What's new

DIY - Brake discs and pads change 03+ (updated)

alnug

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
1,020
Reaction score
20
Location
W. Yorkshire
Car
Jaguar XF S
First of all this is covered in the manual pm me if you need a copy.

The other thing i will say is that the right tools make the job 10x or more simpler...i have heard some people fashioning their own wind back tools or funny ways to remove the disc mounting screws etc etc......what you're really doing is asking for trouble!

TOOLS NEEDED
-----------------

braketools.jpg


Jack and stands ofcourse!!!

For pads:
BRAKE CLEANER(not in pic), 14mm & 17mm spanner, copper grease, caliper wind back tool(I got mine from halfords), ratchet, sockets (10mm, 14mm &17mm), pliers and 7mm hex bit (i used mine on a ratchet to get extra leverage)..oh WIRE BRUSH..forgot that in pic..maybe a torque wrench as well

Extra bits needed for discs:
Long 17mm spanner or a breaker bar with 17mm bit, impact driver with number 3 cross bit and BIG hammer....in the manual it says you need two bolts to remove the disc my discs didn't need them as they came off quite easily

I didn't take any pics...I hope someone who does it again will remember and post here to help other members.

FRONT PADS:
---------------

REMOVAL

- remove the two rubber pads behind the calipers which covers the two hex bolts (sometimes you may find the covers missing..get them replaced)
- take of the spring retaining the front part of the caliper...do this by pulling both parts that are hooked into the caliper with the pliers..keep these safe you need them on reasembly.
- take off the two hex bolts at the back...pull them out enough to clear the front part of the calier of take them off all together...maybe give them a clean.
- take off the two 10mm bolts holding the brake line to the knuckle/hub ***embly.
- Now you have to wiggle the front part of the caliper off ...give it a GOOD wiggle side to side to brake loose any contact between the caliper
and pads. Move the caliper up and out of the way and secure it to the strut.
- take out the two pads and check disc..if you find the disc heavily scored then i would change discs at the same time..if you do this then replace the old pads and put on new pads once you have the discs as well.
- give EVERYTHING a good clean with the brake cleaner and wire brush any areas which come into contact with the pads to prevent binding.

REASSEMBLY

- take off the brake fluid cap...maybe leave it on but open. use the caliper wind back tool to wind back the piston..the front pads don't needs
winding more like spreading...KEEP AN EYE on the brake fluid level when doing this!!
- coat the areas of the pad which touch the caliper with copper grease......again DON'T go crazy with how much you apply!!...less is more here!!
- then reassemble everything and toque the bolts back to spec....DON'T go crazy with those hex bolts! they only require as much torque as can
be applied with the size of the key....average 7mm hex key length is about 10cm long (for those who like torque specs it's around 30Nm)
- TIGHTEN THE BRAKE FLUID CAP
- attach the brake line back to the knuckle - only needs 12Nm on those bolts
- TIP - when trying to replace the spring.....doing one side of the hook is easy..to get the other bit of the 'hook' in....DON'T push the spring around the caplier before trying to hook it in the hole!...you'll know what i mean........hook the spring into thr hole FIRST, BEFORE using the pliers to push the spring behind the caliper...all will be clear when you do it!

REAR PADS:
--------------

REMOVAL

- top caliper is held on by 2 bolts (14mm i think!?!). if you are just changing pads you need to remove the bottom bolt but just loosen the top so that the caliper can pivot.
- you may need to remove the brake line mounting to give you more play (2 10mm bolts)
- clean everything etc. as above

REASSEMBLY

- the rear caliper has to be wound back in and can't be simply PUSHED back.
- open the brake fluid cap...and engage to two hooks of the caliper wind back piston with the two notches of the caliper piston (there are diferent caliper wind back tools out there! make sure you get one which fits Hondas!!)

here is the piston wind back tool on the caliper
brake5.jpg


This is how the notches should be in the caliper, note they need to be horizontal with the caliper for the pin at the back of the pad to fit in
brake6.jpg


DISCS - FRONT and REAR:
---------------------------

REMOVAL

- after you got the pads out ..you need to take the caliper bracket off the knuckle ***embly...look behind the caliper bracket and you'll see two bolts (17mm) attaching it to the knuckle..remove these...you'll probably need your breaker bar here.

NOTE FOR REAR CALIPER: there are two metal washers..make sure these are back there when you reinstall.
brake4.jpg


- Use the impact driver to remove the two screws holding the disc to the hub....YOU DO NOT want to round these off....not using an impact driver is asking for trouble here!

- Once the screws are off the disc should come off...if you're replacing the disc just give it a light tap on the back with a hammer..mine is 4lb for reference!...or you could use the two bolt method (there are two tapped threads in the disc for this purpose).....hammer is a LOT quicker though!

here is the disc off
brake1.jpg


REASSEMBLY

- CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN! the hub to disc mounting surface....degrease the disc with brake cleaning fluid etc....even use a bit of sand paper to remove the surface rust on the hub.....it is VERY IMPORTANT! Don't do this and you may find yourself doing this all over again when you find you get brake pulsation due to uneven disc wear.

Here is a pic of what you want to achieve (best be clean than sorry ;) )
brake2.jpg


- Give the discs a good cleaning to get rid of any residual storage oil
brake3.jpg


- install the disc and the two screws (ONLY as tight as you can do them with a screwdriver or you're asking for trouble later)....these screws are to aid reassembly....the wheel bolts are what keep the disc on the hub!...maybe add a bit of copper grease to the hub/disc mounting surface
- install the caliper bracket (Front 108NM and the rear 79Nm)
- reinstall caliper and pads.


Well that it really.....a lot of words for what is a simple job! If you not had monkeys around the brakes who have wayyyyyyyyyy overtightened the bolts etc you are in for a breeze...once you've done something like this once you'll wonder why you pay hundreds £££ for someone else to do it!
 
Alnug thanks for this writeup mate as I used it this weekend on my mates Dip's car who some of you have already met at the previous meet, he has the 2.0 i vtec 54 plate Accord. He basically had the abs sensor problem on passenger rear which CJ diagnoised with his new kit (highly recommended). We then got the car booked in at Stratstone Honda Leeds who supplied and changed the abs sensor which basically fixed the ABS problem. They did however advise the rear discs and pads require urgent attention due to wear and corrosion so Dips bought a set of rear genuine pads and Discs at a good price really.
I then followed this writeup and fitted the items.

One thing to say is that an Impact driver is essential to get the screws off the discs. I was lucky enough to have one of these which made the job effortless but without this it would be horrible.

So thanks again Alan for the writeup.

In a nut shell saved Dip's a nice amount of money
 
I changed my rear disc pads yesterday as one side had seized causing one pad to wear down almost to the metal. I had to knock the pads out of this side with a hammer and of course before fitting the new ones I took the carrier off and gave it a good clean. The new pads however were just as tight. I had toyed with the idea of prising the pad retainers off to remove any corrosion that may have built up behind them but wasn't sure if they were removable or bonded on to the carrier.
Any advice on this?

Pete
 
Can vouch for Alnugs advise GET THE RIGHT TOOLS its a dodle. Rewind tool is a must.Don't think the pistons rotate but you won't get them back without a wind back tool. Fitted EBC green stuff and has greatly inproved the braking
 
I changed my rear disc pads yesterday as one side had seized causing one pad to wear down almost to the metal. I had to knock the pads out of this side with a hammer and of course before fitting the new ones I took the carrier off and gave it a good clean. The new pads however were just as tight. I had toyed with the idea of prising the pad retainers off to remove any corrosion that may have built up behind them but wasn't sure if they were removable or bonded on to the carrier.
Any advice on this?

Pete

The paint on the brakes pad 'hook' areas can sometimes cause it to bind if the paint is too thick.....you just need to file away some of the paint on the pads and also give the caliper slide areas a good clean as you suggest....there can be a fair amount of corrosion behind the pad retainers that push out and cause the pads to bind more...you probably need a small file for this
 
Fantastic write up, thanks! Has actually given me the confidence to give it a go - once I've bought a few extra tools... :D

Thought I'd at least pull everything apart, check the condition of pads & discs and give it all a good clean... Can't hurt eh?

Only thing - any differences between Saloon / Tourer to be particularly aware of? I have the 2.2 Tourer.

Cheers, Matt.
 
Fantastic write up, thanks! Has actually given me the confidence to give it a go - once I've bought a few extra tools... :D

Thought I'd at least pull everything apart, check the condition of pads & discs and give it all a good clean... Can't hurt eh?

Only thing - any differences between Saloon / Tourer to be particularly aware of? I have the 2.2 Tourer.

Cheers, Matt.


They are different but I think the process is the same. Give Monks a PM he has a tourer I think.
 
They are different but I think the process is the same. Give Monks a PM he has a tourer I think.

No massive difference really, fronts are identical and the rear calipers are push back pistons not wind back so easy. Main difference with the rear brake set up is that the parking brake is shoes and therefore the disk type differs.
 
Just done my front pads, quite easy really. Going to do the rear pads tomorrow, now as it is a bit dark outside

Although I did spend 30 "extra" minutes undoing the hex bolts which hold the caliper on, because I didn't realise they were undone and just turning and turning!! Eventually I just pulled them out with some pliers

Seen the funny side of it though!!

Will not make that mistake again!!!

Schmee
 
They just spin inside the rubber boots don't they :lol: Make sure you plenty of red rubber grease in there mate.
 
They just spin inside the rubber boots don't they :lol: Make sure you plenty of red rubber grease in there mate.

Yes they just spin and spin!!

You mean the grease on the hex bolts correct? I have not got any at the moment, so will pick some up!!
 
Yes mate on the body of the bolts - those are the slider pins.
 
Looking at caliper rewinding tools there seem to be a number of different sizes available - does anyone know what I should be asking for if I want one to fit my 2005 Accord 2.0 tourer?

I'm ***uming I will need this tool for the front calipers, but not the back - is that correct?
 
You don't need a wind back tool for the tourer, only the saloon rear brakes.
 
You don't need a wind back tool for the tourer, only the saloon rear brakes.
The instructions at the start of the thread mention a caliper winding tool for front brake pad replacement - is that not the case?
 
The instructions at the start of the thread mention a caliper winding tool for front brake pad replacement - is that not the case?
Im sure Phil its only on the saloon rear you need a wind back tool ill double check.
 
Phil the caliper winding tool pushes the piston back, but you don't actually twist the piston back.

However on the saloon rear caliper you need to actually wind the piston back in.
 
He said it ;)
 
Im sure Phil its only on the saloon rear you need a wind back tool ill double check.
thanks a lot Brett - 'preciate it!
 
Phil the caliper winding tool pushes the piston back, but you don't actually twist the piston back.

However on the saloon rear caliper you need to actually wind the piston back in.
gotcha - thanks - I'll probably just resort to the time-honoured method of wedging something between the new pads and slowly opening the gap between them to force the pistons back into the caliper this methodology has worked many times on many motorbikes!
 
You definitely don't need it for the tourer front or rear.
Only on the saloon rears. Tourer and saloon have same set up on the front.
I just use a lump of wiood and a g clamp.
 
I've just followed these instructions to do front & rear pads and rear discs on my '05 2.0 ivtec tourer.

I can add a few tips to the instructions at the top, which were very useful:

When using the impact driver to remove the two small screws holding the brake disc in, make sure you're using the correct bit - it you use the wrong one (like I did) you'll just turn it into scrap metal. Fortunately I didn't turn the screw heads into cheese before I realised. No way will these screws be removed without an impact driver and your philips head no. 3!

When trying to take the disc off the wheel hub, if (like mine) they are corroded onto the hub, you ain't gonna shift them with a light tap with a hammer. Nor yet will you shift them with a massive whack with a hammer - take the easy option and get a couple of bolts which will screw into the holes on the disk and will slowly work the disc away from the hub as you tighten them. But do not try and use the caliper bolts for this (they look the same size) because the threads are different. The threads in the holes of the disc for removing the disc are a much coarser thread.

Also, do yourselves a favour and take the handbrake off before trying to remove the discs. Don't ask me how I know this!

Two very small corrections to the original thread - the bolts holding the caliper bracket to the knuckle ***embly are 14mm not 17mm, and he's right - they're a swine to loosen. The top caliper is held on with 12mm bolts not 14mm.

I bought pads for all 4 wheels and rear brake discs for just under £100 the lot - all EBC brand which I use for my motorbike and trust. I don't know if OEM stuff from Honda would have been a lot more - I didn't even find out how much they were.
 
Does anyone have a picture or diagram of where the springs go in the drum handbrake on the tourer? on mine a spring seems to be fouling the adjuster, so i'm not sure it has been put together correctly.
 
Last week I ordered new discs and pads, bought a wind back tool and impact driver but it was too wet to get out and do the work. I finally saw a break in the clouds Saturday evening, so jacked her up and took the wheels off. It was then I discovered that my full set of hex keys doesn't contain a 7mm to take off the caliper bolts. Went to my tooled-up neighbour who confirmed it's an odd size and he didn't have one either. Wheels back on and stomp back into the house.
Anyway, yesterday I went to Halfords and found this: brake caliper key. Didn't even know these existed but should do the trick nicely. Now if it would just stop raining I can try it out and report back.
 
Ok, so I did the front pads following this guide (thanks Alnug!) but not had time to do the rears yet. The brake caliper key worked a treat but winding the bolts out / in took a lot of time, and I wished I had a hex key for my ratchet as it would have been loads quicker.

I also spent the extra 20 mins trying to wind the bolts all the way out. When they poke out of the rubber boots by about 5mm give them a gentle pull and they'll slide out.
 
for cleaner, does this stuff work? Linky

Could find anything in Halfrauds that is specific to cars. :ph34r:
 
Top