running without brake backing plate?
 

latest snag in my rear disc conversion, i never even noticed 1 side had no backing plate on it.

i was at the junkyard and looking at getting one but i did not bring the necissary tools to get all the stuff off layered on top if it off.

so 2 questions, i searched but found nothing on these:

is it ok to run your disc brakes without the backing plate/dust cover deal? (i have a temp bracket in place so the ebrake cables cant rub on the rotor)

and will DA backing plates fit on DC/civic trailing arms because all thats in my local scrapyard are ****ing DA's haha.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

Its just a splash shield, its not needed. Here in eastern canada you'd be hard pressed to find a civic that still has them, they rot off from the salt and don't get replaced.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

which is quite possible in colorado.
but if nothing else just get a new one from majestic. its only 20 bucks.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

I think it is also meant to duct fresh air in for cooling purposes, if you dont run hard then you should be ok.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

well dude its just a cx so i think overheating the brakes would be quite a challenge either way.

damn for 20 bucks im a little pissed i spent half and hour trying to pull one off a disgusting junkyard DA. good to know. i did at least manage to piece together a rear sway bar so it wasnt a wasted trip.

and we dont salt roads in colorado, they pretty much just used sand and chemicals. so no rust, just paint chips come spring time. my shield did not rust off or anything, it was just plain not there on one of the trailing arms i got for my conversion.
i do plan to replace it regardless, just this has been more effort and i need a breather before i work on this car again haha.

thanks for the replies guys

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

77777, would it be possible to get a MAP sensor reading from you on a fully warmed up idle at your high altitude please Sir if you have time, you will need a digital multimeter, it needs to be in the one volt DC range, I would like to see what high altitude does to these things. Glad you got something out of the trip.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

My rear backing plates rotted off too on my 2004 Honda Pilot. I was ready to do a complete brake job so I did some research about this before starting. As others have said, replacing the backing plates is a huge and expensive job. One thing I noticed was that many people seem to think the backing plate is needed for the parking brake. After finishing my brake job yesterday, I can absolutely assure everyone that the backing plate that rots off has nothing to do with the parking brake. There is another thicker backing plate that the parking brake attaches too. It's just like the thick steel backing plates used on any car with drum brakes and it should last as long as the car. The backing plate that rots off only overs the outer edges of the rotor where the pads make contact. Once I confirmed that, I had absolutely no second thoughts about just throwing them away. They serve very little purpose and, in my opinion, are certainly not worth replacing. Remember the open wheel designs on many cars allows things to get on the outside of the rotors and there's no problem. Also, consider the fact that motorcycle rotors are completely uncovered and that's no problem.

Bottom line: Based on my 50 years of working on cars, I wouldn't hesitate to just throw the rotted backing plates away without a second thought. They seem to be just an afterthought by the manufacturer and that's probably why they are such thin metal that is definitely going to rot away if you live anywhere but in a dry climate with no salted roads, etc. Just toss them out and don't worry about it.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

I deleted my backing plates in the front, I have noticed excess brake heat and dust, but it's nothing you should worry about. I mean if you can, go ahead. But when they start rotting out they start grinding on the rotor so it's your call, that's why I took mine off.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

mine are powdercoated ;p

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

<p>5 year old, dead thread</p><p>2004 Pilot, eh? &nbsp;That's nice, good for you, this isn't the Pilot section. &nbsp;50 years of working on cars, and you don't know why those back plates exist? &nbsp;Hopefully your career doesn't involve cars.</p>

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

Why don't you enlighten us with why the baking plate can't be removed?

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

Any problems win removing the rear backing plates? Mine starting to run the rotor at that thin pice that lips into the rotor.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

Just take them off, I used a hammer. And please stop bumping this thread.

Re: running without brake backing plate?
 

:ugh: