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View Full Version : Changing the rear brake pads was a pain in the butt.



silver hatch
06-29-2008, 09:16 PM
The fronts were so easy to change by just flipping up the caliper, but the rears made me feel like :frusty:. In the diy from here http://www.k-series.com/tech_document.php?id=31 it failed to mention that you should loosen the two outer bolts before removing the two inner bolts. This is because without loosening those bolts, It seems impossible to press the caliper open enough to be able to fit it back on the rotor. And it's too hard to get enough leverage to loosen the bolts with the caliper off. Another thing is that I don't know why it was so hard to fit the pads inside the slot that they go in ( the part that sticks out on the ends). Those damn clips that sit inside the caliper kept getting in the way.

I don't know if anyone else ran into this problem because in the diy, it makes it look so easy. I had my father-in-law help me and he's more mechanically inclined than I am, and he was like :frusty: too and said, out of all the cars I've done this on, this one gave the most problems.

I'm thinking maybe just taking the car into a shop next time the rears go bad just to save a headache. Has anyone else had this problem?

phister
06-29-2008, 10:01 PM
rear brake pad change is just different from the front. You'll need like a really big screw driver or something flat and wide to fit into the + shape on the caliper. Then all you do is turn it and it'll slowly sink into the caliper.

dofu2
06-29-2008, 10:05 PM
Why are you taking off the rear caliper to change the brake pads??? Not necessary at all...

silver hatch
06-29-2008, 10:13 PM
rear brake pad change is just different from the front. You'll need like a really big screw driver or something flat and wide to fit into the + shape on the caliper. Then all you do is turn it and it'll slowly sink into the caliper.

I did that and that wasn't the problem, those clips wouldn't let me fit it in right.


Why are you taking off the rear caliper to change the brake pads??? Not necessary at all...

Then how do you expect to screw back in the caliper piston?

phister
06-30-2008, 07:23 AM
hhmmmm.... Which rear brake pads did you get? I have some Hawk HPS and they sliped right into the clips just fine.

oogy-boogy
06-30-2008, 07:36 AM
In my case, the rears were actually easier. :shrug:

phister
06-30-2008, 10:23 AM
In my case, the rears were actually easier. :shrug:

Yeah my rears were quick and painless :mbiggrin: Took no time at all.

spike 03EP3
06-30-2008, 12:04 PM
Why are you taking off the rear caliper to change the brake pads??? Not necessary at all...

What?? Um no, you have to remove the calipers to replace the rear pads. On the front you can get away with removing one bolt and flipping up the caliper.

Like was mentioned before, you need a big screw driver to turn (not press) the piston back into the caliper. I've used a wide blade gasket scraper that fit into the "cross" perfectly. Sometimes you might have to crack open the bleeder valve when you turn the piston back in because the pressure may keep it from turning.

Main thing to remember is you never use a clamp on rear calipers.

EDIT: Phister, that's a great avatar.....damn.

zzfinaldropzz
06-30-2008, 01:29 PM
it wans't that bad..... to push the piston back in . you simply use a C clamp and put a piece of cloth inbetween the contact points. when it gets tight the piston will start spining and closing....

humpmasterflex
06-30-2008, 01:37 PM
it wans't that bad..... to push the piston back in . you simply use a C clamp and put a piece of cloth inbetween the contact points. when it gets tight the piston will start spining and closing....

Yea THAT!

dann_04
06-30-2008, 01:41 PM
Don't press the piston in, you have to screw it in(it has to do with the way the e-brake works) just get anything flat, or blow 6 bucks for a caliper piston tool at autozone and screw it in. You will break something if you press it in. What clips are you talking about? I got morse ceramic and they went in no problem, you have to make sure to put the back plate(can're remember what they are called...brake shims?) on the back of the brake pads and fold down the tabs. Maybe you're talking about the metal clips that run along there that the pads slide on? If so it's normally due to rust and you just have to scrape it off with some sand paper till it's smooth again. If you had that much trouble, i would make sure they didn't give you the wrong pads...like for a normal civic or the new si, or even the ones for the front..who knows, i've always been amazed by the incompetance of people at parts stores.

RHCP0801
06-30-2008, 02:18 PM
rears are just as easy as the front, took me 10 mins

jdm_ep3
06-30-2008, 07:52 PM
front and rears were a piece of cake. just gotta use a flat head to screw in so u can push the calipers over it.

RTE117
06-30-2008, 08:05 PM
I thought the rear was really easy surprisingly. Especially since I didn't need to use a C-clamp.

silver hatch
06-30-2008, 08:07 PM
Don't press the piston in, you have to screw it in(it has to do with the way the e-brake works) just get anything flat, or blow 6 bucks for a caliper piston tool at autozone and screw it in. You will break something if you press it in. What clips are you talking about? I got morse ceramic and they went in no problem, you have to make sure to put the back plate(can're remember what they are called...brake shims?) on the back of the brake pads and fold down the tabs. Maybe you're talking about the metal clips that run along there that the pads slide on? If so it's normally due to rust and you just have to scrape it off with some sand paper till it's smooth again. If you had that much trouble, i would make sure they didn't give you the wrong pads...like for a normal civic or the new si, or even the ones for the front..who knows, i've always been amazed by the incompetance of people at parts stores.

Yeah, I was able to screw in the piston with a huge flat head screwdriver, so that really wasn't a problem. The metal clips that I was talking about was the ones that are sitting inside the caliper that the pads fit into. I was having a hard time pressing in the pads to their places due to those clips being bent inward a little. So with the caliper off already, I just took off one of the outside bolts to flip it open like how you do with the fronts and that was the only way the pads slipped in easily. But had to be very careful not to let them slip out while I was flipping it back into place, because a couple of times, the pad closest to the piston kept sliding out the back.

dofu2
06-30-2008, 09:03 PM
Then how do you expect to screw back in the caliper piston?

Honestly, I can't remember since it's been so long since I've worked on a Honda... but I've always had the cube for the brakes, and I remember always screwing the piston back with it in place...

spike 03EP3
07-01-2008, 06:58 AM
+1 on not using a c-clamp on the rear calipers, it can damage the caliper and your e-brake might not work properly. Big honkin' screw driver or the tool you can buy at any parts store works best.

Danman281
07-01-2008, 05:09 PM
Its pretty hard to break by pressing it in. I tried it at first when I didn't learn about the screw in technique before. Now I think its easier than fumbling around with a C-clamp.

sLiCk
07-01-2008, 06:03 PM
C clamp works to some degree. You just have to work at it and it'll slowly turn in because both the clamp and the piston turns in the same direction.