Hi, I have a 95 Accord EX 4 cylinder, the front rotors are warped and the back are rusted. I would like to replace all the rotors and pads on the car. From what I understand the front are somehow attached to the axle and are not easy to replace, the rear I think are pretty simple they just bolt on from the front. I change my own oil and have replaced brake rotors on a old old Dodge truck. If you could put it on a scale of 1 to 10 on how difficult it would be for someone with limited mechanic skills. What number would you give it? Any tips would also be appreciated. The dealer said it would be around $800.00 to do, thats a lot of money for a 95. Trying to figure out what my best option is.



Thank You
Damon

 

they say 800 because they are including the bearings also. i've done it without bearings and no comebacks though, you just need to be careful.

that car is designed so that if you overtorque the wheel lug nuts it won't warp the rotor. that is why it was done like that. but anyway,

if you are just doing the rotors you can do it yourself. all you need to do is remove the axle nut, separate the lower balljoint from the lower control arm and swing the knuckle outward. then remove the 4 12 point 10mm bolts holding the bearing to the knuckle. then you need a suitable driver to bang the bearing out of the knuckle. the driver needs to be as large as possible,you want to hit the outer race of the bearing, not the inner race. hitting the inner race will destroy the bearing.

after you get the bearing assembly out of the knuckle it's simply unbolt the old rotor from the hub, take it off, clean all the corrosion and rust from the hub, install the new rotor, clean the bearing housing in the knuckle very well(the bearing should fall back in with ease after cleaning) and bolt it all back together.


if you are doing the bearings you need to take the hub and bearing(with the rotor removed already) to a shop and have it pressed out and new bearing pressed in.

 

I've done brakes and rotors in the past on previous cars (including accords). However, I have a 95 accord and ended up taking it into a brake shop because the front rotors need to be machine pressed into the axle. $800 seems a bit excessive. I would find a local shop that has access to a press. I would pick up some high quality rotors and pads .....and see if they'll perform the labor on installing them. I had them replace my (original) front wheel bearings while they had the rotors seperated.

All the pads are very easy to do yourself. The rear rotors are much easier to replace (just a couple of screws to remove after taking off the caliper).

 

The rotors are not pressed into the axle. The only thing that is pressed together are the hub and bearing. You need to remove the hub/bearing, because the rotor slides in from behind.

The bearing is bolted into the knuckle from behind (where the axle enters). The problem that people have is that the bearing gets stuck in the knuckle, and this is where shops use different methodsget the rotor out.

1. You can undo the lower ball joint, axle nut, and tie rod end. There is a tool that you can buy (read the hub over rotors post in the DIY section) that basically fits over the back of the bearing where you can use a hammer to hit out the bearing. I think that a hockey puck is about the same diameter if you want to make one yourself. The advantage to this is that the bearing doesn't get damaged. Disadvantage, it takes time to take out the knuckle.

2. You basically do the same thing as above, but put in longer bolts into the back of the knuck and use a hammer to knock out the bearing/hub. Google "wagner brake fax honda accord" and the first hit has the pdf of the procedure. It basically has the same advantages and disadvantages.

3. Use a silde hammer to seperate the hub and bearing. This is quicker to do, but you will have to buy a new bearing.

 

omg, i can't believe that pdf has you using an impact hammer. that little hammer head is so useless to me. i bought it thinking the same thing, along with other uses. however, it doesn't do a thing against badly rusted stuff.

have you even tried getting the rotor/bearing assembly out a v6 accord?(96 & 97) heheh

 

Why not have the rotors checked to see if they can be machined in place? If rotors can be machined in place, this is far and away easiest and achieves same goal, no vibration during braking. Unless your rotors are badly rusted, this makes sense.

I recently did front rotors on my daughters Acura 2.2CL, basically a dressed up Accord, and it's a job. I think pulling the entire knuckle makes the job much easier, if you decide to replace the rotors. Get a good ball joint separation tool (not a fork tool!). Much better access to remove the wheel bearing assy from the knuckle. You can get some long bolts (good luck on this, I was not able to find any long 10x1.25mm bolts). I used the in-place bolts, backed them off a little and tapped modestly till I opened up some gap. Then a large drift (2-1/2"? socket) was used to drive bearing assy on out.

You'll need a good air impact or breaker bar w/ cheater pipe to break the axle nut. It can be a real bear to break.

good luck

 

Another alternative, if you can find someone who has the tool:
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/m_57048/tm.htm