stuck caliper...

And it'll last you a long time. Pretty much any high-temp, thick, metallic
anti-seize is OK.

If you sand the piston the rough surface will grind up the hydraulic seal
in no time and you'll get leaks.

Wrap some black tape around the pump's nozzle and hold it tight against the
fluid port while a helper pumps like mad. Get a good seal and it'll pop
out. Catch the piston with a balled-up cloth as it pops out. It will come
loose with some force.

For the old caliper, you can pump it out with the pedal before
disconnecting the hydraulics. Pump it out till the dust boot is almost
fully extended, the remove the caliper from the car and from the hydraulic
line. With the caliper over a suitable container, use your pliers to remove
the piston the rest of the way, and be prepared for the fluid that will
come out.

Brake fluid stains driveways, so keep that container under the connections
as you work on them.

 

Thanks. Ya learn something new every day.

 

You can get smaller line locks that look like tiny C-clamps.

 

Well, since I can screw the piston in and out with my Lisle disk brake
piston tool, it seems that screw is fine. Since the piston moves out and
back with the pedal, the piston bore seems fine. That makes me think
that it's the cam that's the problem.

I haven't actually disconnected the p-brake cable, but it's pretty
obvious that the arm is loose from what I've seen.

It doesn't look too difficult to disassemble the p-brake arm assembly
from the top, so I'll at least take a look.

Perhaps the driver's side was cheaper because it wears out more
frequently and therefore is produced in greater quantities.

 

Good to know, thanks.

Single car. Not that I need it every day, but there are enough trips and
enough unexpected trips that I don't want it out of commission for a
solid week or more. I'll try to get the arm assembly disassembled and
see if I can see more of what's wrong, and decide then.

 

The boot was already a tad loose from the rust, but I didn't see any
leaks, so I assumed that the seal was primarily provided by the tight
fit between the piston and the bore. I'll keep an eye out for leaks not
that I've removed a bit of the rust from the groove and boot with a
screwdriver. Incidentally, I did in fact use a screwdriver to remove
most of the rust chunks from those slide shim surfaces, along with a few
hammer taps to break it free. Then sanded. Loosened things up quite a bit.

 

P.S. Thanks for the detailed info on extracting the pistons.

 

God help me... wouldn't I need a special engine-type lift to hold up the
tranny? And how long of a projct would THAT be? ;-)

Master is leaking at the boot on the inside, and the dealer said the
slave was leaking, too. Honestly, I didn't check up on the supposed
slave leak, but the slave body is fairly rusty and after 10 years I
figured it might be prudent to do it too while I'm at it. I've had too
much experience with rusted bleeder screws and threads that prevent
system bleeding to want to let it get to that point on this car. That,
ultimately, was the straw the broke the camel's back on my trusty old
Pontiac.

 

Yeah, well... I'm learning. I already explained why! ;-))

 

I have been fighting a similar problem on a VW. The parking brake self
adjuster does not work. The fact that you can screw the piston in and
out does not necessarily mean much. The piston is not simply threaded
onto the screw, the part with the inside threads (inside the piston) has
a ratcheting mechanism. If this ratcheting mechanism would be stuck or
broken, you could still screw the piston in and out, but the self
adjuster would not work.

The Honda mechanism may be different. I have not yet resolved the VW
issue, so I can not claim to be an expert in the field

 

has the OP taken the console out and looked at the action of the parking
brake? my yoke was only pulling one cable, and the other cable just
kinda sat there.

 

<g> I just found out that the whole caliper assembly is $110, with a $60
core charge. I ordered one, as that is definitely cort/time effective
for me right now. I may yet disassemble the p-brake arm when I take the
busted one out, but at least I've got a better chance at getting it
resolved speedily.

 

Yup. The left cable holds, the right just zips forward with the eq-bar
tilt. The cable is definitely still attached to the p-brake arm at the
caliper, so it ain't the cable.

 

when my civic CX (drum brakes) did that, i just adjusted the star wheel
on the side that was slack, until it wasnt slack no mo. adjust...
adjust... slip the drum on, try the p-brake again. lather, rinse, repeat.

can the rear disc brakes be adjusted by hand like that? or no? for all i
know, the adjuster on the passenger side rear of my car still doesnt
work, but i did clean it up w/brake cleaner, and adjusted by hand.
hopefully itll work now.

 

Nope. All automatic--or should be. Hopefully the reman will be right.

 

You don't need to take the console out. On the Integra access is gained by
removing a small rectangular cover just behind the rear ashtray.

No. No star wheel. All slack take-up is done automatically with the
internal screw. The only possible manual adjustment is the equalizer in the
passenger compartment.

 

Possible, however, read on...

Then do it! If you haven't disconnected it on BOTH sides, you may be
misinterpreting what you are seeing. This is IMPORTANT! I was under the
impression you had disconnected it.

If you have misdiagnosed the problem through a failure to disconnect the
cables, you may be spending $100 for NOTHING.

There is the possibility that the cable is rusted internally. Is the rubber
bellows still intact or is it split? With the cables disconnected, you will
be able to pull the clevis end in and out with your fingers, and seizure
will be very obvious.

The pin that holds the clevis to the arm is often well stuck. Remove the
spring clip from underneath, give the pin some 3-in-1 or PB Blaster, let it
soak, then carefully grip the top with a new pair of pliers and wiggle the
pin out.

From now on, slather the clevis assembly with anti-seize every time you're
in there.

 

The dust boot is not the same as the hydraulic seal. I hope you're not
confusing the two. The hydraulic seal is NEVER "loose from rust".

The hydraulic seal is a square-section donut. It looks like it's been
sliced off from a big, thick bicycle-tire inner tube, like a hollow
bologna. It's internal and the only time you ever see it is once you've
ejected the piston from its bore.

The dust boot is a much larger, corrugated affair.

 

i've done the adjustment by hand a number of times. once it's set, i've
found the brake to self-adjust reliably, provided the adjuster thread is
not gummed up with some high viscosity anti-sieze.

 

jim beam <> floridly penned in

Discs do not adjust like drums. Not the same at all.