understand, because ive changed the brakes in the front and rears of many hondas before and never had this issue. its so embarrassing that i stayed at home all day Sat. Sunday, and even Memorial Day( today) because of the incredible amount of embarrassment i feel when people WALKING are breaking their necks doing double takes like- WHA?? that was THAT car making that sound? or when im getting paced in traffic by a piece-o-shi* car i just passed by because they just wanted to catch up to me to confirm that it wasn't their car making that sound and it was really just mine. YAY that one is my favorite. that one is the BEST! how does one go about fixing this problem? that is my main question, without buying new -EVERYTHING for replacement. unless it is absolutely required. i drive a 2004 TL 6 spd MT. but its only the rear brakes doing this- BOTH sides on the rear. i took the caliper pins out and cleaned them, regreased them, checked the pin boots. what else have i forgotten? i thank in advance for anyone who is so kind enough to share their good knowledge with me so that i may finally leave my house, lol. but seriously though.

frenchnew

The caliper piston could be sticking, preventing them from moving freely out and back in as you aplly and release the brakes.

The sound you describe sounds like your rear rotors are not flat (a little warpage). If you turn your wheels by hand, is it very hard to turn?

Also, check the handbrake to be sure that it is not stuck. (Remove the brake calipers in the rear and try to turn the rotors by hand, any sound of friction?

Royce Han

sorry for not mentioning it, but i removed the calipers before and spun it to find out it wasnt the parking brake shoes. and the part you mentioned about the caliper pistons being stuck- YES. that is exactly the case. from what i gathered from other posts and misc. reading off the net is that generally when people experience a caliper piston lockup, seizure, or "stuck" they describe a truly immobilized situation for example, literally being stuck in the garage and not being able to budge, or driving down the road with tires dragging in the rear -like a dog drags its ass on carpet or grass but literally causing flat spots on rear tires like if you meant to do it using e-brake while in a rental WITH the insurance. i dont think my situation is nearly as bad as those ones but mainly because after i remove the caliper from the rotor, im able to move the pistons back and forth with my fingers pretty freely, so it doesnt feel "stuck" necessarliy. to be more precise , right after freely pushing the piston into the caliper with my fingers, i put it all back together with the new pads and get in my car to start and go. as soon as i gain the tension back from the initial "expected" pedal feel loss, i go back out to check and see if they were able to retract or not. NOPE. its not even worth it to lie to myself anymore and actually drive off to see if real world driving/braking helps. it will never free up again until i do the whole routine again and push piston in, etc...keep in mind that with new rotors and new pads, i still have more than enough clearance when calipers being put back on so i know it cant be a problem with the piston not being able to retract fully into the caliper. ive also, suspected the first set of pads were possibly defective, so i even took them back and bought another set elsewhere, so the replacement parts are likely to not be the culprit either,thats what ive determined. i will try bleeding the brakes today dont know what that will do but ill give it a try since i have the Helm service manual. btw- i love how the manual wont talk about my kinda brake problem as if the person reading the book is just already supposed to know this shi- or something.

frenchnew

Another thing to look for is the brake pad guides. Do the pad slides freely in them or do they bind?

There is usually rust that will form in the guides and they need to be cleaned out and lubricated.

Wish I was in the neighbourhood, it is alot more easier to solve a problem hands on then at a distance.

Royce Han

i could only wish i had your knowledge with your optimistic approach of hands on problem solving. today, i did more hands on- WTF!??! stuff like bleeding the brakes for the first time ever and, nope, that didnt solve it although it is quite amazing how dirty the old fluid was looking compared to the new. man, i just dont get i anymore..... my cars out of warranty and im almost about to just tow it to the dealer and pay full price. i wish there was a way to get a mechanics opinion without offending him by running off with the insight and fixing it myself. haha, yea right.

frenchnew

With caliper piston seizure, you would have felt it when you tried to move them by hand.

It can feel like it's not moving smoothly or you feel more resistance or when they are seized, you need a C-Clamp and even then it might not even bulge.

Here is your next assignment; Get the help of a friend!

Put the rear end of the car on jack stands, remove both rear wheels. and leave the brakes caliper installed.

With a light, flashlight etc, look at the piston while you firend would press on the brake pedal on and off, you should notice a small retraction of the piston as he release the brake pedal.

If you do notice a retraction, it's the brake guides or caliper pins that binds.

See the following thread, they have picture of the service manual, check page 19-27 in the first message of the thread.

Best of luck to you

Royce Han

hey i really appreciate your efforts to help me and taking your time to do so. but i am proud to say its a beautiful day today!! Problem has been solved! i am a stubborn idiot for not realizing this prior to all my blind problem solving techniques, its just that at first i wasnt willing to accept the possibility that my new pricey aftermarket rotors in the rear were possibly the culprit but after spending more than the cost of the rotors over the last few days in all kinds of misc costs from tools to parts, its now easier to consider the possiblitity of the rotors . so last night at 3 in the morning ( my neighbors have got to hate me, lol) i replaced my rear rotors with the worn stock ones and bingo, what a sigh of relief to have worn brake rotors back on, isnt that funny. so my lesson i learned is that oem is oem for a reason and i will never punish my check book like this again. hehe. thanks again. take care!