Newb4159

Hey guys, i am completely new to doing any work on my car. I got a used manual civic handed down by my brother and I need to work on it. I have watched many videos on how to replace brakes since its one of the easiest things to do, so i heard. I just need the right tools so if anyone could be very specific as to what tools are needed. I can't afford a compete set of tools now but I plan on building my tool set as i go along. If you could also link to where i can buy the needed tools it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot!

Colin42

Front or rear?
Front I think its 14 and 17 for the caliper and bracket (If you plan on doing a lot of your own work you should buy decent a socket set), I use a big pair of channel locks and an old pad to push the piston back. For bleeding the brakes line wrenches are a good idea since they grip better.

Rear hammer to loosen up the drum and then 10mm bolts in the threaded holes to back it off. There's special drum tools you can buy but i just use a pocket screwdriver, side cutters, and a couple different pairs of small needle nose plies for all the hardware. Line wrench for bleeding. and I think its a 12 or a 14 for the wheel cylinder. You should be buying a whole socket set anyways so as long as you make sure you buy one with metric sockets you should be fine.

Brake lube on parts that rub together, use sparingly.
Good penetrating fluid for rusty bolts and bleeders.

mikey1

- a good socket set with extensions (metric)
- a breaker bar makes things a lot easier loosening those bolts
- a large c-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper
- jack and jack stands

you might also need an impact driver to get the stubborn screws out of the rotors, unless you wanna drill them out, its pretty near impossible with a screwdriver

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

if you're gonna work on your car and you can't quite afford a full set, get yourself, at the very least, the following socket sizes:
8mm, 10mm, 12mm (bonus points if you get a 12-point socket. still works with regular hex bolts/nuts), 14mm, 17mm, 19mm, 21mm. You can pretty much take apart your entire car with those socket sizes. Combo wrenches of the same size will do you well, too.

Furthermore, a 3" and 12" extension for said sockets. And a decent screw driver. I seriously use one of those flip-flop 6-in-1 stanley screwdrivers from wally world. It's done me well over the last decade. As far as the stubbord screws mikey mentioned, impact bits, a 1/4" socket, your trusty socket wrench, some PB blaster, and a good amount of leverage (e.g. brace against something and put your weight into the top of the socket) has worked for me.

Also, for the caliper bolts, where you can't quite fit a breaker bar, a mini sledge on a box end wrench does wonders for breaking it loose.

A bottle of anti-seize (silver paste crap that gets everywhere. lol) works wonders for future mechanicing on those parts. Make sure you tighten the bolts properly, however, so they don't vibrate themselves loose. A torque wrench, albeit potentially spendy, is your best friend.

One more thing, a can of brake cleaner is good to have.

ezone

I can't think of a single item that uses a 21mm on a.....well, any stock Hondas. If there is, I forgot all about it. Jar my memory?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Something on the sub frame or front LCAs, I think. I have a neuspeed lower x-brace that uses stock hardware to mount. 2 are 19mm, 2 are 21mm. That is, however, if I remember correctly. They very well could be 17 and 19mm, but I do believe they're 19 and 21

teezyyoxo

lol, i used my impact phillips bit (because my impact driver is broken) and a hammer to hit it, and then the "V" end of the hammer to unscrew it. strange, unconventional, but worked like a charm.