I have 92,000km on my 2003 Accord EX sedan 2.4 5M and it's looking like a good time to change the brake pads.

Anyone had experience doing these? Any special tools required? Any other forums or resources on doing this job?

Thanks in advance.

 

You'd need
new pads(obviously),
anti-squeal grease(so the shims dont scratch the backside of the pads and squeal when you apply the brake),
torque wrench(so you can torque the bolts to the specified torque dont necessarily need one if you just wanna tighten the bolts according to the german rule "good and tight" but it's possible that you wont tighten it good enough or too good that you strip the bolts),
regular wrenches or breaker bar(to release the bolts, dont use he torque wrench to release the bolts as you might break the torque wrench),
brake bleeding kit(remove air bubbles inside the brake lines),
brake cleaner solution (if you want a clean job this washes off grease and dusts),
C-clamp so you can depress the piston back into the caliber bore
jack stands(not the stock one that comes with the car),
new brake fluids(to fill in the master cylinder after you bleed the brakes)

Make sure the car is cool before operating on the brake system because brake system can get really hot due to braking friction

Also make sure you change all the pads in the front together and all the ones in the back together, NEVER change only one side.


Procedure for front brakes:

Remove the cap from the brake fluid reservoir

Loosen the wheel lugs, jack your car up, and take your front wheels off

WORK ON ONE BRAKE ASSEMBLY AT ONCE!!! OR YOU'LL MIX UP THE SETS!!!

Use a large C-clamp, push the piston back into the caliper - note that one end of the clamp is on the back side of the caliper and the other end is pressing on the outer brake pad.

Clean the brake assembly with brake system cleaning solution.

Remove the bottom bolt that holds the caliber on the backside of the caliber

Swing the caliber up and secure it with a wire so it doesnt fall back down and hit you in the hands while working on it.

Rmove the pads one at a time matching the new shim and new pads to look like the old ones, make sure you remember which one goes on to which one because they're all different. Do it one assembly at a time.

Remove the outer brake pad and shim

Remove the inner brake pad and shims

Put anti suqeal grease between the new shim and the new pad and even it out and then put them together. If the new pads doesnt come with shims, use the old ones.

The old pads should slide right out and you should be able to just slide the new ones right in.

Swing the caliper back down slowly, if the caliper doesnt fit back onto the rotor, that means you need to depress the piston further into the caliper bore with your c-clamp

if everything fits back down, screw the bolt back into the caliber with a torque wrench and torque it to the specified torque

I've never done back brakes before...but they dont usually go out...most people change the front brakes numerous times before the back brakes is needed to go in service.

Hopefully this info helps

 

Ok Now for the easy way...

You dont need to bleed the brakes, unless your replacing calipers

If you wanna change the pads, all you gotta do is this..

Step 1, Take off Front wheels

Step 2: Loosen the 2 13 or 12 mm bolts holding the brake caliper on, slide the caliper off, take the outside brake pad off

get a pair of big channel locks, and slowly push in the other brake pad until the piston is flush with the caliper, take the other pad off, Put the new pads on, put the anti squeek grease on the back of the pads/shims, clean the caliper with brake cleaner, reasemble

Also If your putting new rotors on it, which you should unless youve had em done before

then u clean the new rotors with brake cleaner because it has a special coating on it

 

you dont necessarily need to change the rotors because rotors are just pieces of metal for the pads to stop on...you can get them resurfaced at a local brake shop, but most of the time if you dont feel the brake is pulsating, that means your rotor is fine unless the rotor is getting too thin...then get a new pair of rotors...

he is right about bleeding the brake tho...you dont necessarily need to bleed the brake, but if you've never had a brake service before, bleeding the brake will give you a firmer feel when you're braking.

 

it's a good time to bleed the brake, altho you dont need to to.

it's a good time because everything is off and it's only going to take you 15 minute now or 1 hours later.


rotor can be surfaced most of the time, just don't go over the min. spec

 

Thanks for the great replys. My son and I are kart racers, so I have wrenched on braking systems (pads, rotors, bleeding etc) for a while, but I wasn't sure what I might need, or need to do, on the Accord. I am changing from my Konig 17's back to the OEM 16's for winter , so I figured it would be a good time to do the brakes.

Thanks again.

 

Just curious, what kind/brand of pad or you putting on?

I'll be replacing my front pads soon and im not sure if I want to go OEM or aftermarket, I was thinking about Hawk HPS.

Either way good luck w/ the project.

 

The OEM pads are great b/c they have virtually no dust (compared to most other brake pads) and are completely noise free. I've heard nothing but good things about Hawk HPS pads for daily drivers (low dust, little to no noise, slightly better braking power). For a daily driver (no track time), either choice is fine.