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Hey everyone, my brakes are really doing weird things. First off, it is my front brakes. They keep squeaking even after I disassemble them, clean the brake pads, and then clean the disc. I have this other weird noise that my right front brake makes which is like a constant squeal when you press on the brake at low speeds. I don't know how to get rid of them, do you all have any ideas? Also, My father thinks that my front brakes are doing all the work and the rear ones aren't. He says this because when we were taking apart my brakes, he says that my discs were unusually hot for just riding around in the neighborhood. He has been working on cars for a long time and when he touched my rear drum brakes, they were chilled, not even hot. Does anyone know about out brakes and if this is normal? Thanks!

 
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Did you put the anti-squeek goo on the back of the pads when you replaced them?

 
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Front disc brake squeeks are caused from vibration between the caliper and pads, did you do what Flotsamm asked and use disc brake quiet? Did you make sure that the clips were installed correctly and didn't slip out? Also your father could be correct about your rear brakes, I had to have mine adjusted with only 3000 miles on my car and it made a big difference in the brake pedal feel. But front brakes are always going to take up most of the stopping power and get hot quickly. I've never had a problem with squeeking brakes, and I know from working in the field that it can be very nerve wracking.

 
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The squeeking is probably what has been suggested. You need this silicon grease on the back side of the pads and underneath that one shim. I hope you have that shim in there too, that's supposed to prevent squeels as well. The front brakes take most of the load when stopping. Think about it. When you press on the brakes the car's weight shifts forward (when traveling forward). That means that the front brakes have more work to do than the rear brakes. Not just that, but our cars also have more weight up front than in back. That's why upgrading your front brakes is the best bang for the buck. Upgrading to disc brakes in back is more for looks. It does help a little with braking, but not as much as a front brake upgrade would. Anyway, getting a little off subject...

 
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Has anyone adjusted the rear brakes? Is it like most domestics with the little wheel that usually dosn't auto adjust anyway? I might crack them open today if someone can confirm that a rear adjustment might be helpful, I'm experiencing reduced braking response with 35,000km and I've don't the front service myself.

Thanks. Craig.,

PS: I'll get the scoop on that new Turbo'ed silver civic that GREY was talking about the other day. He runs a shop in town.

 
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You can adjust the rear brakes but you have to remove the drums, there is a small "self adjuster" wheel. It takes a little time but its worth it, first just turn the adjuster one click and replace the drum, turn the drum by hand, if it turns freely with no resistance, remove the drum and turn the adjuster one click again and repeat until you get just a slight resistance of the brake shoes rubbing against the drum, but not to much resistance as to where you really have a hard time turning it. When you get to this point replace everything and test drive, you'll notice that your brake pedal will be much higher and your parking brake will be tighter. I did this to my car when it had only 2,000 miles on it, now i have over 12,000 miles and it still works great.

 
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How do you remove the drum? Take off the wheel and then what? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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Then you have to remove the rear wheel bearing, and then pull the drum off. Thats why I said it takes a while to do it, but worth it!

 
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Rear wheel bearing? Which part is that and how do you remove it? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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Sorry Grey I was confused here because I just worked on my friends Corrola. Here is how you remove a brake drum from a Honda Civic. After you remove the wheel remove the dust cap on the drum exposing the spindle nut-NOTE: YOU DO HAVE TO DO THIS BUT YOU'LL HAVE A LOT LESS ROOM TO WORK WITH, and remove the nut,(you'll need to replace it with a new one if your going to do it corrctly because it is a saftey thing. You will see 2 threaded holes in the drum, use 2, 8x1.25mm bolts and screw them into the bolt holes. As you slowly and evenly screw the bolts in the drum with a ratchet and socket or wrench,the bolts will pry the drum from the hub and it should pop, then you can remove the drum by hand. Then you can adjust the brakes, but like I said only go one click at a time becaue if you go to far the drum won't go back on, then you have to back up the adjuster which can be a pain.

Edit:spelling

 
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Okay, thanks.

One other question, will adjusting the rear brakes make the parking brake cable tighter? I already adjusted my parking brake to be tight, so I only have to pull up on it a little bit before the rear brakes engage. Will I have to loosen my arking brake cable before adjusting the rear brakes. Then when it's loose I would adjust the rear brakes and then again adjust the parking brake cable? Or does adjusting the rear brakes not affect this? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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First you might want to re-read my last post becasue I edited it and was trying to type fast and forgot to mention the spindle nut shortcut. And on the subject of the spindle nut make sure you buy a new one, and when you replace it make sure you use a drift or small chizle to dimple the nut, so it doesn't back out and your wheel falls off. You'll see what I'm talking about when you see the one on your car.

The parking brake shouldn't be affected, the only thing you'll notice is that the parking brake lever might not come up as high as it used to, but thats okay.

I didn't remove the hub bearing unit because I could get to the adjuster with my flat brake adjuster tool, (a flat screw driver should work also) The adjuster will only move in one direction and it will move in a opposite direction on the opposite side. Do you follow? Let me know if you need more info.

 
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Okay, I think I understand everything. The cap that you're talking about is that ~1.5" diameter one that's shiny in the center, right? Do you just pop that off with a screwdriver? About the nut... Do you happen to know what size it is? I guess it doesn't matter though since I'll just take the old one in to Lowe's to do a comparison. I can borrow my sister's car. When you chisel it, do you mean that you flare the end to prevent it from backing out? If I do that will I ever be able to take it off again? Maybe I should use Loctite instead? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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Yes the shiny cap will pop off with a screw driver and light tapping with a hammer

The nut needs to be purchased at the Honda dealer, its a specail 22x1.5mm nut which needs to be torqued to 119 ft. lbs.
and yes you need to use a drift or cizel to dimple the nut so it won't back out, (very important) You should replace the nut everytime you remove it but I've seen many people just use the old one and "re-dimple" it. Don't use Loctite, in fact if your replacing it with a new nut you need to apply a small amount of engine oil to the seating surface of the nut. (it helps when re-torquing it.) good luck and let me know how it turns out.

I didn't have to remove the hub bearing unit, you should try to do it first with just removing the drum, and if the drum is in the way then remove the hub bearing unit.

 
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Sorry to make this long and painfull but....

Is that nut really 119ft/lbs? On my old VW's, There was a big nut and it pressed on a washer that loaded a tapered bearing into a tapered seat on both the axle spindle and the drum. I only ever tightened that nut hand tight (5ft/lbs?) then put the castle back on (cotter pin setup), any tighter and the bearing would bind. Maybe the HONDA one is a different setup... Just seems really tight!
Craig.,

 
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Man I really need to get me a Helms manual. But yeah that sounds a little tight. Every time I've done brakes it used a cotter pin to hold the drum/disc on. like SiCoupe mentioned. You'd tighten the nut then back it off a little bit then stick the cotter pin in. This way the wheel will spin freely. Maybe the Honda is different. Also most rear brakes are self-adjusting, they should self-adjust when you reverse your car and hit the brakes. This is assuming your adjusters are working correctly. If not, typically there is a plug on the back of the drum assembly you can remove for manual adjustment to the brake shoes. I just looked at the back of mine and there is a rubber plug, again though I dont have a shop manual yet but I bet its for brake spooning the adjuster.

 
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Aha! So there is a rubber plug! I thought so. I read some other DIY's online and they mentioned something like this. I guess I'll check it out tomorrow. I'll write up a DIY if I figure it out.

 
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You guys have a adjuster plug and the backing plate or drum? My car has no plug anywhere not even a "knock out" plug.
[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/IMG] As far as 119ft lbs. you have to remember that your tightening the nut that holds on the "Hub Bearingh Unit" and thats what the manual calls for, if you have ever removed on you'll believe it. As to the self -adjusters, they work when you press on the pedal when the car ISN'T moving, the reverse adjusters were only common on most domestic cars.