pjw73nh

Greetings, 07 EX. 80k miles. We bought it with 36k. I THINK the brakes were done just before we purchased it, but I am not sure.

Recently, the car has developed a very very slight ticking that is commensurate with wheel speed, but appears to happen only when braking. I hear it faintly from the right front. Does not sound deep or sharp enough to be a CV joint. It is very very quiet.

The next day, I noticed a very odd sound when backing out of the driveway. It sounded like a rubbing resonant medium to low pitch howl. It seemed to be coming from the right rear and was commensurate with wheel speed. I know the brake wear indicator sound of most cars, but I have not heard a Civic before. The other cars I've heard sound like a high pitched squeal or a hiss. This sound is neither. It is more of a howling sound.

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

P.../NH

ezone

Sounds like it is time to get the brakes inspected.
Expect a brake job for each axle.

HTH

pjw73nh

Yep. Had a look-see last night. It appears to be both rear brakes. i think its the wear indicators. I am going to buy a set of forts and rears ans do them this weekend.

Are there any "gotchas" or things to be aware of. I've done lots of brake jobs in my time (drum and disc), just not Honda.

Any recommendations for pads? These are OEM and they have worked just great. Aftermarket (autozone) OK?

Any good DIY's or vids?

I am going to look now.

Tnx

P.../NH

ezone

Just like any other. Be observant. Your life (and the lives of others) is in your hands.

I have seen people that do nothing but brakes, for years, and still get stuff wrong every time.

The pistons on the rear calipers turn in clockwise, and you must clock the slot in the correct place to match up with the pin that sticks out of the inboard pad.

I make sure the sliding pins move freely, pull them out and lube with dielectric silicone, check the boots, grind off any rust, clean out hardened grease.

The pads jam in place, they seize up due to rust buildup (I'm in the rust belt here).
I pull the stainless shims off the ends of the caliper brackets and grind all rust off of the bracket and the shims. Then grease the steel before reinstalling the shims. This keeps the pads free moving.


If the OEM was "just great", why use anything different?

OEM only here.
Aftermarket causes noise complaints far too often for me. I know exactly what to expect from factory parts.
An OEM set comes with Moly grease, and all the shims for the pads.
It's up to you.

HTH

pjw73nh

Ezone, Thank you for taking the time time to reply. I appreciate it.

Unfortunately, I already did the backs about 6 hours ago. They were down to the indicators. All went well except with the new pads, it was hard to maneuver the caliper onto the frame. It felt as it the e-brake cable or brake line was restricting the movement of the caliper such that it would not fit "squarely" on the frame. I eventually got it.

That said, I KNOW I did not "clock" the piston to align the studs with the slots. I don't remember seeing any studs on the new pads. But they could have been there and I just didn't notice. I used the mid-grade ceramic pad from Autozone. Before I drive it (any further than I already have) or tear it apart again, I am going to go to Autozone and see if they have a second set of the same pads that I can look at to see if they had studs. If they have studs, I'll tear it apart on the weekend. I have to check the fronts too.

The slide pins were fine, I DID scrape the stainless retainers and clips clean with a razor blade and brake cleaner. Also lubed with Raybestos silicone lube.

Thanks for the tips. I truly appreciate it.

P..../NH (Also in the rust belt).

ezone

You should be able to see the "pin" at the top center of each of the pads that have the squealer tabs (inboard pads) in this pic.

The slot in the piston must fit over that pin. If it doesn't, then the piston pushes on that pin and the pad will wear really crooked, and can cause odd wear on the rotor.

I think that even the ChinaZone pads should have the same pin.

pjw73nh

Thanks for the pics. I am only concerned with the pin at the TOP right. Not the one on the side? I'll know more tomorrow.

ezone

Correct.
The other 2 pins are to hold the wear indicator tabs. They are nowhere near the piston when assembled.

pjw73nh

UPDATE: I took the rears apart again on Sunday. I scored 50/50 on Thursday. One side the slot was aligned, the other one I had to re-do. Not a big deal.

I checked the fronts while I had the air gun and jack out. Sure enough, they were ready. Did them both. (no studs on the fronts) :-)

Thanks ezone.

P.../NH

PS. What is the significance of the slots and the stud?

ezone

It locks the piston so it can't turn whenever you pull the handbrake.

pjw73nh

Thanks. So when DOES the piston turn? With each application of the brakes (providing there is enough wear to allow the piston to "adjust"?

Also, not that I would have left it, but if I HAD left the one side with the stud NOT engaged in the slot, would the piston eventually engage it?

Thanks.

ezone

So when DOES the piston turn? With each application of the brakes

The piston could only turn with the handbrake application, not pedal application.
EDIT: I couldn't even vouch that it turns when the handbrake is used. Never looked. But the pins are there for a reason.

(providing there is enough wear to allow the piston to "adjust"?

That isn't how it works.
Also, not that I would have left it, but if I HAD left the one side with the stud NOT engaged in the slot, would the piston eventually engage it?

No. Never seen one do that, they always have a badly worn top edge because the slot never engages.

pjw73nh

Ezone, tnx for the explanation. And yes, I can vouch for the top edge wear. When I took the pads out to align the slots, the top edge was VERY worn from just 50 miles of driving. All is well now.

pjw73nh

Update:
OK Folks, where did I screw up?

You can follow the history of my saga above. In short, my first Honda brake job. Didn't realize the pads had "polarity" (studs). Through the brain trust of this forum, I was set straight. I rechecked the pads and I discovered I got one right, one wrong, I corrected the wrong one after 50 miles.

Because the rotors had plenty of meat left on them, I didn't turn or replace them. I gave them a cursory sanding with an orbital sander, and re-installed them.

After 100 or so miles, I noticed the pads were not making full contact with the rotors. Certainly not like the OEM ones. I let them go another few thousand miles to see if they would eventually bed in and make full contact. Well, here it is 18 months and many K miles later, and they still don't make full contact.

See pix here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/pjw73nh...eat=directlink

Recently, I parked next to a similar year/model and had a look at THEIR pads/rotors. Full contact.

So where did I mess up? Wrong pads for the car? (Physically, they matched up pretty good to the old ones). Wrong application of the pads? (Materials) Not turning/replacing the rotors ?

The brakes are working great, no errant vibrations, noises drag, etc. E-brake works fine. Even if I apply it while driving it does an excellent job of stopping and holding the car.

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

ezone

I got a huge 500 Error from the link.

pjw73nh

Ezone, not sure what the issue is, but I copied the link from here and sent it to a handful or others and they can see it fine.

Maybe try again ? Here is the full link:
Copy, Paste and add an "H" to the beginning.


ttps://picasaweb.google.com/pjw73nh/HondaCivicBrakeWear?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMD92 ej8kNiriQE&feat=directlink

ezone

Google Error 500 INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR

Unable to process request.

ezone

same thing, 2 different computers, one at home and now at work.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Certainly something going wrong.

Just don't understand people and 3rd party parts.... you cannot win.

ezone

I see the pic now, thanks Craig.

Erm, slap on a set of good quality(?) rotors. I'd say pads too, just to be safe.

Once they have rusted like that, they don't seem to stop. You'd have to make a deep cut on a lathe to reach 100% fresh metal, and that would probably put it below minimum thickness spec..

EDIT: Also peel the clips off and clean out the rust in the bracket so the pads are free to move. They should not be in a bind.

rgar98

The slot in the piston must fit over that pin. If it doesn't, then the piston pushes on that pin and the pad will wear really crooked, and can cause odd wear on the rotor.

This is exactly what happened to me. The pad does not contact the rotor on the outer edge.... finally figured it out.