mililani

Hey guys,

I've got a 2001 Civic LX. I'm debating if I should DIY my own brakes and flush the brake fluid. How much did you guys spend on the parts? Looking at the DIY instructions on here, it looks like I need to spend a bit extra for the tools. My local mechanic wants $318 to do the whole thing including brake fluid flush. Worth it?

MindBomber

How much you spend on parts is entirely up to you; I'm using HPS+ pads with OEM brake fluid and that cost under $150 dollars, but you could probably do it for under a $100 in parts. I'd be surprised if your rear drums actually need to be changed, they last much longer than your front pads due to the brake bias.

It should take you under 30 minutes to change your front pads, even if its your first time doing brakes. You need a second person to pump your brakes when you bleed them, but thats also very simple and a bleeder bottle is about $10.

mililani

Thanks for the response. I'm wondering, in this generation Civic do are the brakes applied mostly towards the front in regular braking? After some reading, it seems like the rear drums are only used for the emergency brakes, but I'm not so sure. I can't find any info on the net.

By the way, do you know of a cheap OEM site for Honda parts? I used hondapartscenter.net before, but it seems like they're not longer around. They were pretty damn cheap.

sam68

iTrader: (2)

If I remember right front to rear braking ratio is like 75/25 maybe 85/15 at any rate fronts do the lions share. Couple good places for parts are

http://www.bernardiparts.com/Departm...vic-Coupe.aspx

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

sam68

iTrader: (2)

Also if you need rotors and pads for the front I found this deal rotors and pads $110 shipped. http://www.dezod.com/pd-dezod-motors...nomy-brake.cfm

MelJ

You can get decent aftermarket pads from Napa or AutoZone. I purchased a set of the former and some rotors. Can't remember the price, but it was less than 100 bucks. Mindbomber has pretty much everything covered though. You can bleed your brakes on your own if you get a kit from Harbor Freight. It's called the One Man Brake Bleeding Kit. For 4 bucks, it worked pretty damn well. I still had a friend there just in case of an emergency.

MindBomber

Majestic Honda has cheap OEM parts. I'd buy the brake fluid at your local dealership to save on shipping. http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/

MindBomber

Actually, now that I look at that picture I might be wrong.
Thats the way the proportioning valve was explained to me, could someone confirm this?

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

cost me $11 to do my pads hahaha and the front brakes do about 75% of the braking that is why you never use up the rear shoes/pads

ubnpast

iTrader: (4)

Try it yourself its easy to do. Aftermarket pads (I would either get semi metalic or ceramic), run from $22 to $50. They say the rotors need to be cut, but if they are smooth and dont shake when braking I usually leave them alone. You can get a vacumme bleeder that uses an air compressor (if you have one), its about $15 but well worth it. Also, what state do you live in?

combinatorix

The part itself is labeled...
FL - front left
FR - front right
-MC1 and MC2 - master cylinder
RR - rear right
RL - rear left

lazlong

too true. went to change the back pads at 156K and it wasn't even worth putting them in there was so little wear.

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

yeah with drums in the rear the shoes are pretty much there just for the parking brake. I have found that with discs in the rear you use them up a little faster but not by much.

turning rotors down now a days is almost pointless you can pick them up for so cheap with a lifetime warranty that it doesn't really matter. as long as you are not cracking the rotors at the track with a set of hawk blues or HP10's there is almost never a reason to worry about the rotors these cars are so light that they don't warp that often. disc's in the rear are a different story since they are so thin they have a tendency to warp but my guess is the majority of you guys in this thread aren't rocking rear discs

mililani

Wow! Thanks for all of the responses!

I live in California. I think the Harbor Freight kit sounds really good. I'm gonna order that and the front pads. One final thing, should I change the rotors as well? Is that recommended? I read that you need to change them if they are damaged due to low padding. I dunno. I guess bomerman19 has answered that question. Well, I guess I'll just look at the aftermarket pads and order the bleeder valves. If the rotors look effed up, I'll get a pair of those too.

Much thanks everyone!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I at least get my rotors re-surfaced when I do a pad change. You should be able to bring 'em in to a Pep Boys or something and have them do it for cheap. I was quoted at $15/rotor if I brought just the rotors in, $250 for all my rotors if I just dropped off the car.

MelJ

I had to get new rotors for my car because mine were warped. Car would shake if I had to brake if the car was going faster than 50. Is a resurface something that should be done? I know people who just change the pads, bleed the system, and go on about their day without any issues.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Or you got a good friend that'll tote your happy *** over there.. lol

I dunno, I resurface them so the new pads will have a fresh surface to work with instead of a surface that's been changed by the old pads. That in tandem with a proper bed-in procedure should maximize your braking performance.

That and my habit of replacing a gasket (or at least THOROUGHLY examining the gasket's integrity) every time I break the gasket's "seal" is my inner mechanical engineer coming out..

MelJ

Gotcha. Never hurts to be thorough. I went back to edit my post because I forgot that I usually have someone there when I do car work most of the time. I'll keep that rotor resurface in mind next pad change though.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Anyone know how good Hawk Performance brakes are?
I want to go with them since they seem decent and budget friendly

Anyone actually have experience with them?
Is the performance really good? There any noticeable brake dust?

Also
How hard is a brake pad replacement for our civics?

I've heard anywhere from a 15 minute quick replace, to a very dangerous job that if u screw up, you might kill yourself (lol?)

Vman455

^This. But the last time I changed brakes was on a Ram, with 15" rotors. Those things were expensive f***ers. With Civic rotors being so cheap, I figure it's worth the extra insurance to just replace them.

02civicsi02

I have hawks on my car and they are some of the greatest brakes in my eye. They are pretty expensive but they last a long time and go a great job on breaking. If you dont want much break dust cause the regular pads put off quite a bit then get the ceramic hawk pads.

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

there is no point at all to resurface the rotors on these cars first you only want to do it if they are warped and secondly they are so cheap it is a waste of money to resurface.

and to bleed the brakes you don't need a special bleeder valve or vacuum bleeder even though the $90 electric vacuum is nice all you need to bleed the brakes is a clear hose that will fit over the bleed screw a water bottle to catch everything an a friend to pump and hold the brakes for you.

hawk HP-S and HP+ pads are wonderful I used to run them all the time the only problem is the price but they are worth the price at least in the fronts. but I am sticking with my $11 pads till I break 300hp then I'll think about bumping up but I love My Brakes!!!! so cheap so amazing!!!

MindBomber

The Hawk Hps pads are totally worth it to me, I've had to slam on my brakes a few times to avoid an accident and I find the extra stopping power is a nice comfort.

If your on a serious budget though, I have a friend that just pulls his brake pads off cars at the scrap yard..

MelJ

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

^x2 the only reason I rock cheap pads is cause mine are so much bigger and I can still out brake hawk hps and hp+ pads. brakes are one of those things you shouldn't cheap out on that being said there is also no reason to over pay $100 a rotor or anything crazy like that

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Why is everyone so price concerned over hawk's then??

$48 shipped is not bad

I would spend 50 on maintenance anyday (Since things such as battery replacement, spark plugs, etc wont need replacing for a while)

I was told I had 3mm left on my stock brake pads, so thinking bout using hawks since ive seen so many great reviews on them

02civicsi02

Thats only for one set either the rear or the front. Its like 100 for both rear and front. Well guess it just depends if you have drums in the back or not.

Phantomd

with a car this light I buy the cheapest napa pads (tru-stop) and swap the pads.

if the rotors are not gouged or pulse then I DO NOT surface/turn the rotors...

brakes are very very easy, slightly harder then changing the oil.

bleeding the brakes insures you have no air in the system but I have ONLY bled brakes when I have to disconnect the caliper/cylinder and introduce air into the system. (adding this step makes the process much harder and introduces a safety risk if done improperly)

OH, and as a side note... those high performance pads are a lot harder on rotors and will wear them down faster then the cheap pads.

basically go cheap and dont worry.

OH, and pump the brakes a few times before you drive away, and keep an eye on the fluid level when you replace the pads. as you press the piston back in you will raise the fluid level. Brake fluid eats through paint like crazy, so dont let it spill.

sup_mario

Man I think it's up to you man...

bomerman19

iTrader: (1)

rear hawks are pretty much a waste on these car and you can only get them as pads for rear discs, the don't make shoe's for the drums. hawks for the fronts are awesome.

and these cars are anything but light. the older generations were light but the 7gen is a fat pig in comparison. on stock size pads I would recommend almost everyone run Hawk HPS. the Hawk HPS is an uprated street pad and really does very little to the stock rotor in terms of wear. it is not like a a set of HP+, blues, or HP10's ect... ect... and they don't kick up that much dust. and even HP+ are not that bad on wear

on the larger prelude size pads you can get away with being cheap and still having the braking force. but I would not go with cheap shitty pads for the stock size 7thgen civic pad.