I am going to be changing my friends rear brake pads and rotors tomorrow and was looking for any tips and tricks you might have. I have done over 20 brake jobs in the past but have been surprised a few times by different vehicles. Thanks in advance.

 

if you've done 20 nothing will come up you can't deal with

 

for the front rotors u need a 36mm socket to open the axle nut and also when u open the rotor plate u gonna have fun to take that out it will take a while to come out and keep trying to pull it out but if u have a pulley it will be nice

 

No... Beginning in 1998 Accord front rotors are mounted outside the hubs. No need for the hassle of the older Accord hub-over-rotor setup.

Rear calipers have the handbrake auto-adjust mechanism inside. DO NOT PRESS THE PISTONS STRAIGHT IN. Do not use the big C-clamp like you would use on the front rotors. The pistons have to be twisted to retract. You'll find a big slot (or cross?) in the face of the piston, you can use a huge screwdriver or something like a putty knife. Watch the rubber dust boots, so they don't twist & tear.

 

I concur with the "screw in" calipers on the rear axle. I found out, probably on this forum after a lot of c-clamping and cussing. Big "X" on the caliper to screw it in. I looked for parking brake adjustment, but they just seemed to be OK after the brake job (?).

LVP in Cincinnati
'03 Accord 4cyl EXL

 

LVP, they were probably OK because they auto-adjust. Here's a shot at the handbrake adjustment...

Twist the pistons in only enough to clear the new thicker pads & rotor. If you twist them in all the way, the auto-adjuster will take a long time to take up the slack. You have to point the slots so that the little pin on the brakepad backing plate slides into the slot.

Make sure the handbrake cable works smoothly. Some handbrake problems are really corrosion inside the cables, etc...

Consider new handbrake springs; sometimes the heat & age will weaken them. But they are on the outside, so they are very easy to replace later without much extra work.

When it's all together, work the handbrake up & down about a hundred times.

But 98jeepzj is probably already finished, right?