How to Install Rotors & Brake Pads

Once you have the brake assembly apart and the old brake components out, be sure that you are installing the new rotors and brake pads correctly. Some service manuals do not cover this procedure in great depth. If you do not take a few precautions when assembling your brakes, they could fail. Since the braking system is a critical system in your vehicle, it helps to fully understand how to install rotors and brake pads correctly.

Instructions

1

Slide the new brake rotor over the hub assembly. On most makes and models of vehicles, the rotor is held in place by the caliper and the wheel. On Honda vehicles, however, there are two retaining screws that you must insert into center of the rotor and tighten.

2

Insert the new brake pads into the caliper assembly. There are two pads per caliper assembly. The calipers will only fit one way so you must arrange the orientation so that they fit properly in the caliper. The pads themselves are held in place with retaining clips. The tabs on the ends of the brake pads fit into the retaining clips and the curved end of the pad should be facing the center or inner portion of the caliper with the pad material on both pads facing each other. Once the caliper is fitted with the pads, it is a "loaded caliper."

3

Slide the loaded caliper over the brake rotor.

4

Place a small amount of thread locker onto the threads of each of the caliper mounting bolts. Insert the bolts into the mounting bracket holes and tighten them. Check your vehicle's service manual for the exact torque specification on these bolts. However, a general rule of thumb is to tighten the caliper mounting bolts until you feel significant resistance in the bolt. They will be "mostly tightened." Then, turn the bolts an additional 1/4 turn for a final tightening. The thread locker will help to prevent the bolts from loosening during normal braking vibration.

5

Spray the entire brake assembly with brake parts cleaner. This substance is a solvent that will remove brake dust, residue (from grease), grease, oil, and other debris. It will also strip paint, so do not get any brake parts cleaner on any painted surface.

6

Slide the wheel over the hub assembly. Line up the studs on the wheel hub with the holes on the wheel and slide the wheel on. Thread the lug nuts onto the wheel studs and tighten them down until you feel significant resistance in the lug nuts.

7

Jack up the vehicle using the front jack point just enough for you to remove the jack stands and then lower the vehicle to the ground.

8

Place the socket end of the torque wrench over each lug nut and torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-lbs. Do not over torque lug nuts. Tighten the lug nuts in a criss-cross pattern. For example, tighten one lug nut and then tighten the nut directly across from that nut. Continue the process until all lug nuts have reached the proper torque specification.