peace2008

I’ve got a 2006 Civic and inspection is due in July. I am planning to buy a new car but can’t until like September. The car needs front brakes.

As a non-mechanic, would it be doable for me to buy the pads and maybe rotors and put them on myself? I’ve been able to throw a set on my car in the past but it wasn’t a Civic. Is there any special tools or knowledge I would need?

id likely use the internet to watch videos on how to do it.

I just wanted to know if anyone thinks it’s feasible. Thanks

mac25

It all depends on you, really.

It's a pretty easy task, so you shouldn't have any issues. The main pitfalls people hit are in not understanding how to bleed the air out of the brakes afterwards, and how to test/bed the pads in after.

There should be a few YouTube DIYs for your car.

Good luck.

peace2008

Thanks. I’ll look for some detailed videos. 👍🏼

EarleD

I never did any work on my car until recently. You tube is a great source of info. I did pads on my 2011 civic a month or so ago. Watched some you tube. Borrowed a jack and stands. Was surprising easy. Took under 30 minutes.

Now ive done transmission services, spark plugs and upgrades all light to led.

This site a great source on info. Many talented people willing to offer suggestions.

peace2008

I agree. It probably isn’t too complicated and people put just about everything on YouTube.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

A tool that I have always needed to remove rotors off any Honda of mine is an impact screwdriver (for the stupid rotor screws). I have an auto parts store one and it has worked great for many brake jobs. It's really the only time it gets used. 1/2" drive tools really help also. Some of the bolts can be hard to remove. Super easy job though.

peace2008

Thanks for the advice on the impact screwdriver!

peace2008

Does anyone know the correct socket to use for the bottom and top caliper bolts on the front of the 2006 Civic? I’d like to make sure I am ready with the sockets at the time I pull the wheel off. Thanks for everything!

Colin42

as long as you have a complete metric set you should be fine, haven't done brakes on an 8th gen but it should be similar to the older cars which is 17mm for the bracket and then 12 or 14mm for the caliper. if I'm remembering correctly.

peace2008

Great! Thanks.

peace2008

I just had another question if anyone could help. I got carquest wearever brake pads and there are some sort of shims they are in the box. Do they just go on easy or do I even need to use them?

At at the store I wanted to get the blue packets of whatever the stuff is you smear on the pad back to keep them quiet. The guy said I don’t need it cause I got these shims.

Im just confused. Do I use shims? If so I’m not sure how they fit on the pad and if I don’t, should I use that blue gel?

Thank you again.

Colin42

Use the shims, and personally i use a thin layer of the brake lubricant on the shims, and where the pad contacts the caliper. And lube up the slide pins

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

I do the same as Colin. Grease all contact points. Don’t need grease between the shim and pad but I grease the part of the shim that contacts the caliper piston.

peace2008

Ok thanks again. I hope when I go putting the pads on the caliper I can see exactly how to attach a shim.

Colin42

Should be pretty obvious once you get it apart, take pictures if you're worried about remembering how to put it back together

peace2008

That’s what I was hoping. Assuming there’s shims on it now, if that’s the case, I shouldn’t have an issue.

👍🏽

Colin42

There should be, I've only ever seen no shims when someone who had no idea what they were doing did the brakes

peace2008

your awesome Colin thanks