2003 CRV EX rear brake issue - caliper or brake line?

[Dimsumkid]

I'm have 28k miles on my car and 2nd brake pad replacement on the rear pads. 1st replacement changed the both rear rotors (power brakes) because they got scored pretty good and Pep Boys refused to cut them at 12-14k miles, so I switched to ceramic pads. This car wears outside pads more than inside, where the indicator is, so I get no warning of pad failure at all. Now rear left is worn all the way down (caught it last night), but the rear rights are still 50+% life left on them. Wear is almost even inside/outside on both sides of the car. I changed out the rear left pads only. Obviously, I have either a caliper issue or a brake line problem. I have extra sets of ceramic brake pads, since I'm wearing 2 rear lefts to 1 right, I'll only do the one side until I determine what needs changing. Odds are it's probably the caliper. I also bled the brake fluid (to replace the fluid) about 3k miles (1-2 months) ago when I changed the front pads and cut front rotors. Any thoughts?

 

[travelover]

Does this car have caliper slider pins and if so, do the calipers slide freely?

Had a similar problem on an Explorer and the slider pin was corroded and sticking.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Does this car have caliper slider pins and if so, do the calipers slide freely?

Had a similar problem on an Explorer and the slider pin was corroded and sticking.

Not sure if I do or not. I have brackets that hold the pads in place. Is there a way I can tell if I do or not?

 

[Texas Proud]

Sounds like a caliper problem to me...

As Travellover mentioned, the caliper is supposed to put pressure on both sides equally... yours seem to be pressing on one side more than the other... I am surprised you have not noticed a braking issue on distance or pressure...

Another possiblity (but still the caliper) is that the pad is not retracting after you let off the brake and continues to wear away that one pad...

I would doubt it would be the lines as most cars only have one line running to a caliper... (heck, I don't know of any that have two, but I am not a mechanic either)...


One last possibility.... is your parking brake adjusted properly This could have one pad touching and the other not if it were to 'tight'.... I would think this would go away after a bit of wear, but who knows for sure...

 

[travelover]

Right, the caliper squeezes onto the disc when you brake, but the caliper itself usually floats side to side on a pin so there is no side loading on the disc. Sometimes the piston in the caliper can corrode and stick, as well.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Right, the caliper squeezes onto the disc when you brake, but the caliper itself usually floats side to side on a pin so there is no side loading on the disc. Sometimes the piston in the caliper can corrode and stick, as well.

My car has a combination rotor/drum. The emergency brake only uses the drum portion. Are you referring to the pins on the calipers as the sliders? I can check these, those are covered with rubber boots. The brake lines can possibly be clogged was another suggestion I got from my parts supplier, he mentioned this gives similar issues to a sticking caliper. This is my 4th brake job in last 3-4 months (2 cars), getting pretty routine now.

 

[travelover]

My car has a combination rotor/drum. The emergency brake only uses the drum portion. Are you referring to the pins on the calipers as the sliders? I can check these, those are covered with rubber boots. The brake lines can possibly be clogged was another suggestion I got from my parts supplier, he mentioned this gives similar issues to a sticking caliper. This is my 4th brake job in last 3-4 months (2 cars), getting pretty routine now.

The pins run side to side and are what keeps the caliber from rotating with the disc when the brakes are applied. They may be inside a rubber boot on your car. I guess the line could be clogged, but seems unlikely. You could remove the fittings and blow compressed air through the line and rebleed.

 

[ls99]

Ditto on caliper problem. In addition to the slide pins sticking, the piston may have rust on the side facing the pad. If so, it will allow application of force, but the rust will prevent the piston retraction, thus the brake pad remains applied, dragging and wearing.

Should have effected the MPG noticeably.

In any case you are in the market for a new caliper. Shops being in the business of making money will try and sell you both sides.

Good luck.

 

[Dimsumkid]

The pins on my calipers are the same bolts to tighten the pads back onto the rotor. The female part of the pin is covered by a boot. I don't believe these are corroded, so my guess is the caliper is faulty. I'll have to check it tonight or tomorrow. A rebuild kit costs around $20, but a rebuilt caliper costs $60. I was told the rebuild kit may end up failing too. My parts guy recommended a rebuilt caliper instead, it comes with a lifetime warranty. Never had a caliper go bad on me before, might've been faulty when it was new since it only lasted me 12-14k miles on that 1st pad/rotor change. I read a faulty installation of the caliper can cause this problem too.

 

[M Paquette]

The pins on my calipers are the same bolts to tighten the pads back onto the rotor. The female part of the pin is covered by a boot. I don't believe these are corroded, so my guess is the caliper is faulty. I'll have to check it tonight or tomorrow. A rebuild kit costs around $20, but a rebuilt caliper costs $60. I was told the rebuild kit may end up failing too. My parts guy recommended a rebuilt caliper instead, it comes with a lifetime warranty. Never had a caliper go bad on me before, might've been faulty when it was new since it only lasted me 12-14k miles on that 1st pad/rotor change. I read a faulty installation of the caliper can cause this problem too.

Get the rebuilt caliper. You'll save some worry and grief for yourself. The kits work best for leaking cylinders that are functioning mechanically.

If the caliper is sticking, one cause could be corrosion on the caliper piston and/or cylinder. This may necessitate honing the caliper cylinder or piston and possibly using an oversize square cut seal (the seal the piston slides over in the cylinder. The cylinder can be honed using a drill press and whipping up a simple cradle to hold the caliper. The piston is best honed using a small machinist's lathe and honing stone. I'm not a fan of using a hand drill and flex-hone when trying to correct corrosion pitting.

(Yeah, former owner of too many little British sports cars...)

 

[landover]

Difficult to say what may be the problem since rear disc brakes also act as parking brake and are more complicated than the front ones. I had similar problem in one of my cars, sticking caliper, one pad was worn so much that there was metal to metal contact, I don't remember details now, most probably disc and pad were changed and caliper was just lubricated. Rear disk should last more front brake unless someone drove with parking brake on.

Here is a diagram, CRV may be similar: 1997 BMW E30 E28 E34 Rear Disc Brake Caliper Components and Parts Diagram | Assembly | Car Parts Diagram
You can also get more information in CR-V Owners Club | Honda CR-V Owners Club - Home,

 

[Dimsumkid]

Difficult to say what may be the problem since rear disc brakes also act as parking brake and are more complicated than the front ones. I had similar problem in one of my cars, sticking caliper, one pad was worn so much that there was metal to metal contact, I don't remember details now, most probably disc and pad were changed and caliper was just lubricated. Rear disk should last more front brake unless someone drove with parking brake on.

Here is a diagram, CRV may be similar: 1997 BMW E30 E28 E34 Rear Disc Brake Caliper Components and Parts Diagram | Assembly | Car Parts Diagram
You can also get more information in CR-V Owners Club | Honda CR-V Owners Club - Home,

I mentioned in an earlier post that the rear on mine is a combo brake pad/ rotor and emergency brake/shoe desgin. So the parking brake doesn't interact with the pad/rotor side of braking at all. Weather has been terrible today, raining, cold and supposed to snow later. I don't want to tear it apart to look at it again since I changed out the brake pads and it's not a huge problem. Also, I haven't noticed much in loss of mileage at all, since it's an AWD model, it's expected to be less than the front wheel version. I'm wondering if it's been faulty when I bought it. The only time I notice it is when I'm coasting in neutral (it's an automatic), then I notice slightly faster decrease from drag compared to my old Camry. How else can you test a faulty caliper other than a ft/lb pressure test in resistance? Or maybe put the back end up on jack stands and compare wheel drag resistance by spinning each wheel by hand?

 

[Dimsumkid]

It stopped raining, so I decided to take it apart, checked the sliding pins, had a good amount of lube, but added more. Checked the sliding, all is fine on both pins. no rust on the piston. Put the back on jacks to free spin, maybe 10-20% more resistance on left side. I didn't see any kinks in my brake lines anywhere. My guess is it's probably the piston itself. I even checked the rotor by touch last night when I got home and it wasn't burning hot either. So the drag isn't overly noticeable, only on pad wear and my mileage has normal too. I'm wondering if you can relube the piston itself since I have a rubber boot on that too or is this the point you just get a rebuilt caliper?

 

[travelover]

........... I'm wondering if you can relube the piston itself since I have a rubber boot on that too or is this the point you just get a rebuilt caliper?

Dunno. Without a real root cause determination, you risk burning up the rotors again. At such low mileage, I suspect something is wrong with one of the original parts. Maybe time to check brake hoses and or lines for obstruction?

Edit: Just realized the car is 8 years old - corrosion seems more likely, especially when car sits for long periods without being driven.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Dunno. Without a real root cause determination, you risk burning up the rotors again. At such low mileage, I suspect something is wrong with one of the original parts. Maybe time to check brake hoses and or lines for obstruction?

Edit: Just realized the car is 8 years old - corrosion seems more likely, especially when car sits for long periods without being driven.

Yea, this was our secondary car before we sold the primary car in Dec.
Averaged 3k mi/yr. I had called Honda about the backs wearing out faster than the fronts, they said it's normal on CRV's, so they weren't surprised at all. Fortunately replacement parts are cheap, got the ceramics for $6 each when Monroe ran $20 rebates on them, and rotors were like $15. So the brake parts won't cost me a lot. Just glad I caught this one before they tore into the rotors as the wear indicators don't get activated the way the wear patterns go. I'm gonna check this again in another couple of weeks to see if the additional grease on the slider pins made any difference.