Dear Pakwheelers,
I need help regarding the rear brakes of a 2008 Honda Civic Lxi (UAE spec). The car is a base model and has rear drum brakes but still has ABS (not sure about EBD though). It was owned by a good friend who left UAE a few months in emergency and handed over the car to me for selling it.
The problem is that there is a 34 percent left to right brake imbalance in the rear wheels. While its hard to notice while driving, the car keeps on failing the annual registration renewal test of UAE road and transport authority. They put the car on rollers and test a lot of things. Everything else is fine but the rear brakes fail due to imbalance all the time. If the car fails, you cannot register/insure it and hence it is useless until the problem is fixed. The car is for sale and I cannot complete the deal until the problem is fixed. Right now I have it temporary registered on export plates which expire every two weeks.
When it first happened, the difference was 40 percent, i thought my be the brake pads are the culprit. I got them replaced. Got the test done again, car failed. I came back to the mechanic, got the brake pads adjusted, the rear drums cleaned, difference went down to 34 percent which is still not acceptable.
Now, I did some research and found out that there is a valve called 'Brake proportioning valve', the function of it is to distribute the brake force evenly. In a normal car, this valve would be replaced and the problem be fixed.
However, the Civic comes with ABS and possibly EBD (Electronic brake force distribution) and it may or may not have a separate valve for it. One short thread on 8th gen forums says that the valve is built into the ABS unit. Another says into master cylinder. No one seems to be sure. Now, can anyone guide me as to where the valve is located and what is the cheapest way to fix this?
I can take it to a mechanic and ask him to diagnose the problem but I am the kind of person who diagnoses himself and just instructs the mechanic to fix the issue. This is more important here as mechanics are equally as bad as in Pakistan if not more but charge you a lot more.
All I want is to know and be 100 percent sure of the problem, buy the parts even before going to the mechanic and then just go and tell him to replace it. That's how I like to do so I am sure the problem is solved and should not reoccur.
Anyone with the knowledge of this kindly share your opinion, it would be a great help as this car is becoming a PITA for me. All my weekends are getting consumed by it and a good amount of money is also stuck in this asset which is no longer needed.
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Ahmad Bilal
