Civic Type-R Owners Club & Forum

This is my "How to" method of changing rear brake pads on our CTRs.
If you feel confident enough to take the job on it's straightforward taking approximately 30 mins.
If you're unsure then please don't try this at home because the braking system is the most important safety related issue on the car, and this job requires a moderate skill level in auto technology.

Tools required are:
19mm wheelbrace (the 1 in the toolkit will do) and locking nut key
17mm & 12mm combination spanner
Cars body jack, or preferably a trolley jack
Axle stand(s)
Brake piston wind back tool (not essential) like 'Franklin TA890'
Brake pad grease

1 Place the car on an even surface with the handbrake on and slacken off the wheelnuts.



2 Chock the opposite side front wheel, using blocks or weights like these if you're tuff an well 'ard



3 Jack up the car and place an axle stand under the suspension arm, then remove the wheel and put it aside. Yes, I know, I'm cheating but a trolley jack makes it easier
Now release the handbrake.


4 Undo the top and bottom caliper to carrier bolts using the 12mm spanner, and holding the sliding pin with the 17mm spanner.



5 Undo the flexible brake hose mounted to the suspension using the 12mm spanner. (It's easier if you have a 12mm socket and ratchet)



6 Start to wind back the piston, so that the new and thicker pads will fit in, until a firm resistance is felt. You can also use a G clamp and a pair of mole grips to turn and push the piston back instead of this tool.



7 Make sure the piston looks exactly like this when wound back.
This is because the back of the inner pad has a pip on it that lines up with the piston, so if the piston isn't at 12 o'clock, it won't fit over the pads!



8 Here's that pip.



9 Remove the pads, and when re-fitting, apply a small amount of high melting point grease (copaslip or similar) to the top and bottom of the pads as seen here.



Refit the caliper once the pads are in and then refit everything in reverse order from 5 to 1
Do the same for the other side and that's the job done and dusted

As you can see, I've not replaced my pads, but illustrated "How to" do them, and hope it explains it to you.
If anyone has any questions feel free to post below or pm me.

Once again Bilko delivers!

Top man!

EvoStu.

Excellent Billy boi - the things u get up to whilst bored on a Saturday afternoon, when some of us are out earning the corn

But is it me, or can I see an error on photograph 1 ?

Wonder if anyone else has spotted it yet

Wouldn't be the rotation is the wrong direction would it

Erm who fitted the tyres? Please don't say you swapped the wheels from one side of the car to the other!

Oh, and how the hell do you get your wheels that clean!!

Top marks to Chris and Andy

Yes, I swopped the wheel from left to right as my 'Deliberate Mistake' but that was only for the photo

Oh and Andy, those wheels haven't been washed since Monday so they look cleaner than they actually are (exhaust doesn't look to shabby though' )

Deliberate mistake? We believe you!

But really, no matter how hard i try theres no way i can get my wheels that clean, of course the kerb marks from letting the bloody woman drive it dont help! How do you do it?

btw nice 'how to'!

andyx1x wrote:Deliberate mistake? We believe you!

But really, no matter how hard i try theres no way i can get my wheels that clean, of course the kerb marks from letting the bloody woman drive it dont help! How do you do it?

btw nice 'how to'!

Should never let a woman drive your most prized possession, because this is what happens. I think he keeps his wheels so clean just to prove a point that his wheels are bigger than mine

But seriously though, when out cruising round the ghetto, it is not good form to have dirty wheels - hence why they are soooo shiny

And of course, there's the added fact that he's paid some good $ to own a nice car, so he wants to keep it that way

I wouldn't advise using a G clamp. Instead i used some thin spanner to lock in the cross and turn the piston back in.

I've now fitted the pads and some how the handbrake doesnt seem to wanna work. When I pull the handbrake lever up it doesnt feel as stiff as before and I can now push the car with it on.

Trung wrote:I wouldn't advise using a G clamp. Instead i used some thin spanner to lock in the cross and turn the piston back in.

I've now fitted the pads and some how the handbrake doesnt seem to wanna work. When I pull the handbrake lever up it doesnt feel as stiff as before and I can now push the car with it on.

That sounds like the pads need "bedding in" for a few miles, then your handbrake efficiency should improve. I actually caused a squeak to appear from the rears after that "how to" demo

It's quite normal for this situation you appear to have to occur, so unless you've got sticking cables or calipers, it should be ok in a couple of hundred miles

VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE CROSS IN THE PADS TO LINE UP WITH THE CALIPER!!!

Mine aparently were not and when I took it in for a service, they tighten the handbrake which caused the pad to rub against the disk and I was minus 1/3 of my pad material + tons and tons of smoke just a few miles later. Dealer refused to do anything simply saying they were fitted incorectly and that the cross's need to line up exactly or else this happens.

Here's hoping none of you have the same experience

THanks guys.
I've just come back from a couple of miles drive. The handbrake lever has automatically tighten itself up.

Miracle wrote:VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE CROSS IN THE PADS TO LINE UP WITH THE CALIPER!!!

LOL! see pic 7

Glad you got it behaving itself now Trung, it'll get better with more mileage

mr bilko! wrote:

Miracle wrote:VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE CROSS IN THE PADS TO LINE UP WITH THE CALIPER!!!

LOL! see pic 7

Glad you got it behaving itself now Trung, it'll get better with more mileage

Great, i try and save you some agro and you laugh at me

Miracle wrote:

mr bilko! wrote:

Miracle wrote:VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE CROSS IN THE PADS TO LINE UP WITH THE CALIPER!!!

LOL! see pic 7

Glad you got it behaving itself now Trung, it'll get better with more mileage

Great, i try and save you some agro and you laugh at me

Calm down mate, I wasn't laughing at you as I presumed (rightly or wrongly) that the dealer had fitted the pads for you and they didn't get it right

So are you saying that yours didn't line up from new? because if that's the case, it's a poor show IMO

No probs, I had a really stressful day and I was caused a lot of grief from this incident. Pads were changed by my local mechanic, then car was taken for a service a few days later. Anyway it's all history now

Just fitted them using this guide, big thanks to Bilko :thumbup:

If I havent lined up the cross with the pip would I know about it as they are fine now, but is it something that may affect the brakes?

DD, if you hadn't lined it up properly you'd still be outside trying to put the caliper back on, if it's squint it just won't fit so you've nothing to worry about

dieselpower wrote:DD, if you hadn't lined it up properly you'd still be outside trying to put the caliper back on, if it's squint it just won't fit so you've nothing to worry about

Jolly good, will be doing my own pads from now on then

9 Remove the pads, and when re-fitting, apply a small amount of high melting point grease (copaslip or similar) to the top and bottom of the pads as seen here.

Sorry, I don't see what you mean by "top and bottom" of the pads. Where do you apply the grease? What is the purpose of the grease? Thanks.