90 Accord, brake problems, rotors keep warping. HELP

Discussion in 'Accord' started by Austin, Oct 4, 2003.

  1. Austin

    Austin Guest

    At about 170,000 miles I pulled my rotors and had them turned because
    of a high speed vibration. They had never been turned before. After a
    month they developed a vibration when braking but only around 30mps +-
    10mph. Not above or below. At some point the car developed a pull to
    the right I could also hear a strange metal sounding rubbing which
    seemed to be on the passenger side. It is a pain to replace the rotors
    so I put off pulling them. I looked at other possibilities but could
    not explain the problem. I eventually gave up and pulled the rotors
    again. At this time I replaced all the bushings with poly bushings.
    The bushings looked bad so I figured why not. I fixed a problem with
    one of the shocks. Repacked the CV joint boots, they were about to
    crack, and bought brand new Napa life time warranty rotors. I also
    replaced the proportioning valve because it was leaking. For about a
    month all was good, and then I noticed a high speed vibration. After
    an alignment the car still pulled and was getting worse. I rebuilt the
    calipers but the car still pulled so I figured it was not a caliper
    sticking. The noise seems to have come back but seems to be coming
    from the driver side this time. Everything looks fine, the master
    cylinder is new and the calipers and drums have new seals. Pedal feel
    is better then ever dew to the new proportioning valve.

    I have no idea why the rotors keep warping or why the car pulls. PLEAS
    HELP
     
    Austin, Oct 4, 2003
    #1
  2. ----------------

    Austin,
    One or two hints: If your brakes were dragging enough to cause the car
    to pull at highway speed, the fire department would be pulling you over
    because of the SMOKE coming from your wheel. To prove that your front
    brake isn't dragging, drive on highway for about five minutes (to allow
    rotors to cool) and then pull off the road using ONLY your park brake.
    Spit on the rotors to see if they're smoking. Use your finger next if
    they don't hiss, but be careful.

    I had a Volvo with a bad vacuum assist on the brakes, and it would
    sometimes cause the brakes to remain locked after a hard stop. Shutting
    off the engine (to kill the vacuum) was the only cure. Very awkward when
    sitting in an intersection . . . . . . .

    'Curly'
    ------------------
     
    'Curly Q. Links', Oct 4, 2003
    #2
  3. Austin

    Oceanic Guest

    I have a 92 Accord that had the same problem. Changed rotors 3 times, each
    time a new one,
    changed the calipers, changed bearings and the problem came back each time
    after 3-4 K. I took it
    to the Honda dealer and they machined the rotors while on the car. It's been
    80K km since then
    and I have no problems. I was told that some 92 Accords had this problem.
     
    Oceanic, Oct 4, 2003
    #3
  4. Austin

    E. Meyer Guest

    I had a similar symptom on my '00 Acura TL. Turned out the problem was
    caused by a bad upper ball joint on the one of the front wheels. A side
    effect was that the extra heat from the wobbly ball joint also caused the
    rotor to overheat and warp. I suggest you check that all the suspension
    components are in spec.
     
    E. Meyer, Oct 4, 2003
    #4
  5. Austin

    Austin Guest

    That was one of my thoughts, it may be that the hubs have run out, and
    that is the cause of the problem. Turning them on the car would fix
    that. Good to know it helped you. However, i thought by 92 they had
    switched to a difrent way of mounting the rotor. Mine is mounted to he
    back of the hub instead of the front.
     
    Austin, Oct 7, 2003
    #5
  6. Austin

    Austin Guest

    Didnt want to heat that, i suspect my ball joints may be past thier
    prime, but it is not cheap to replace them. On a car this old i may
    just deal with it until i can get a newer car. To put any money into
    diagnosing a problem seems overpriced and takeing it to the dealer is
    like throughing money on a fire, but at least they wouls have a good
    chance of fixing it.
     
    Austin, Oct 7, 2003
    #6
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