How to Replace Front Brakes 1994-2005 Honda Civic
Created on: 2012-07-17
Learn how to remove, clean, prepare, and install brake pads, rotors, and other brake parts with the help of the 1A mechanics in this video
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step 1 :Removing the Wheel
- Loosen the 19mm lug nuts with the vehicle on the ground
- Raise the vehicle with a floor jack
- Secure the vehicle on jack stands
- Remove the lug nuts
- Pull off the wheel
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step 2 :Removing the Brake Pads and Rotor
- Remove the two Phillips screws from the rotor
- Unbolt the two 12mm caliper bolts from the caliper bracket
- Pry the brake pads into the caliper with a flat blade screwdriver to push in the pistons
- Pull the caliper aside
- Remove the brake pads
- Unbolt the 17mm bolts from the caliper bracket
- Remove the caliper bracket
- Remove the rotor
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step 3 :Installing the New Brake Pads and Rotor
- Clean the rotor with brake parts cleaner
- Mount your new rotor onto the hub
- Apply a dab of anti-seize grease to the Phillips screws
- Tighten the Phillips screws to the rotor
- Clean the brake pad slides with a wire brush
- Mount the caliper bracket onto the rotor
- Apply grease to the brake pad tabs
- Use a large C-clamp and the old pad to push the pistons back
- Put the caliper on
- Apply grease to the caliper bolts
- Thread bolts by hand
- Torque the caliper bracket bolts and the caliper bolts to 74 foot-pounds
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step 4 :Reattaching the Wheel
- Slide the wheel into place
- Start the lug nuts by hand
- Tighten the lug nuts preliminarily
- Lower the vehicle to the ground
- Tighten the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds in a crossing or star pattern
Tools needed
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12mm Socket
Large C-Clamp
Torque Wrench
17mm Socket
Jack Stands
19mm Socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
Phillips Head Screwdriver
Anti-Seize Grease
Ratchet
Wire Brush
Floor Jack
1/2 Inch Breaker Bar
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Hi, I'm Jeremy from 1AAuto. I'm going to help you fix your car today, and the next time you need parts for your car think of 1AAuto.com. Thank you.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the front brakes on a 2003 Honda Civic. It's pretty much the same for a 2001-2005 Honda Civic. The tools that you'll need for this job include a jack and jack stands, 19mm socket and breaker bar, 12mm wrench, 17mm wrench, Phillips screwdriver, large c-clamp, wire brush, some anti-seize, and a torque wrench.
The first step is to break the lug nuts loose, and you do that by leaving the car on the ground so that the wheel doesn't spin when you lift up on it. Here we go. Now we're going to raise the car up and take the wheel off. Now we're going to pull it off.
The next step is to pull these two screws out of the rotor. Normally they're stuck in there really tight, so I try to use a screwdriver first, and then go on to more drastic measures if need be. These are actually coming out.
The next step is to remove these two 12mm bolts that hold the caliper to the caliper bracket. You can use a ratchet or the style wrench. One trick is to connect the two wrenches together, and then bump them with your fist so you can pull them out. The next thing I like to do is pull the caliper really hard toward me so that it compresses the piston inside the caliper. It makes the caliper loose, making it easier to remove. Remove the caliper.
Now we can take the brake pads out. These ones are in pretty good shape, so we'll probably end up putting these right back in. Then you're going to take off the caliper bracket, which, once again, you can use the same method of linking the wrenches together to break it loose. Now the caliper bracket is off.
Now that we have the caliper bracket off, we can take off the rotor, as you can see.
For reinstall, place the rotor back on the hub. Apply a little anti-seize to the Phillips screws, and put them back in the rotor. Clean up the brake pad slides to make sure that they're not going to make the brake pad bind up and cause uneven brake pad wear. Now we have the caliper bracket that needs to go back on.
Then we can put the bracket right back on after it's nice and clean. We are now ready to put the brake pads in. Normally, they're brand new and you can just slide them in, where this one is used. I'm probably going to put a little anti-seize on this as well. It does exactly what it is called, and it prevents the brake pads from sticking in the slides. You can see the squeaker right here. This is the thing that makes all the noise whenever you need new brake pads. That goes right here on the inside. You're going to need to compress this caliper. The best way to do that is actually with a giant C-clamp. As you can see, as you tighten the C-clamp, it pushes the piston in. Pretty awesome, right? Now it's completely compressed and you can pull the C-clamp out.
Like I said before, put the caliper on. Here's the caliper bolts. Once again, anti-seize. If you live in a dry climate, these things won't be rusty, but in New England, they're always rusty. Voila, your brakes are back together again.
It's now time to put the tire back on. Slide the wheel into place and tighten the lug nuts preliminarily. Lower the vehicle to the ground. The last step is to torque the wheels. I usually a hundred foot-pounds on pretty much all the wheels that I tighten. Basically, grab your torque wrench, always do it in a cross pattern so that the wheel goes on straight. Now the pedal's pumped and the brakes feel good again.
Hopefully this video has helped you out. You can visit us at 1AAuto.com for replacement parts and the best service on the internet.
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