Doing my own brakes (97 Accord) - need some advice
in [Automobiles]
|
Prev: 401 Graphics - Custom graphics & apparel!
Next: FS: 1992 Al Unser Jr. 1992 Valvoline "Galmer G92" Chevrolet Indy Car Promotional Sheet
From: techman41973 on 8 Sep 2007 18:44 I am a handy guy (engineering background) and I do quite a bit of my own work on my car (oil changes, electrical repairs, etc). I am considering doing my own brake work. With the miles I put on my car each year, I am servicing both front and rear brakes annually at a cost of close to $800. I know that servicing brakes on my own are risky, as my safety can be compromised. I am looking to hear from other "amateurs" who decided to do their own brakes and the problems they have encountered. Any tips and recommendations to quickly get up to speed would be helpfull. I have my service manual to my 97 Accord. Are their classes that any of you took to learn this from a professional? I know that rotors often need to be resurfaced professionally. Where do you guys go for that and how much does it usually cost? Are their videos that anyone would recommend?Since this is my only car, I am wondering if that means I need to keep spare rotors to swap out.
From: Elle on 8 Sep 2007 19:14 <techman41973(a)yahoo.com> wrote >I am a handy guy (engineering background) and I do quite a >bit of my > own work on my car (oil changes, electrical repairs, etc). > I am > considering doing my own brake work. With the miles I put > on my car > each year, I am servicing both front and rear brakes > annually at a > cost of close to $800. I know that servicing brakes on my > own are > risky, as my safety can be compromised. I am looking to > hear from > other "amateurs" who decided to do their own brakes and > the problems > they have encountered. One thing I learned (writing as an amateur also with an engineering background, though a fairly "hands on" one) is that it's hard to mess up brakes so badly that the risk is any greater than a random non-brake part failing and causing injury. Automotive brake systems are "mechanically tough" and have multiple redundancies in their design. Some 12 years after I started doing my own front brake pad replacements and rear brake inspections, I took one community college (vocational side) course on brakes. Mostly what it did is give me more practice at quickly getting apart and putting back together my 91 Civic's rear drum brakes and similar drum brakes. I replaced the front pads on my 91 Civic this past summer (after a somewhat exhausting do-it-yourself timing belt tensioner etc. replacement that went a bit amiss) and was amazed at how quickly I did them this time vs. the first time some 15 years ago. It took around fifteen minutes total, with five of those minutes going to put the front of my car on jackstands. Knowing exactly what tools will speed up the job helps immensely, of course. Some (all?) 97 Accord's have rear drum brakes. The shoes on rear drum brakes wear much more slowly than the front brake's pads. This is good, because the pads are much easier to change. I never had the rotors on my 91 Civic turned. The thickness is okay (a bit uneven), and they are a bit scored, but the brakes seem to work fine. Plus the car is likely only good for the proverbial (amongst those of us who drive cars into the ground!) "five more years." But YMMV, as far as wanting nicer rotors is concerned.
From: hls on 8 Sep 2007 19:15 <techman41973(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1189291496.188534.25890(a)19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com... I am servicing both front and rear brakes annually at a > cost of close to $800. That is AWFULLY expensive, I think > I know that servicing brakes on my own are risky, as my safety can > be compromised. I am looking to hear fromother "amateurs" who >decided to do their own brakes and the problems > they have encountered. Any tips and recommendations to quickly get up > to speed would be helpfull. I have my service manual to my 97 Accord. > Are their classes that any of you took to learn this from a > professional? I know that rotors often need to be resurfaced > professionally. Where do you guys go for that and how much does it > usually cost? Are their videos that anyone would recommend?Since this > is my only car, I am wondering if that means I need to keep spare > rotors to swap out. Years ago, I worked evenings and weekends as a mechanic to make extra money. I took classes and worked with professionals who could give me the benefit of their experience. As far as safety wise, be very careful how you get your car up on supports, and how you take it down. (You already know the supports MUST be robust) Sometimes rotors need to be resurfaced or replaced. BUT NOT ALWAYS If they must be resufaced, I take them to a local machine shop. I have dial indicators and micrometers which help me determine if the rotors are true and of sufficient thickness. I have a torque wrench to put the wheels back on properly. If you are having to re-do brakes annually, something seem suspicious. Pads usually last a lot longer than that. Rotors do too. What is your problem, or what are you trying to accomplish?
From: Dave on 8 Sep 2007 19:44 I'm gonna jump in here and offer general comments - I haven't done my Honda brakes yet but am close to doing so - I have done brakes on several other vehicles that I have owned and would recommend that you consider going ahead and do your own on the Honda - others may have more Honda-specific tips to suggest. from the diagrams I have seen, Honda rotors look to be quite simple to exchange - some vehicles have the rotors as part of the hub assembly and this would complicate the issue so that you would have to deal with bearings and greasing them and torquing them, etc - apparently Honda has taken the higher road and has the rotors as a removeable disk attached to the hub so we don't have to get into that. what has to be done is to remove the caliper (pads first) - take out a couple of screws holding the rotor in place - replace with a new rotor (or resurface your old one and replace) and reinstall the caliper and pads (probably new ones) - and you're done one thing to watch is master cylinder fluid level - you may have to compress the caliper piston (I use a C-clamp) to make room for new pads which have more thickness and this might overflow the master cylinder fluid level another thing to ware of is that you take care to hang the removed caliper so that it doesn't cause stress on the caliper hoses. to determine whether to resurface or replace you first may determine the remaining thickness of your rotors by miking them and comparing to min specs taking into consideration the condition of your rotors (i.e. if they are deeply scored and grinding them down to remove the scoring will make them too thin..) nowadays, it seems that resurfacing has taking a back seat to replacing (maybe it's more cost effective {if so, another sad state of affairs} and others will give advice about that) - but that seems to be the recommendations that garages I've dealt with offer - maybe it's simpler for them... spare rotors: I wouldn't think that's necessary - the only risk might be in getting things apart and discovering you need a part or something and have no way of getting to a parts place to get it because your car is on jacks.... think ahead here > don't get too heavily into the project that you can't back out and drive to the parts store. If you have no other way to get to a place to have rotors resurfaced, and you find they are below spec by preliminary inspection, have new rotors on hand. You can always put the new pads in and drive for a bit without destroying them immediately if your pads are shot. Also make sure you have the necessary wrenches on hand - I don't know yet about the Honda ones, but I got caught on my Taurus ones not have the correct size Torx bit. I'm sure someone here will post a link to a full-scale how-to for you. But these are my initial caveats for you to consider. As for your previous experience qualifications, I would say that you should have no problems since you can use tools and can read (the engineering part is only relevant regarding the literacy component - my son is an aerospace engineer ;-) Dave. <techman41973(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1189291496.188534.25890(a)19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com... >I am a handy guy (engineering background) and I do quite a bit of my > own work on my car (oil changes, electrical repairs, etc). I am > considering doing my own brake work. With the miles I put on my car > each year, I am servicing both front and rear brakes annually at a > cost of close to $800. I know that servicing brakes on my own are > risky, as my safety can be compromised. I am looking to hear from > other "amateurs" who decided to do their own brakes and the problems > they have encountered. Any tips and recommendations to quickly get up > to speed would be helpfull. I have my service manual to my 97 Accord. > Are their classes that any of you took to learn this from a > professional? I know that rotors often need to be resurfaced > professionally. Where do you guys go for that and how much does it > usually cost? Are their videos that anyone would recommend?Since this > is my only car, I am wondering if that means I need to keep spare > rotors to swap out. > -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
From: Scott Dorsey on 8 Sep 2007 21:10
techman41973(a)yahoo.com <techman41973(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >I am a handy guy (engineering background) and I do quite a bit of my >own work on my car (oil changes, electrical repairs, etc). I am >considering doing my own brake work. With the miles I put on my car >each year, I am servicing both front and rear brakes annually at a >cost of close to $800. I know that servicing brakes on my own are >risky, as my safety can be compromised. It's an easy job, and it's not hard to do right. If you are nervous about it, get a friend to show you. But really, just replacing pads is easy to learn from the Haynes manual. >I am looking to hear from >other "amateurs" who decided to do their own brakes and the problems >they have encountered. Any tips and recommendations to quickly get up >to speed would be helpfull. I have my service manual to my 97 Accord. >Are their classes that any of you took to learn this from a >professional? No, I watched my dad do it on our MGB when I was a kid, and that was all the training it took. > I know that rotors often need to be resurfaced >professionally. Where do you guys go for that and how much does it >usually cost? Are their videos that anyone would recommend?Since this >is my only car, I am wondering if that means I need to keep spare >rotors to swap out. How much do spare rotors cost? If they are cheap, just get an extra set. Follow the directions in the manual and measure the rotors with a micrometer (I actually cheat and use a vernier caliper) to make sure they aren't too thin and aren't warped. On most cars you won't need to resurface them unless they either get warped or they get wrecked by not replacing the pads soon enough. If you have access to a bench lathe at work, you can use it to resurface the things. But if they are cheap, just replace them if you see any signs of problem. Ask someone at work who works on their own car to show you. It's an easy job to do. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |