I bought my '96, 2.2L V-TEC Accord about 2 months ago. It has almost 150,000 miles on it. For these past two months, my rotors have worsened. About two days after I bought the car, I realized that my steering wheel shook whenever I braked. I took off the tires and inspected the brake pads to see if they were wearing out. The brake pads are fine. I'm pretty sure the problem is my rotors.

To solve this problem, I asked one of my guy friends to change them out for me. We went to a garage and the mechanics there advised us to use a sliding hammer. We tried this for almost 2 hours on the passenger side, front tire. We got nowhere - but our forearms were sore for a few days afterwards.

So, I went to Meineke, Midas, and a Honda dealership to get a quote on parts and labor to get my rotors replaced. These are the quotes:

Honda dealership - Roughly $500-$600 dollars, parts + labor (hydraullically pressed)
Meineke - Roughly $400 dollars, parts + labor (hydraullically pressed)
Midas - Roughly $200, -only- labor (sliding hammer)

The Honda dealership told me that it costs this much to change my rotors simply because they are hydraullically pressed in. I told them the story about me and the guy friend trying to change out the rotors ourselves. But the mechanics said that the sliding hammer isn't reccommended because it could mess up my wheel bearings.

BOTTOM LINE:

1. Should I pay $400+ dollars to get my rotors replaced using a hydraullic press? OR should I pay $200 dollars for some guys to use a sliding hammer?

2. Should I, instead, try to get my rotors rotated? (I don't know how to look to see if my rotors are just thinning or if they are really warped. The front of the rotors look pretty okay, but the back (from what my friend mechanics say) are wearing out.)

I don't want to be ****ed in the end by allowing someone to possibly mess up my wheel bearings. But I am pretty tight on money (I'm a college student.) It's a very difficult situation for me because I don't want my car to suffer - I love my car.

What do you guys think about the sliding hammer and how safe that would be on my car? Should I just go ahead and pay more now than possibly later? What would you reccommend me do?

Thanks. I know this is a long post.

 

well i JUST did this littarly 2 hours ago..what i did was bought a rotor...about 40 bux...and took it up to minakie*sp* and i just did the front driver side and they charged 99 dollars labor...and i drove it away perfect after paying 99 bux....if u ever do eventially get it off...you will never put it back on..its impossible unless u do the rotor over hub converstion which isnt a bad idea but for 99 bux they did it...so just buy ur own rotor and they wont buy something you dont kno what is and pay extreme prices for it..tell me how it goes.
Chris

 

don't use a slide hammer. If you pull the hub out of the bearing it's recommended you replace the bearing.

here's the thing... the only parts that are pressed together is the hub into the bearing. The bearing isn't pressed into the knuckle nor is the rotor pressed on in any way.

What you need to do is loosen and remove the axle nut. Pop the lower ball joint out of the lower control arm. Remove the axle from the hub. Put the lower ball joint back into the lower control arm. Remove the four bolts on the back of the knuckle that the axle was blocking access to. Remove the caliper and caliper bracket. Now the hub/rotor/bearing assembly should come away from the knuckle. If not, try hitting the rotor (your replacing it anyway) to knock it loose. If that still doesn't work, the bearing is probably really rusted into the knuckle. Remove the knuckle from the car and take it to a machine shop and have them press the bearing out, should only cost about 25-50. Once the hub/rotor/bearing assembly is free from the knuckle, unbolt the four bolts on the front of the hub holding the rotor on (its a good idea to loosen these when the brakes are still attached) and replace the rotor. Now when you install the assembly back into the knuckle, clean and grease the hole so it doesn't rust in there for the next time.

Do some searching on this site and take a look in the FAQ (stickied at the top of the Accord forum) for a link to a write-up with pictures of the process.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by primetimeracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...if u ever do eventially get it off...you will never put it back on..</TD></TR></TABLE>

why is that?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by primetimeracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">..its impossible unless u do the rotor over hub converstion</TD></TR></TABLE>

no it's not but it can be a real PITA

 

Have a SHOP press out the rotor! Many models were DESIGNED this way by Honda-so you would go to the dealer for brake work!

I have read all kinds of "beat it till it drops" posts, but, after 30+ years turning wrenches on my own cars, I prefer using "finesse" methods. I rarely, if ever, use a hammer when I work.

When you do, it indicates you are trying to teardown something in a way NOT intended by Honda. Using heavy hammers/sledges can do collateral damage. Many of the rotors were designed to be PRESSED off-have a machinist do it.

A good shop MANUAL will tell you if your rotors were "pressed".And, if the rotors are old, you better replace the bearing assemblies at the same time- Wrenchy