benzimm86

My left rear wheel chewed through a new set of pads in a month and a half. Only the one side pads were worn so i replaced the pads and rotor. When i first put the pads on for the first few weeks i could alway smell the pads. After researching it, i chalked it up to the ceramic pads i put on and people saying that for a while, they smell. Well now they are completely gone and chewing the rotor again. Is the caliper bad? What else could it be?

I hate cars

This is becoming very common. Sounds like either the caliper piston or sliding pins are stuck.

Chessie724

Welcome to the club. Good luck!

For your reading pleasure/research:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=brakes

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ghlight=brakes

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/sticking-rear-caliper-834278/

Cliffs Notes:

• no magic bullet found yet
• some have replaced rotors, calipers, brake lines, pads, only to have the problem remain or come back months to a year and a half later
• some have replaced some or all of these parts and it has seemed to fix the issue
• many have asked about the proportioning valve and/or master cylinder, but if you're like me, the fronts don't overheat like the rears do and that doesn't seem to be the problem

3rdGenHybrid

Just make sure the caliper pins aren't frozen, and if not I'd replaced that caliper and make sure you bleed it well. I like to fill the caliper up with brake fluid, and open the bleeder prior to installing it in the car. Then install it and bleed it. I've never seen so many people have an issue with calipers until recently.

MillerTime12oz

First make sure slide pins a greased good and not stuck. If thats not it check your caliper. Open the bleeder and try to run it in with a c-clamp and see if it goes in hard. You may as well replace the brake hose. There only $25 and more than likely that is your issue. It probably collapsed on the inside.

Bspeech3

I just went through a similar situation. When inspected, my calipers seemed to be functioning just fine. (Dealer even looked at them twice and noticed no problems) Long story short, I replaced everything except for the caliper and was still having the same problem.As a last ditch effort I replaced the calipers this weekend and all is well.

ekxtreem

buy a pair of new calipers,( should always be replaced in pairs) and bleed you brake system once a year

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Calipers need not be replaced in pairs, and bleeding the system every 3 years is good enough.

nfnsquared

What? How dare you imply that the Acura engineers know what they are talking about

I hate cars

Agreed, Turbonut, it's perfectly fine to replace one caliper at a time.

To the rest...

The need to bleed the system is based on time and climate, mileage isn't that important. It's not a one size fits all recommendation just like 5w-20 oil is not the best oil for Alaska and Phoenix climates. If you live in a humid area it's best to flush the system more often.

I run a fluid with a very high wet boiling point because no system is free of moisture so I feel this spec is more indicative of what we will experience in the real world. The boiling point still goes down the more water that gets in the system and considering mine occasionally see high temps, I change every 1-2 years. It's so cheap and so easy to do. Pad fade is one thing. Fluid boiling is much worse.

Seeing rust and crap in the rear calipers just might be a clue that you need to change fluid more often lol. As I said, the rear calipers seem to be the catch can of the brake system. I guess you can go by the manual, after all, we never have any frozen rear brakes around here.

ekxtreem

The reason why it is good to change them in pairs is because if one is bad there is a very good chance that the other in on its way and also if you have a new very efficient caliper on one side and another not so efficient old one on the other (maybe leaking or beginning to cease) then you would have uneven braking force on the wheels which leads to pulling while braking, control problems and unnecessary wear on your tires. If you don't wnat to change the old one at least buy a repair kit and fix it so you have better brake distribution. As far as bleeding, doing it every 3 years is exactly what causes the calipers to cease up. Do it once a year with just one container of brake fluid, its inexpensive and easy to do, can even do it by yourself, it will keep your calipers flushed and clean hence longer lastiing and your system working more efficiently, also since our 3Gs are older if there is any minute leak in the sytem that is introducing air into it the bleeding will prevent and heavy build up of air.........but to each his own

pohljm

dude! there is no reason whatsoever to replace calipers in pairs! It is a hydraulic press. the rotors, pads and shoes ok, the steel casting that allows the hydraulic pressure to be transferred thru the pads to the rotor..........nope. there is no such thing as a minute leak in a hydraulic system under pressure. the moisture is typically absorbed into the fluid in the master cylinder. A three year change is fine unless your tracking the car

I hate cars

There's something a out the rear calipers, maybe they're the low point in the system, I don't know, but I've seen more rusted nasty crap come out of the rears than the fronts. From the time the bottle is opened the fluid begins absorbing moisture and the boiling point begins going down. How much is acceptable is determined by the operating temperature. The last thing you want is brakes that feel great one second and are gone the next. I try to eliminate everything that can go wrong because based on my life experiences if it can go wrong it will for me. That's one of the reasons I try to change mine at least every couple years. The other reason is contaminates. While there's very little, it doesn't take much corrosion to do bad things such as cause seized rear calipers.

No need to do calipers in pairs, the surface area of the piston determines the force. Friction isn't a concern because it will affect the retraction of the piston and show up as excessive wear and heat long before it changes apply pressure. Leaks will show up as a sinking pedal, even very small leaks. I agree that if we're talking about a 300,000 mile car where the piston bore has worn out due to normal wear and tear that the other side is probably worn too.

ekxtreem

so i guess air never got into a brake system?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Not usually, unless a part is replaced and air enters, or you drive like a maniac and boil the fluid.

johnny3

He's saying if one rear caliper is crudded up & stuck that the other side is probably nearly in the same condition, preventive maintenance. What's wrong about that?? Not a bad plan if you're keeping the car.

cazio

iTrader: (3)

solved the problem so far for me. I found that my ebrake shoes were hanging up and had to sand them down with 60 grit sand paper till the rotor spun freely. then did the same to the other rear brake setup. almost forgot, I did go around and greased all my slid pins as I found alot of them even in the front were sticking. check ur slid pins before spending more money

I hate cars

The ebrake has an adjustment for the shoes, no need to sand them. One thing I found is you need to break the ebrake in if you want good holding power. If it only gets used when the car is parked it will never break in. Pulling it gently while moving for a few seconds at a time will help it hold much better.

nfnsquared

There's a specific ebrake break-in procedure in the SM along with separate minor and major adjustment procedures.

The e-brake has nothing to do with the rear calipers....