TomCat39

After looking through the following threads:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...k-haha-641639/

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...stion-2911237/

DIY Stage two 92-95 civic rear brake upgrade - D-series.org

Civic EG :: View topic - DIY: Rear Brake Conversion

92 civic ex rear drum to disc conversion. Page1 - Honda Tuning Forums at Super Street Magazine

The only information that remotely broaches what I'm curious about was this:

Also looking at honda OEM sites, I find the 92-95 SI and DX have different part numbers for the trailing arm.

I was told that the 92-95 SI disc brake system should allow me to keep to the stock 13" rim size.

From my experience, finding a 92-95 SI in the junkyards is far and few between and buying everything new from Honda is probably worth more than my whole car.

The OEM sites and all the "conversion" threads don't really support or fully debunk the idea of converting the DX arm to disc. They all say use the 96-00 trailing arm and brake setup for the most part. I believe because everyone wants larger brakes which in turn require larger wheels. They even seem to ignore the 92-95 SI trailing arm altogether usually.

My question is, can the DX trailing arm be used and just change out the hub, dust shield etc while bolting the caliper onto the DX arm?

For compliance : 92-95 Hatchbacks CX/DX are the cars being dealt with.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Ive heard its a bitch to try and get those bolts loose.. hence why its easier to swap the whole arm..

But, If you want to PB Blast it for a few days and give it a go, then by all means..


I just swapped my whole trailing arm and installed new bushings, calipers, lines, etc..

TomCat39

I'm sorry, not to be difficult but "those bolts" doesn't give me an idea as to which bolts of the whole assembly your are referencing?

And I guess maybe another approach and pertinent question might be: Can an Integra DC arm or 96-00 SI arm be used but then use the 92-95 SI rotor, hub, caliper etc? The trailing arm seems to be the most expensive part new from dealer.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Sorry.. the 4 allen head bolts holing the drum/spindle on the back side.. those F'rs are tight.

98civdx

Those allen head bolts are a pain in the ***!

I'd rather swap the trailing arms then deal with them.

eHMxhACk

iTrader: (17)

I used 1994 Del Sol Si trailing arms for my conversion and I am running my VX rims (13"). I believe if you can find a 94-95 EX with rear disc they use the smaller rotor as well.





eH.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

Any 88-00 Civic/Sol or 90-01 Non-R integra rear discs will fit 13" wheels. They are all basically the same small 9" rear rotor setup. The only major difference is the 90-93 Integras have an over-sized trailing arm bushing. They are slightly smaller than your stock 9" front discs, so of course they will fit inside stock 13's. Only the Type-R's are oversized.

Don't bother trying to get just the spindles. Nobody will sell you those alone. They are too hard to remove. Besides you need a bunch of other stuff off the trailing arm to do a rear disc conversion. It's just WAY easier to simply buy the entire trailing arm setup that includes.......Calipers, brackets, rotors, hubs, spindles, e-brake cables, hoses. Plus having all the splash & dust shields are a nice touch for a street car.

Once you have the complete trailing arm assemblies, get a 2 pound brass hammer from harbor Freight and some new OEM CRV trailing arm bushings. Then knock the old ones out, and knock the new ones back in. For $50 this is a worthwhile investment. New TA bushings really help with brake feel & noise.

The only hard part about this swap is the e-brake cables. If you don't have the exact cables from your chassis (civic coupe, hatch, etc...) they can be tricky. I used DC cables on my 94 hatch. One of the 4 brackets didn't match any bolt-hole under the car, so I had to use a tapered "body bolt" into an existing drip hole finish them off.

This upgrade is VERY simple.

94eg!

iTrader: (2)

BTW: The bolts holding the spindle on are Torx, not allen. I've never heard anything good about them.

speedjunkie_g35

Def pain!!! I put 98 integra rear trailing arms instead but noticed no difference in trailing arms on my 94 vx. Vx wheels still fit my rear.

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

90-93 Integra trailing arms on my car and have cleared 13in steelies. I think we've covered all years trailing arms swap with 13in rims.

TomCat39

Thank you guys for all the added information. It will be a great help.

rudebwoy

iTrader: (1)

I just disassembled my trailing arms today for sandblasting and re coat. After spending a day after soaking for a week it did not help, using a M50 torx and a heavy duty impact gun, even though I used the correct size tool they were tight and the idea of torx on that location is stupid, they stripped. I finally said screw it and my luck screwing it worked. I use craftsman stripped bolt remover socket, hammer it over the torx screw use a breaker bar and BAM! They were out on the first attempt, the second set of arms I have tried they were so tight the bolts snapped. moral of the story is your first try should be with a heavy duty impact and a m50 torx bit. if that failed it hammer time with the craftsman bit. and I will replace them with normal bolts.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Get your donor trailing arm + disc brakes from a 3dr Integra. Those are about as common as dirt; they're everywhere. The parking brake cable is the SAME part # as a 3dr Civic Si hatchback, so essentially it's the identical assembly.

TomCat39

You wouldn't know off hand of the 90-93 3dr Integra also has the over sized trailing arm bushing do you?

I was thinking I wouldn't mind a more robust bushing in the setup.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Incidentally, if you want to come and get a set of '92 Civic Si trailing arms with e-brake cable, come on down. I'm in Sask. Or I can put em on the bus. I paid $150. If I get half that, I'll be happy. Complete minus rotors, pads, and TA bushings (these were shot).

Thor294

Holy moly.

I picked up 99 Integra GSR rear trailing arms with spindles/cables/calipers the other day to do the swap. Was wondering if I could just swap the spindles since my civic trailing arm has poly bushings in it.

Damn... so much for that idea! Guess I will have to swap the bushings and the whole arm!

Don't forget an alignment

ejv8s10

You can buy an adapter on that allows use of Integra disc brake components on the DX trailing arm.
I have it on my CRX and it works perfect. I bought 2 sets and only used one. If I can find the spare adapter kit I will post it for sale.

Thor294

https://scarebird.com/index.php?rout...product_id=116

EJ1TYPER

Civic trailing arms and integra trailing arms are interchangeable. I have a 95 civic ex and swapped the entire rear assembly with an integra, trailing arms and lca's. I also pulled out the mugen hard race trailing arm bushings from the civic trailing arms and have them in the integra trailing arms. I also have buddy club rear adjustable camber kit for a 92-95 civic and it all bolted up no issues. 13" steelies will be fine. I just bought rotors and pads for integra on the back. the issue you will run into with rear disc swap is abs vs non abs. that only comes into play though if you trying to switch prop valve to 40/40 and brake booster and brake master. either way...if someone want a brake swap to disc and you don't have abs currently any integra RS model from 90-01 will be a direct bolt on. for example i have a brake master from 95 integra rs and the brake booster from a 93 rs integra. it all bolted right up. Also i have a 92 integra rs prop valve 40/40. Non ABS for all of it. was tough to find. Either way when doing rear disc i highly recommend the booster/prop valve/master swap as well. Any other questions feel free to ask.

94EG8

As stated all the rear disc setups from '88 - '00 Civics and '90 - '01 Integras (except CTR/ITR) are all more or less the same ('90 - '93 Integra being the oddball with different trailing arm bushings, and IIRC and slightly different caliper and rear flex line setup. All (except again, CTR/ITR) accommodate 13" wheels. The only reason you're seeing you need a '92 - '95 Si setup is due to the Si having small CX/DX/VX front brakes for '92 - '95, except for uber rare '94 Si with ABS (only made for one year, and most '94 Sis didn't have ABS)

And just as a bit of an aside, I ran the setup you're planning to run for years. Stock small front brakes, EX-V sedan rears, '92 Si prop valve. While it worked fine, and had the correct brake bias, it worked exactly the same as the rear drums I swapped out, the only difference is the rear calipers tend to seize a lot while the rear drums almost never need attention. The only thing the rear discs really have going for them is they look a lot nicer, which is the whole reason I did the swap. I never swapped the fronts (which make a huge difference in braking) because I really wanted to keep running my 13" Mangels.

Oh, and those bolts holding the rear spindle on? They're just flat out miserable to try to remove. It's infinitely easier to swap the whole trailing arm.

TomCat39

Huge wealth of great information in this thread. Thank you guys.

I definitely plan on just swapping arms.

My reasoning for swapping to disc is pads are so much easier to service in my opinion, at least over shoes with all the lovely springs.

Looks is another nice feature but mainly, I can't get Akebono shoes but can get nice Akebono pads that have pretty decent braking power with minimal fade, zero break in and not super heavy on dust as well as nice and quiet.

Good to know the rear calipers are more fussy and require a bit more maintenance. I guess it might be an idea to keep an extra set on hand for brake jobs. Then a simple swap is all that is required to do a fast brake job leaving lots of time to rehabilitate the old calipers for the next round.

94EG8

They're somewhat easier to service, but rear drums aren't that bad after you've done them a few times. I used to work with a guy that could drums faster. Also, rear shoes on a stock daily driven civic of that generation tend to last 200,000 to 300,000kms. They more or less last the life of the car.

98civdx

it will be a million times easier to swap the bushings/trailing arms then to deal with those bolts.
pulling a trailing arm is stupidly simple.