The front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?

Apparently I have 5% left, but they're not squeaking or grinding in any way- how soon should I be worried about making this change?The front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?You can do a brake job by yourself.



The process is pretty much the same for all vehciles. I've been refering people to this web site for Instructions on how to change brakes. Rob gives a good illustrations, and his web sit can be found here:



http://www.********.com/lessons/brakesho



Warning:

1. I would definitely recommend jack stands under a car, never do a brake job with just the car jack.



2. Always use a fixed size wrench, never use a cresent wrench as illustrated by Rob



3. Otherwise his instructions are pretty well written and can be found here.



Oh and he's replacing brake pads, not shoes as he has incorrectly called them from time to time. Shoe are for drum brakes, pads are for disk brakes.



Also it is recommended to get the rotor's thickness measured (to ensure they are not too thin) and resurfaced for best braking.



These instructions are of course for front brakes.The front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?It isn't very hard to do but if you don't have any mechanical experience, then, i would let the profesionals do it. rather be safe then sorryThe front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?Listen for a high-pitched squeal...that's the wear indicators. When you hear that, do 'em as soon as possible. If they get metal to metal, it's too late...you're looking a getting your rotors turned then. Shouldn't take but less than an hour to do 'em both. And use some anti-squeal stuff behind the pads when you install 'em.The front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?The answer to your first question is: (survey says), not at all. This is a fairly simple task. Tools required: wheel caulk, floor jack, jack stand, drive ratchet, 14mm socket, a disk brake tool or a C clamp, and a tire iron or cross. To get started on this job park the car so it is on a slight incline. Set the parking brake and place wheel caulk(s) behind rear tire(s). Before raising vehical loosen lug nuts on both tires. Next place floor jack in front of vehical and slide under to the cars crossmember. This is a central main beam that craddles engine and supports suspension. Find at best its center and raise. Once in the air you might find that even though your dead center when you raised it one side is higher than the other, don't worry it will always be like that. Place jack stands at jacking points for your car. If you don't know where they are you can find it in your owners manual or a repair manual or I could just tell you. Right before the wheel well of the front tires you should see a lip that putrudes a bit more than the rest of the under siding. Thats your jack point. Remove lug nuts and tire. Next with your ratchet and 14mm you will need to remove two(2) bolts from the brake caliper. On the otherside of the calpier at each end are the bolts. These will take a little convincing to loosen the bolts. Before the bolts are removed find something the caliper can perch on. Do Not let the caliper just hang there by the brake hose. Remove old pads, inspect rotor for grooves, thickness should still be ok unless you do a good amount of hard braking. Next remove the cap to the brake fluid reservoir. Try not to leave cap off for too long for brake fluid is gyroscope. Meaning it absorbes moisture from the air. You shouldn't need to add any brake fluid. Next with a brake caliper tool or C clamp push the piston, (that cylintrical piece) back in making sure the boot telescopes uniformly back as well. You should notice the fluid in the reservoir rise as well. Next insert new pads and slip caliper over the rotor. Bolt back on and repeat on other side. Once you are done there shouldn't be any extra parts, the pads don't count as extra because you started with 4 new ones and now you have 4 old ones. Tighten reservoir cap and wa-la, done.

The answer to your second question is that disk brakes have there own timely reminder system. When they start to squeak is when they should be changed, or if you feel a hard grinding when applying the brakes. If your wondering how do pads do that well the ones you took off look at them. You see a popsicle stick size of metal that comes from the back of the pad but ends up on the side just a little. Thats your indicator. When metal rubs agaisnt metal it creates a squeaking sound and it gets louder and louder until replaced. So until your breaks start squeaking is when you should change them. Join me next week folks as we look at rocket engines and there muliple uses at home.The front brake pads on my 2004 Honda Civic VP coupe need to be changed- is this difficult to do at home?As others have said, changing your brake pads is pretty easy, if you've got any mechanical inclination. But make sure you do it on time - brake pads are cheap, but if you try to eke out every last mile from the pads, you could wreck your brake rotors - and fixing them is a lot harder than just replacing the pads.