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Chuck Wintle
05-03-2010, 7:44 AM
Saturday i replaced the rotors and brake pads on my civic. The brake pads seem to fit tightly in their respective holders and was wondering if this is normal. Should i go back in and make sure they are free to move easily back and forth. Honda mechanics will know what I am talking about. :D

Heather Thompson
05-03-2010, 8:11 AM
Charles,

I do not know about the Honda Civic, but I did the same job on my husbands Subaru on Easter Sunday, the pads would not fit into the calipers at all. I have done many break jobs on cars, trucks and motorcycles so this was not my first time around the block, ended up just touching the tips of the pads to the grinder and success. Then I installed the rotors and went to install the calipers, bottom bolt in and tried locate the top hole, could not even get close. The auto supply sold me the wrong part :(, trip to auto supply to get the correct rotors. Then I think they sold me the wrong pads also, the counter guy checks and nope they are the correct pads. They ended up sending a truck to my house that afternoon to deliver the correct rotors. The car has gone over a 1000 miles since then with no problems, talked to my neighbor about this and he has run into this issue also, he is a pro wrench on a race team.

Heather

Joe Pelonio
05-03-2010, 8:41 AM
New Disc brake pads do not move freely back & forth, they will seem fairly tight. The wheel should spin but with some friction when done. The most common reason for the pads seeming too tight to install is not having compressed the piston in the caliper enough, or failure to block the brake pedal so that the fluid doesn't push the piston back out when you release the clamp to insert the pad.

Chuck Wintle
05-03-2010, 8:42 AM
Charles,

I do not know about the Honda Civic, but I did the same job on my husbands Subaru on Easter Sunday, the pads would not fit into the calipers at all. I have done many break jobs on cars, trucks and motorcycles so this was not my first time around the block, ended up just touching the tips of the pads to the grinder and success. Then I installed the rotors and went to install the calipers, bottom bolt in and tried locate the top hole, could not even get close. The auto supply sold me the wrong part :(, trip to auto supply to get the correct rotors. Then I think they sold me the wrong pads also, the counter guy checks and nope they are the correct pads. They ended up sending a truck to my house that afternoon to deliver the correct rotors. The car has gone over a 1000 miles since then with no problems, talked to my neighbor about this and he has run into this issue also, he is a pro wrench on a race team.

Heather

I ended up using a file on the tabs of the pads so they would slot in a little easier in the holder on each side of the disk. There was no problem with reinstalling the caliper after the piston was forced back. I used a c-clamp to do that. I may recheck the pads to possibly loosen them up a bit more but the braking is very good now. :D

Heather Thompson
05-03-2010, 10:45 AM
I ended up using a file on the tabs of the pads so they would slot in a little easier in the holder on each side of the disk. There was no problem with reinstalling the caliper after the piston was forced back. I used a c-clamp to do that. I may recheck the pads to possibly loosen them up a bit more but the braking is very good now. :D

Charles,

I would not go back and file more, the pads are supposed to fit snug. When I used the grinder I probably took off 3 to 5 thousandths max, mine are very snug but I was able to get them installed. You say that your car is braking very good now, thats what your after, if they were indeed to tight you would know when you were driving the vehical. Congrats on saving some cash, now you can afford to buy another tool for your shop. :D

Heather

Paul Ryan
05-03-2010, 3:28 PM
Charles,


Make sure you have cleaned all the rust and crap off of the mounting surface for the pads. Rust and crap build up is the most common cause of premature brake wear. You should not have to file the pads if you bought good pads. The pads from the part houses vary in quality and quality control. The pads should be snug but not tight. If too tight they will not retract enough when you release the peddle. It used to be common practice to put an anti-sizing agent of the slides. However that is not the practice any more because that can cause excessive dirt build up causing the pads to stick sooner. If the pads are too loose they will rattle. A little WD-40 would be all you should need for them to slide smoothly. If they dont then they are too tight.

Bryan Morgan
05-03-2010, 10:57 PM
You could have simply got the wrong part... Some manufactures will switch parts in the middle of a manufacturing run. Sometimes a 2002 car will actually have 2001 brakes, etc. If you are able, always take the old parts in to match them up. I don't know that I'd be hacking away at something as critical as brake parts...