Thanks for the replies.

Will do a more thorough suspension check tonight. On the way home from work,
I will be picking up:

Passenger side caliper
Both rear upper suspension arms
Wheel bearing

Hopefully doing the suspension arms will make the car roadworthy enough to
bring to a shop.

Anyone got anything against Kal Tire for alignments? I was thinking about
getting 2 new tires, thought I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The Honda
dealers in winnipeg aren't great for alignments.

Thanks
t

Tegger wrote:
>> Thanks Tegger for your hard work on that website and input.
>>
>> So I replaced the Brake Caliper again. Got it from Partsource. I
>> know this is not a preferred source, but thats where the original
>> replacement came from, and they asked me to try this before they would
>> refund my money.
>
>You should apply a bit of Sil-Glyde to the hydraulic piston so it will
>slide more easily on the seal. The Sil-Glyde helps prevent gum buildup
>that causes piston seizure. Aftermarket remans often are assembled with
>brake fluid, to save on costs.
>
>
>
>> This time, the clips and hardware that came with the caliper actually
>> worked. As I mentioned earlier, I figured that would be one of the
>[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>> Got it all installed, lubed her up as you indicated (careful not to
>> get any on the rotor surface or surrounding areas).
>
>And making sure to put just a tiny dab (1/8" dia on rears, 1/4" on
>fronts) on the squeal shims. The grease will spread like crazy once the
>piston clamps everything together.
>
>> On another topic, as I indicated earlier, I have now confirmed that
>> the front wheel bearing is bad on the same side the caliper was
>> dragging. Since the caliper was defective, do you think Partsource
>> will help me out on the bearing? Pretty sure the reason it failed was
>> due to heat buildup from the bad caliper. I guess there is a margin
>> for installation error, but is it worth a shot?
>
>I suppose so, but I don't think you'll get very far. They can simply
>point out that wheel bearings go bad all the time through simple
>corrosion. You can't know for sure unless you remove it and take it
>apart.
>
>> So then I bled out the new caliper. Took it for a short spin to try
>> some low speed braking to check for pulling left or right,
>[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>> suddenly went all squirrelly on me, got away from me, and I ended up
>> in the ditch.
>
>Sorry to hear that.
>
>What may have happened here is that the replacement of just one caliper
>caused an imbalance in braking effort. It is always best to rebuild or
>replace in axle sets, just like shocks. This way you're assured of equal
>effort from either caliper.
>
>> So now I have other issues. I am OK by the way. The car is mostly
>> undamaged. It definitely needs an alignment now, along with a few
>[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>> 1. Both lower ball joints are under a year old. They seem fine using
>> the 'reef on the tire while on the ground' method.
>
>Not reliable. Pop the taper, lever the lower arm out of the way, then
>wiggle by hand. That's the only sure way to tell.
>
>> 2. Both Upper ball joints - no extra play. Tried moving the steering
>> knuckle back and forth to test this.
>
>Again, not necessarily a good test. Test as lower balls above.
>
>> 3. Tie rods - no extra play. Just grabbed one and tried moving back
>> and forth. There is a small amount of play due to a worn steering
>> u-joint, but the tie rods and rack seem OK.
>
>Were the tires jacked up so they were at their usual attitude relative
>to the body, or were they hanging down? Wear will be masked if the
>steering linkage is not at its usual riding attitude.
>
>> 4. Springs all around. - no problems apparent. Visual inspection in
>> the areas Tegger indicated.
>
>Broken springs tend to be experientially invisible; you won't know the
>spring is broken unless you look.
>
>> 5. Rear upper control arms - both are shot. Once again, the 'reef on
>> the tire' method. LOTS of play here. They are definitely shot. The
>> Rear Upper arm does come with both bushings (inner and outer) so I am
>> hoping this will fix that.
>
>Replacing the upper arm is very easy, but it's best to use an impact
>wrench.
>
>> 6. Rear Lower control arms - no noticeable play. Wasn't quite sure
>> how to test these, but everything appeared tight.
>
>Check for cracks in the big bushing. Let the tire hang so as to distort
>the bushing, then have a look with a strong light. Cracks will be
>obvious. Anything but a complete breakup means the bushing is OK for
>now.
>
>> Did I miss anything?
>>
>> The car doesn't feel safe at highway speeds right now, though the
>> steering seems fine. I'm thinking its the play from the rear upper
>> arms that is causing the problem here.
>
>It's possible. At this point I would take the car to a trusted shop and
>have the entire suspension gone over by a pro.
>
>> So, to anybody reading this, when doing your own brake work, BE
>> CAREFUL when you road test your vehicle. I was EXTREMELY lucky. and
>> probably stupid. OK definitely stupid.
>
>I think the primary problem here was the repalcement of just one
>caliper.
>

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