Brake System Problems

[Stephen_AUS]

So I have a mate of mine who just bought a EK1 a few days ago. Today we had flushed all the old brake fluid through and bleeding the brakes. But as we test drove it to make sure everything is fine, the pedal is still spongy when the car is on. So we did bleeding again, hard when car is off. But when the car turns on, it's really spongy that you can floor the brake pedal all the way down.

When we were flushing new fluid though, the old fluid was green and in it was dirt, and alot of it. Still comes though a bit with the new fluid in. What we have thought that it could be a broken master cylinder seal inside because it doesn't leak externally anywhere. Just need some confirmation on this, if it is the master cyl. Thanks guys and need some advice quick!

[tinkerbell]

what was it like before you bled it?

if the pedal stays hard when engine is off, then the MC is OK...

sometimes spongy pedal is common issue after flushing, keep trying!

it takes a lot of practice to get a Honda bled properly...

but once you work it out, it is fairly easy.

can you describe your method?

[HoaanguyeN]

what was it like before you bled it?

if the pedal stays hard when engine is off, then the MC is OK...

sometimes spongy pedal is common issue after flushing, keep trying!

it takes a lot of practice to get a Honda bled properly...

but once you work it out, it is fairly easy.

can you describe your method?

Hey,
I'm the mate that just bought the car (:
Uhh, I can pump the brakes while it's off and it stays hard, but once i turn the car on it goes all spongy.

EDIT: before the flushing and bleeding, half the brake pedal would be spongy

[Stephen_AUS]

Flush new fluid through starting from back of the car. And bleed the brakes. Do the same for the front, flush it through and bleed it. Still a spongy pedal. So we bled all brakes again, only very tiny bubbles come out of the nipple with the fluid. Not
Big bubbles at all. Hard at the pedal when off. Spongy when on. We
Are going to bleed more out tomorrow and see how it goes. But yeah unsure. What would u recommend using ? Just manual
Bleed or use a bleed kit ?

[tinkerbell]

manual bleed works, but doing it in the right order helps... check the service manual for the correct order...

does it have ABS?

[tinkerbell]

EDIT: before the flushing and bleeding, half the brake pedal would be spongy

so it is worse now?

there must still be air in the lines...

[HoaanguyeN]

so it is worse now?

there must still be air in the lines...

Yeah, it's worse than before the flush

[tinkerbell]

keep trying, don't despair... lucky you are doing it with a mate...

my wife brings a book to read when i do mine... and complains of sore leg pretty quickly...

sometimes tapping the calipers with a rubber mallet dislodges the bubbles?

[Stephen_AUS]

Yeah we ended up bleeding for hours trying to get a hard pedal. And I don't think the ek has ABS. Is it harder to bleed with a car without ABS ? But yeah will keep trying tomorrow.

[Stephen_AUS]

Found out the problem and it was gunk all in the master cyl that clogged it and left air bubbles in the system. Just a neglected car by previous owner.

[tinkerbell]

Good work, that's one reason to do an alcohol flush... After years of neglect, brake fluid can turn acidic...