Changing your brake pads

[mtbiker278]

I'm replacing my front disc brake pads later today with some Hawks. I'll get some pictures taken and show what you need to do to replace the pads, rotors, and bleed/flush the brake lines. Granted since my car is only a year old, I don't foresee the need to replace the brake fluid or rotors. If anything I'll just bleed and top off the brake fluid.

[jdrumstik]

Can't wait, never done any break work except on a dirt bike. Never really sure what "bleeding" is anyways, when i did the dirtbike all the bubbles just moved up to the top master cylinder.

[FTalento]

How many miles driven that 1st year? Seems soon for the pads to be replaced on an 06.

[airportguy770]

Where did you get your Hawk Pads and how much

[mtbiker278]

The brake lines in a car are a heck of a lot longer than those in a dirtbike. Plus the calipers on a car are more likely to hold air. Bleeding helps get air/water out of the calipers. As brake fluid ages it absorbs water lowering its boiling point. When brake fluid boils you lose pressure in your brake lines (brake-fade).

My civic has about 26k miles on it. Considering how I drive (stop and go traffic) I would say that's fairly normal for brake pads to wear down faster.

I bought the Hawk pads from Corsport for $55 shipped. They arrived in about 2 days from ordering (mon.-->wed.)

Just for an FYI I own an EX coupe, but this DIY should cross over to all civic disc brakes.

[mtbiker278]

So I can't find my usb cable to transfer the files from my camera. So I'm having a friend use his flashcard reader to get the picture. I should have them soon.

Tools Needed:
Socket Wrench
12mm Socket
Adjustable crescent wrench
torque wrench
C-Clamp
jack stand(s) and jack
Power drill with #4 bit (although impact drill is better)
gloves (if you feel like keeping your hands clean)
New brake pads and rotors
Brake fluid of choice (preferably synthetic)
Brake cleaner (preferably non-chlorinated)
caliper grease (comes in little packets)
brake quiet (a CRC compound)
Generic 1/4inch tubing and container (soda bottle)

Changing the brake pads:

1) Park on a level surface, allow the brake to cool down a little bit (5mins). Break the lug nuts loose on one wheel but don't remove them. Chock the rear wheels and jack the car up and place jack stand(s) to support car. Remove the wheel and hose down the rotor, caliper, and pads with break cleaner. At this point you should apply the brake quiet to the back of you new pads and allow it to set up.

2) On the inboard side of the caliper are two 12mm bolts running into the caliper slides. To remove these bolts place a crescent wrench over the square end of the caliper slide and the 12mm socket on the bolt. It'll be tough at first but it should pop loose with a moderate amount of force. Remove the 12mm bolts and slide the upper caliper and piston away from the rotor. Place the caliper on the lover A-arm being careful not to kink/bind the brake line. You should now see the brake pads clearly.

3) Hose the pads down with some more brake cleaner. Slide the old brake pads out of the lower caliper housing perpendicular to the rotor. Remember the number and location of the shims when removing the brake pads. There are two on the inboard pad (the one with the wear indicator) and one on the outboard. Note: If installing new rotors move to the rotor installation procedure and come back to this point when complete. Slide the new pads with shims into the lower caliper housing opposite of how you removed them.

4) Pop your hood and open the brake fluid reservoir but don't remove the cap. Grab and old brake pad and place it in the upper caliper housing against the piston (big round thing). Place the C-clamp so that it is clamping the brake pad and the outside of the caliper housing. Slowly clamp the piston back into the caliper until it's flush. Close the brake fluid reservoir.

5) Pull the caliper slide out of the lower caliper housing and apply some caliper grease. Re-insert the slide back into the lower caliper housing. Place the upper caliper over the brake pads and rotor and bolt back into place. Torque the caliper slide bolts to ~35ftlbs or until good and snug.


Rotor installation: (haven't actually performed this)

1) Remove the bolts securing the lower caliper housing the knuckle. The bolts seem to be ~18mm socket. The lower caliper housing should slide out.

2) Use a #4 bit and power drill/impact drill to remove the two bolts holding the rotor in place. There is a chance of stripping these screws, but since our cars are new and not rusted solid I don't see that happening. Penetrating oil can help

3) Pull the rotor off of the studs. If the rotor seems to be stuck on there hub use some penetrating oil and a rubber mallet with gentle force to tap the rotor off the hub. Make sure not to hit the rotor surface, aim for the "hat" (part that is touching the hub).

4) Install the new rotor on the studs/hub. Secure with the screws if holes are in your new rotor. If only the stud holes are on the rotor you can just push the rotor onto the hub as far back as it'll go. The wheel will hold the rotor in-place when your torque the lug nuts. Re-install the lower caliper housing.


Brake Line Bleeding:

1) Locate the Bleed valve and remove the rubber nub. Attach some tubing and direct it into a soda bottle. Grab a small adjustable wrench or crescent wrench

2) Open the brake fluid reservoir and fill to the MAX line. Open the bleed valve until fluid starts seeping into the soda bottle. Allow fluid to bleed off by gravity until no air bubble are seen. Note: If you were doing a flush you would start from the rear right rear brake move to the rear left, front left front right. To flush the fluid completely will take some time to gravity bleed but you're less likely to damage the ABS system by forcing dirt into pressure valves. It's possible to set this up so that you're bleeding all four caliper at once, but I find it easier to do one line at a time.

4) Once all the air is gone close the bleed valve. Fill the brake fluid reservoir back up to max. Hop in your car and pump the brake a couple of times until the brake feel firm again. Check the fluid level once more and fill to max.


Today I change my front brake pads only. I was going to bleed the lines but got lazy and said I'll do it this weekend. If you don't open your brake system you shouldn't need to bleed the brakes off. However I found that after burnishing my pads I did notice some fading. If anything there is some water absorbed into the fluid. I can say that I'm pleased with the initial performance of the Hawk HPS pads. No noise what so ever, good bite, and gobs of stopping power compared to the OEM pads. I give thanks to Remy and Tai of Corsport for their excellent service. Feel free to give suggestions to improve this DIY and I'll edit them in.

[mishima8]

Deleted

[AznSupastar]

oh god, i guess this isn't a quick DIY job. i was hoping to swap brake pad on track and off track. in this case, may be i'm better off getting just 1 set for both street and track use.

anyone can recommend one? if i go hawk, which series/model i should go with?

[mishima8]

Deleted

[CZ-75]

You can do both front brakes in under an hour and all four in around two hours (the rear brakes are slightly harder, considering you must remove the caliper completely and have to screw the piston back in). Never use a Crescent wrench on anything you care about, IMO. I needed a 17mm wrench to hold the slider pin while I loosened the 12mm retaining bolt with the box end and a ball peen hammer.

[ryryninja]

awesome.. will definitely use this once i get some new pads!!

[jdrumstik]

[AznSupastar]

Originally Posted by mishima8

It is semi quick with the right tools. If you are swapping the rotors it takes longer. Swapping the pads is quick and easy. The Hawk pads are good:http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...ace+brake+padsThese are street and occasional race. And the HPS are street primarily, probably can use for race, but not recommended.

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...eet+brake+pads

thx 4 the tip, but i'm pretty lazy and not very mechanically incline especially on my own baby. so i think that street/race pad u linked me is a good chocie. but i always wonder how much more brake pad and rotor wear it has...

[unplugged]

with 23k on my civic, i had about 50% pad life left. This is pretty good for a honda, i'm figuring maybe 50k is when the typical pad will need replacement. On performance pads, you're looking anywhere from a few track runs to maybe 20-30k on street.

[MikeColangelo]

Originally Posted by CZ-75

You can do both front brakes in under an hour and all four in around two hours (the rear brakes are slightly harder, considering you must remove the caliper completely and have to screw the piston back in).

How do you screw the rear caliper piston back in? Do you need a special tool for this?

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by MikeColangelo

How do you screw the rear caliper piston back in? Do you need a special tool for this?

yes sir. You need a rear caliper compressor. It has two pegs that fit into notches in the piston and it pushes and turn the piston back at the same time. I would not attempt this job with out it.

This is one used on a lot of american cars. Not sure if it will work on the civic but your local auto parts store should be able to help you out.

[CZ-75]

Originally Posted by MikeColangelo

How do you screw the rear caliper piston back in? Do you need a special tool for this?

Lisle makes a good one and Pepboys and Sears have had it in the past. It isn't absolutely necessary, but it sure makes things much easier.

[MikeColangelo]

Thanks for the quick reply, guys. This weekend I'm replacing my front and rear pads with Carbotech pads.

[MikeColangelo]

OK, just finished installing front pads (Carbotech XP8) for my track day on Sunday. I'll get the rears sometime later today. I have a 2006 Civic Si and here's what I can add to the above discussion:

1. Changing front brake pads is incredibly easy with these cars!

2. Maybe it's an Si thing, but I needed a 19mm open-end wrench to hold the caliper slider fitting and not 17mm as someone else mentioned.

3. The caliper bolts were loosened using a 12mm wrench. Only remove the bottom bolt. Loosen the top one. This way you can swing the caliper up and can easily pop out the pads.

4. Don't forget to pump the brake pedal a few times before driving the car to ensure that the caliper piston is seated against the pads. Expect the pedal to go to the floor on the first pump. This is nomal.

5. If using performance or race pads, proper bedding of the pads is critical. Follow the pad manufacturers instructions. Luckily for me, I live in the California desert and have access to long, empty, flat desert roads with which to bed in brakes. It's my favorite part of the job!

[CZ-75]

I have an FA5 and only needed a 17mm, but there might be a difference by year. I seem to recall that I needed a 19mm to do my mother's TL-S (I believe the front calipers are almost identical) last Christmas, but I don't even have a 19mm wrench where I live, so I'm very certain I don't have 19mm slider pins.