DIY Front Brake pad change

[ECU-MAN]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!





Aim: Change front brake pads on Civic, Integra, CRX. note this method wont work on Prelude and Accords.

Required:

surynge
12mm Spanner
big Screw driver

Caution: dont let brake fluid get on your paint work, it will damage your paintwork.

Step: 1
Jack the front of the car up securely and safely, use Jack stands and remove the front wheels

Step: 2

look at the level of your brake fluid and suck some out to get it half full.





STEP: 3

use the tip of a big screw driver to pry the piston back into the caliper. try to catch pad and lever against the caliper ( green arrows in pic below ), lever in the direction of the red arrow's. 1st just lever the pad just a bit say 3 or 4mm. enough to get your screw driver tip between the pad and the rotor.




STEP: 4

get your screw driver in there and try to push from the center of the pad pushing the piston inwards.











STEP: 5

look at the brake fluid level, its time to suck some out












STEP: 6

undo the bottom caliper bolt.







STEP: 7


slide the caliper upwards. it should stay there, and remove the old brake pads, and fit the new pads in there place. put the bottom in 1st then push the top in. note the red arrow pointing to the squeeler. these pads with the squeelers must go on the inside of the rotor and the squeeler on top.
also add any shims and grease that may come with your pads.




STEP: 8


check your caliper slide pins for free movement in and out. side them with your hands. make sure there not seized. ( red arrows below )






STEP: 9

make sure the pads are firmly against the rotor, ( green arrows above ) slide the caliper down and in place and do up the bolt you removed, do it up tight but not snap it type of tight.

STEP: 10

repeat steps 2 to 9 on the other side.

STEP: 11


depress the brake pedal several times to allow the pistons to move out onto the pads and push them onto the rotors.




STEP: 12



check your brake fluid level and add some or remove some if nessesary.

put your wheels on and make sure your wheel nuts are tight.

lower you car from the stands

double check your wheel nuts, press the brake pedal again, check your brake fluid level.

STEP: 13

road test time. before you drive off make sure you have a good brake pedal

now this is not just a road test, you have to bed the pads in.
this is my way of bedding in the pads

drive up to about 40KM/h to 50 KM/h make sure there is no cars behind you, and press on your brake pedal firmly not to lock up the wheels though and do not allow the car to come to a stop. Slow to about to 15KM/h, then back off the brakes, speed up to 40KM/h to 50 KM/h again and repeat the firm braking. do this 3 to 4 times.

do this pretty much asap, dont go for a drive to find a good stop to do it. do it down your street. also be carefull as the 1st 2 brake attempts wont be as good as they should be.


thats it


Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!

[Dxs]

'also add any shims and grease that may come with your pads.'

where do these shims and grease go?

[Paul1985]

dont know about the shims (are they the silver coverings that you put over the pads?), but the grease im guessing John is talking about anti-squeal... maybe not though.

Anti-squeal is just a paste you run onto your brake pads to stop them from squealing from where they connect/rub, i used it when changing mine but they still squeal. The best way to apply this stuff is to check on the old pads where the real shiney areas are (this is where it connects and gets worn the most).. Now apply the anti-squeal sparingly to these area's.. It should explain on the bottle or tube.

That guides very helpful John as always.. There is no corner cutting in your guide here or any of your guides. I picked up a few things i didnt learn when i did my own pads... I would follow any of your guides without thinking twice, id feel comfortable and trust the guide 100%. big

We forgot to suck some fluid out and it leaked everywhere when i did mine.. so beware people! The fluid went everywhere lol

Also, you can buy a certain tool to push the piston back.. i used it at TAFE, i dont know what its called though. I wouldnt bother with it though as it looks much easier just to use a screwdriver.

[ECU-MAN]

thanks fellas


the shims ( is what I call em ) go on the back metal part of the pad between the caliper piston and the brake pad. the anti-squeel grease goes between the pad, and any shims. not all pads come with shims, if you get them put them in, if you dont who cares

as for pushing in the piston, yes you can use that special tool, or a G clamp. but in this DIY I wanted to show the real easy way using a screw driver..

when I was an aprentice I made a tool for pushing in the piston, they are really easy to make,

you get a really thrashed brake pad, ( one with almost no braking compund left ) drill a hole in the middle of it, get your self a spare tyre screw down bolt ( from a ford spare tyre as they have a nice handle ) and a nut to suit, weld the nut to the pad and make sure you can turn the bolt. these work a treat.

[weeman]

would this be pretty much the same for the rear pads

[dynosaur]

excellent......

l can change my brake pad by myself in next time.

u really save my bucks......

Thank you , John (ECU-MAN).

[ECU-MAN]

would this be pretty much the same for the rear pads

no its different for rear brake, this method will not work and end with something broken.

[egSi]

king

[weeman]

no its different for rear brake, this method will not work and end with something broken.

well is there a diy on this cause i cant seem to find one

[ECU-MAN]

I dont know if there is one, next timeI do some rear pads, Ill make one,


I remember guiding someone though it once in a thread. you will have to do a good search for it though. it was a while ago.

[mocchi]

hi, sry but it seems like i cant see any pictures of the DIY...
thx.

[EuroDude]

Since the rear brakes have the handbrake mechanism, i'm pretty sure you need to turn the piston (clockwise?) on the rear brakes to make it go in so you can install the new pads.

The Fronts can be simply pushed in with a screwdriver or a wooden block, or even a clamp if its a biatch (if you dont bleed the fluid for instance).