So I'm in the process of (attempting) to replace the front rotors on my 92 accord. I have the axle nut off, and the four bolts that hold the hub to the brake disc.

I found this excellent how-to
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/1997-accord-brakes-tutorial-1281812/

and am wondering about having to remove the bolts on the backside of the spindle near the halfshaft. I'd rather not buy a special offset wrench to use this once, as I'll likely never have to use it again.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...u/DSC06921.jpg

In case you guys were wondering, I do plan on pulling the hub off.

Thanks,
Matt

 

you dont need a special wrench just unhook the steering knuckle from the lower control arm.

popping lower ball joint out
-place jack under rotor with wheel off and car in the air. jack up the knuckle/hub/rotor assembly, not too much enough until you can fit a wrench or breaker bar in between the steering knuckle and lower control arm. hold the wrench there and let pressure out of the jack. the wrench/breaker bar should hold the knuckle and lower control arm further apart and higher up. a short swift kick down (perpendicular to the brake rotor) on top of the rotor/hub assembly and the lower control arm ball joint will pop out of the steering knuckle. your wrench/breaker bar will just fall to the floor unharmed.

***usually when i have the steering knuckle removed from the lower control arm***
ill let the ball joint sit slightly off center in the ball joint hole of the lower control arm to relieve stress from the upper control arm. just ocd i guess

then assuming you got the axle nut off and the radius rod(maybe you can leave this on? been a minute since i did this-roh) removed from the lower control arm turn the hub/steering knuckle to the side towards the back of the vehicle using the tie rod as a pivot(can remove cotter pin and loosen tie rod bolt for less stress on the boot) and slide the axle out of the knuckle(suspend with string/yard/bungee cord etc). now you can turn the steeriing knuckle all the way towards the back of the vehicle still pivoting on the tie rod being careful not to put too much stress on the boot.you will be able to see the four hub to steering knuckle bolts on the back of the steering knuckle.


i usually use a slide hammer to remove mine hub/knuckles. must be careful with this though because wheel bearing that is pressed into the hub can be damaged if not done properly

to reinstall the knuckle/hub. buy a roh conversion! yay for you or put the new rotor on and tighten the bolts like you would a tire in a cross pattern to get the hub/bearing to fit snuggly back into the steering knuckle/rotor

i think i have some old pictures from my cd7 but using a tas roh conversion






well looks like you can just let the axle rest on the damper fork still attached to the lower control arm and shock

good luck

 

When using that ball joint method(which I also use) it's best to unscrew the castle nut until you just begin to see the cotter pin hole, then rescrew so that you have a full layer of threads and when the ball joint separates you don't strip the threads. Also, I like to just put a small type jack under the knuckle, but away from the ball joint. And I like to have someone else let off the jack while I push down on the top of the rotor with my foot to separate the ball joint.

It's really best to use a crow bar and not use wrenches as I have bent wrenches doing this before.

 

i wish i had new about the popping method when i was 17 and decided to use one of those ball joint forks. knew when i saw the grease on the fork the ball joints had to be replaced...

 

lol ya they needed to be replaced after using the pickle fork.

 

not my video but upon searching youtube found a short video of someone popping out the ball joint

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISY8bGof3bQ

 

/\ that video is SLICK, like bikini girls wrestling in a kiddie pool of amsoil.

I really dont' want to pop the ball joints out... they've been there for 19 years worth of michigan winters. If I were to remove them, I keep thinking they'll be mucked up and need replacement. They feel tight at the moment, so why bother them?

 

Anyone else who has to replace rotors, I would highly recommend replacing w/Bosch Rotors w/lifetime warranty. If you get Honda replacement rotors you'll be replacing them again in about 40,000 miles just like I had to. Also, while you replacing rotors, install ceramic brakes, they last nearly twice as many miles and aren't that much more expensive than regular brake pads.

 

with this popping method your ball joint will not be harmed because there is no stress put on the ball joints themselves. all the stress is the steering knuckle pushing on the wrench which pushes on the lower control arm.

if your ball joint is damaged after using this method then it was most likely damaged before and needed replacing anyways. they can easily be replaced by renting a ball joint press with honda attachments from autozone

 

It is physically impossible to damage your balljoints using this method since nothing ever touches them...if you do it the way we said.

 

I'll give it a shot. As someone mentioned using ceramic brakes, I like using a name brand of brakes (raybestos and wagner for a dd duties, hawk or ebc or brembo for performance).

Whoever figured out the ROH conversion should be hired by Honda as a 'braking systems' engineer.

 

you can actually get the parts off other hondas so they probably wouldnt care. i believe prelude and the acura cl oem roh hubs/bearings/rotors will fit on the 90-02 accord steering knuckle. or maybe its just the 90-97. the 98-02 sixth gen accords may have come with it not sure

 

neighbor guy has a slide hammer puller, and it worked out pretty good. I appreciate the help