Replacing a 1996 Honda Accord Brake Rotor

Your Honda Accord's brake pads press against the rotors when the brakes are applied. A rotor is made of iron due to its ability to absorb heat. Over time and use, this component wears with scoring, cracking, warping or fading, and will require servicing or replacement. Replacing the brake rotors is a fairly extensive procedure, but it can be done at home with the right tools.

Instructions

Removing the Brake Caliper

1

Loosen the lug nuts on each wheel with a tire iron. Raise the Accord with a jack and support it on jack stands. Remove the lug nuts. Work on one wheel at a time so that you will have an assembled brake system on the car to reference while working.

2

Remove the brake line and fitting with a socket wrench. Plug the fitting with a piece of tubing and carefully set it aside.

3

Unscrew the caliper bracket bolts and the mounting bolts with the wrench. Remove the caliper assembly and secure it with a piece of wire.

Removing the Old Brake Rotor

4

Remove the ABS speed sensor wire harness alongside the steering knuckle with the wrench. Unbolt and remove the sensor from the knuckle. Carefully set aside the sensor together with its connecting wire.

5

Unscrew the large drive-axle hub nut with a large socket and wrench. Hold a pry bar between the two wheel studs to keep everything still when loosening the hub.

6

Remove the cotter pin in the lower ball joint stud and castle nut. Turn the nut counterclockwise with the wrench to loosen the nut but do not remove it. Use a two-jaw puller to detach the lower control arm from the steering knuckle.

7

Move the knuckle/hub portion out from under your Accord and separate the drive-axle by pushing it through the assembly, exposing the end of the drive-axle. You may need to knock the hub loose with a rubber or brass mallet.

8

Hang a wire around the drive-axle end to prevent the inner CV joint from sagging.

9

Unbolt and remove the retaining bolts behind the hub assembly on the steering knuckle with the wrench. Remove the hub assembly.

10

Remove the mounting bolts that hold the rotor and hub together with a socket wrench. Hold the pry bar between two of the studs to keep the assembly from turning while unbolting it. Separate the hub and rotor.

Installing the New Rotor

11

Reassemble the new brake rotor with the hub in the reverse order of disassembly noted in Step 7 above. Reinstall the hub/new rotor assembly by reversing the procedure in Step 6 above. Slightly tighten all bolts in both steps with the socket wrench.

12

Torque the hub/rotor assembly bolts on the steering knuckle to 33 foot-pounds then torque the bolts that secure the hub to the rotor to 40 foot-pounds with a torque wrench. Reassemble the knuckle/hub components and the drive-axle by reversing Steps 3 through 5. Be sure to use a new cotter pin for the castle nut on the lower ball joint.

13

Reinstall the large drive-axle hub nut. Lower the car to the ground with the jack then use the torque wrench to tighten the hub nut to 134 foot-pounds.

14

Depress the caliper piston into the bore with the C-clamp before reinstalling the caliper; torque the caliper mounting bolts to 54 foot-pounds and the caliper bracket bolts to 80 foot-pounds. Reinstall the brake line and fitting with the socket wrench.

15

Pump the brake pedal several times to release the piston into the caliper prior to driving.

16

Repeat all of the above steps for the remaining brake/rotor assemblies. When finished, remount the wheels and finger-tighten the lug nuts. Remove the jack stands and lower the Accord to the ground then torque the lug nuts to 80 foot-pounds with the torque wrench.