This is my first post to this forum, so I hope I do this right. I have a 2000 Civic DX and am looking to replace the front brake pads this weekend. I bought new ceramic brake pads and plan on having the rotors turned. I haven't done this before on a Honda, mostly Chevrolet vehicls. Is there anything special I need to be aware of or tricks to do the job correctly. I guess I should also look at getting a good repair manual too.
Thanks Brian

 

i havnt done them on mine yet, plan on doing it sometime soon. but i hear its pretty straight forward and simple. check out the second post by AgentofDarkness. . i actully just got finished putting new ones on my friends mazda protege5, it was really easy and no problems at all. i think its the same process for the civics.

 

Brakes (disc brakes at least) are pretty much all the same. There are two different types. One is the on that is on civics, where you loosen the lower bolt and the caliper will flip up. Then you push the caliper out towards the engine and the caliper comes out. The pads are located on a bracket that lines up with the rotor. The second type is the caliper where you remove bolts from the top and bottom of the caliper and the pads clip onto the caliper. There are fixed calipers also, but i've never worked with them and i don't think they are used on too many cars.

 

One more thing, there are these little clips that go on the bracket for the pads. When you take the pads out they might fall out, and they are different. THats what happen to mine and i didn't know how they went back in so i took apart the otherside to see which way they go on. Just another little tip.

 

Hints:
Use a torque wrench and the correct torque to tighten your wheel Lugs and the caliper bolts. Uneven torque is one of the causes of rotor warp.

An Impact driver (not an impact wrench, the hand held kind.. http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductD...tnumber=T71566 ) and a #3 Philips bit is the best way to remove stuck rotor attachment screws.

2 6MM bolts will screw into the rotor to push it off the hub if it is stuck.
If they are new rotors, clean off the anti-rust oil with brake-clean before you put them on the car.
New or Old, clean off the brake rotors with brake-clean after you install them to remove grease and oil from your hands.
If you have aluminum wheels, wire brush the rust off of where the rotor bolts to the the wheel and put a smidgen (a very very small amount) of anti-sieze between the rotor and wheel to prevent galvinic corrosion.

The Second Most important thing.
Pads and rotors must be "Seasoned" or broken in. The Haynes manual will have a sane procedure for this, or if you drive like me, http://baer.com (they make performance brakes) has a Howto under the Braking Tech -> braking 202 section. They don't make it clear, but season the rotors first, then the pads.

The First Most important thing.
Make sure they work before you drive fast.

Good Luck.
It's easy, have fun.
Ejay