The brakes did in fact not fall off. But they weren’t working either (exaggeration).
The car has caught up to me again. Which now is a bit funny than an inconvenience.
I returned to Penang a while ago right before the turn of the new year; didn’t need to do that much to Feriko – which was still under covers, shielded well enough from the elements.
VTEC here and there was fun and games, that is until I began noticing the brakes getting spongier – needed to depress the brakes more for it to kick in. A bit weird, so I parked it up and later tested again, which seemingly got even worse now. The pedal had to be stepped all the way for it to stop effectively.
I pre-arranged with my workshop to have the car towed, and due to a significant jam on the bridge from mainland, was going to be late by two hours after the arranged time. We opted to drive the car to the shop as a convoy, which is a bit ghetto, but no tow, no show.
So, what you need to know. The brake master pump was broken, about half a year after the clutch master pump had given way. Too bad then, the car will see more downtime as the car sits waiting for a new master pump to ship in.
Because of this downtime, I asked my workshop to assist with more work unrelated to the brakes, so things like my trunk dampers, refitting the rest of the intake resonators, adding my Buddyclub short shifter I bought a long time ago, and a few others.
Apparently, there can and has been confusion surrounding the brake master pump / cylinder for the Honda Civic EG and EK generations, which became my issue when my workshop messaged that they had bought the wrong part.
The photo on the right is my original master cylinder. Speaking to another Civic EK4 owner, this was a concern on which part was suitable for their car, and information online is not clear on which is which.
Checking with GPT, the two cylinders seen here are for different braking systems, specifically one for non-ABS systems, and one with. Apparently these may show up as having the exact same part number, which can cause confusion and inevitably the ordering of the wrong part in this case.
The reservoirs in some examples seem to be present on both ABS and non, so exercise caution if you happen to also be looking for a brake master cylinder. The master cylinders for ABS systems have a protruding piston snout as seen in the photos, whilst the non-ABS unit does not.
It was an extra week of downtime for my workshop to source, ship and fit the correct brake master cylinder. But by now, I’m long gone from the country and already back in Singapore. So I’ll only be able to enjoy driving the car again the next time I return. That’s too bad, then.
But again, it is extra time for my workshop to help me settle the outstanding bits and pieces that I’ve been wanting to put into the car for months. I would have done it on my own, but doing radiator hoses and electrical are things I’m very afraid to do at the time being, so I’ll leave it to the professionals to do them.
~Efini
Read more: Fuel for Thought: Importing parts from Japan
