Jeanius

On my way back from school yesterday I noticed that my brake pedal was going all the way to the floorboard and barely stopping, I pumped the brakes and it stiffened up so I didnt think much of it, got into the neighborhood and pulled up the drive way, didnt feel bad.

Tonight was going to pick up some grub and im backing out of the driveway and there goes the pedal to the ground again, I back into the street look in the driveway and see a puddle on the left where the wheel was some wet tire tracks and a few trail drips, get out and smell it, its brake fluid. I drove the car back up to the driveway, grabbed my flashlight and popped the hood.

I looked at the master cylinder and it looks fine no leaks, got on the floor and looked tried to locate the problem, I saw some of the wheel well and the whole inside sidewall of the tire is wet, like if the fluid is getting flung around by the wheel.

I remember hearing something like a screw, possibly a metal shard or something getting picked up in the wheel well either on my way to school or way back, so Im thinking maybe it slit a brake line behind the wheel.

My question is what does it look like back there, is replacing a brake line on our cars fairley easy? Dealer only parts? Any pics or diagrams of the rotors/brake line assembly? I am pretty mechanically inclined and need to get my baby back on the road ASAP, I dont trust stealerships, HELP!

visuelz

Replacing the brake lines aren't hard. Shouldn't take more than an hour.

Jeanius

Thanks for the quick reply,

Would it make any difference that I have the BREMBO brakes? any special parts or parts I can only get at the dealer?

lil12002

i dont think so, now i may be talking out of my ass here but for my 4thgen accord when i replaced the brake lines i ordered some aftermarket stainless steal brake lines which gave the brakes a much better feel! look into that now i dunno if their are any for the TL... but its worth looking into only cost me 100 bucks...for the 93 accord.

triggle

Use OEM parts if possible. If it is a rubber hose you are replacing, use new crush washers if it uses them. Once the new part is in you need to bleed the system which is normally a 2 person job. Have plenty of fresh DOT3 fluid and brake cleaner on hand. Brake fluid eats paint so wash it off ASAP with either brake cleaner or dish soap and hot water. I don't imagine it is too good for the tires either.

Hopefully your pads don't get fluid on them. I've heard if you get brake fluid on your pads it may ruin them so it would require changing out both sides pads. For Brembos the cost of replacement pads will be higher. Not sure if you can use a bed in procedure to burn off contaminants, but it sound a bit risky.

triggle

Here's the 6MT lines 5AT is different. With the Brembos it looks like there are no banjo bolts so there shouldn't be any crush washers needed. Parts number 1 and 2 are the fronts. If it's the rears (part #3 and 4) , then you'll need 2 washers. http://www.acuraparts247.com/sunnysi...catdisplay.jsp

01tl4tl

How can your Brake Master be FULL and have fluid all over the wheel and the ground

Go back and see which fluid is really out before replacing parts you THINK may be bad

Jesstzn

I don't think he said it was full .. he said it was looked fine with no leaks ( in that area) .. he didn't mention the fluid level.

Will Y.

Make sure it's the line that's leaking as opposed to the caliper pistons, etc., before starting a repair. G/L!

Jeanius

Got it open and its b-22-1 that is leaking at the connection to the caliper, no acura dealer stocks the part, I tried putting some teflon tape on the screw and tightening it but still leaking, its leaking from the inner part of the screw where the hose goes through, is there supposed to be a gasket there?

Jeanius

Part number 7 is the damn culprit, a measily 5 dollar pipe that noone stocks, DAMNIT! Both of the screws for the mounting bracket are missing, and all the bouncing of the lines is probably what ruined it, another example of why I dont trust ANY Stealership!! TL probably wont be back up until late this week

triggle

Sounds like someone did a hack job on your brake calipers at some time. I can't think of any reason to ever remove those bolts.

I gather you realize that part number 7 is a metal hose not the rubber one.

The gaskets for brake hoses are likely just a flange at the end of the pipe. I hope your caliper is not damaged from the movement. I imagine the connector threads into the aluminum caliper and with aluminum being softer than steel it may get damaged easily.

BTW a good parts place or brake shop should be able to make up a hose for a temporary (or even permanent) repair in case you have a long wait for the Acura part. You could take the hose off and take it to a brake shop and have them duplicate it. Sounds like a good time to purge the old brake fluid and replace with fresh stuff since you need to bleed it anyway.

Jeanius

Ordered the line along with the 2 mounting plate bolts this morning, should be here by wed. Man I hope the caliper isnt damaged!I know the threads are fine but the thing concerning me is the seal between the flare of the line and the caliper, is it possible that the line wore down the aluminum in the line hole of the caliper unevenly or something and that is causing my leak??

Anyone know what the brembo calipers run? im guessing 5hun a piece

triggle

Brembo caliper is just over $300 04-06, $370 for the 07. Seems to be a different part number for the 07 Brembos. Anyone know what the difference might be ?

Hope for the best. IMO it's unlikely you damaged it because you would not have been able to drive it that way too long since you were loosing pressure.

Did your pads survive the spraying ?

Jeanius

anyone got a link on bleeding brakes?

triggle

Maybe hit a public library and get a book on brake maintenance. Bleeding is a 2 person job.

The basic steps are:
check level of master cylinder reservoir
place a cloth over the reservoir filler
pump,pump,pump,pump brake pedal
hold pedal down close to but not all the way to the floor
open bleeder valve briefly to let air bubbles escape and close to seal immediately
let foot off pedal only when safe - bleeder must be closed or you draw air into the lines
repeat, repeat, repeat until no bubbles come out of the bleeder valve and you have a firm pedal
close bleeder tight
check master reservoir level last time
clean off all brake fluid from everything using brake cleaner spray avoid the front of your mags.
place rubber cap on bleeder nipple
Do this with the car on so the brake booster is active. Use a 1/4" hose on the nipple to direct excess fluid away from the caliper and into a can.

Turn car off for a few moments. Start the car and check that the pedal does not sink to far. If it does you need to repeat the bleed.

You have Brembos and the master cylinder reservoir is very large. If the brake fluid in the reservoir is dirty suck it out first and put in new clean fluid.

This is easy to do but it can be messy.

Will Y.

Most shop manuals, especially the aftermarket Chilton and Haynes guides, also describe how to bleed the brakes. It's actually a pretty easy process.
There are kits available to make bleeding a one-person procedure, but it's less expensive (and one less trip to the auto parts store) to have a friend or significant other help with pumping the brake pedal while you're up front opening and closing the bleeder valve/nipple with the open-end wrench.

Adobeman

I like the one man vacuum pumps that let you just draw fluid through the calliper. Maybe it's old school but pumping the master cylinder can potentially stroke it through areas that have pitted up and corroded with age and cause damage to the seals. Maybe it's all over nothing but it's pretty easy to use a Mityvac. Most auto parts stores have them.
Then again Jeanius says he's been to the floorboards with the pedal a bunch already so any harm's been done already....pump away !

6spMike

Jeanius,
How tight was the leaking fitting when you first took it off?
It sounds like you know by now those fittings seal by tightening the flare against a corresponding cone in the caliper. They don't need teflon tape.
If you still have traces of the teflon tape interfering with the flare and cone, it will leak.
Make sure the caliper cone and the tube flare are clean, then start and tighten the flare nut by hand. This can be tricky, because the line with the flare nut has to be lined up perfectly. It should go 8-10 turns easily then stop when the flare hits the cone. Then use a wrench to tighten it up. Starting it by hand prevents cross-threading.
It could have been leaking simply because it worked loose from the flexing due to the bracket not being in place. Or, it could be the flare nut is tight due to being cross-threaded, and not holding the flare to the cone with enough force.
You can get a flare nut wrench (like a box wrench with a section cut out to slip over the tube) to keep from rounding the flare nut.
Hopefully, the caliper isn't cross-threaded.
Good Luck!!

6spMike

Better to use the reservoir cap, after you clean it.
Lint in the brake system = bad.
Sorry, triggle.
Always use new brake fluid from a sealed container, too.
Brake fluid sucks up water from the atmosphere, which decreases its boiling point, and increases it's ability to rust internal parts.