Honda Car Forum

Good evening,

As indicated in another post the other day, the fuel mileage in my 98 civic
is lacking. I've had it since new, it now has 282000kms on it. It has been
somewhat neglected over the past year or so, as we've had a kid and my spare
time is now dedicated to that. I know I know, I need to keep the jalopy safe
enough to drive. Explain that to my wife. a

Decided to check the brakes today, (front side). Sure enough, the front
driverside is dragging. I put the car up on jacks, started it and put it in
second. Until I hit the gas, only the passenger side wheel would turn.

Other symptoms, which may or may not be related, are that I am getting
abnormal tire wear on the passenger side. That tire is cupped beyond what I
have ever seen, and is now through the wear bars. The tire on the driver
side is fine with about 2-3mm before the wear bars.

Also noticed a hum coming from the front of the vehicle which becomes
apparent upon moving.

Note that I have replaced the caliper with a rebuilt to solve almost the same
problem a year or so ago. However, the rebuild was not from Honda, and the
hardware provided with it did not fit. I had to use my old hardware to
complete. All seemed fine since recently noticing the fuel economy drop.

To remedy these problems, I am thinking about the following:

1. New brake pad shims and hardware for the caliper in question (probably
both, just to be thorough).

2. Complete brake fluid flush.

3. Check slide pins for wear.

4. Replace wheel bearings? (not sure on this, there is some end play, could
a dragging caliper cause the bearing to fail?)

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help.
Terry in Winnipeg.