How hard is it to install new rotors? I'm thinking about getting cross drilled ones for the fronts. Is it something I can do at home or is it a 'take to the shop' kind of things? If it is a 'take to the shop' kind of thing, whats a fair price for install?

 

although i've never done it, it seems pretty easy. if you can change out your brake pads you're close.

remove your caliper, get them out of the way and then proceed to remove the rotor. i think there is only one screw on the rotor, remove that and then just pull the rotor off. install by reversing the process.

 

u will need to install the new brake pads too..brembo cross drill motors are very good and fair price about $300 a pair for the stock rotor size..will take u maybe 1.5 hours to install them.i had my accord installed by a techincian for $100 labors the braking power is really cool and good...

 

Patsmere has after market brakes. He will probably be able to give you an idea on this as well.

Are the Brembos only $300 ???

 

If you can change a tire, you have the skills required to change rotors. However, skill and knowledge are two different animals. If you've never done it before, get a book that clearly explains the process (I don't have any experience with books for Acura's, so I can't really help on this). I've done brake jobs on many Nissan's, Honda / Acura's, Toyota's, GM's and a Ford Escort. They are all a little different, but fundamentally the same.

1. Be sure to use jack stands and/or a hydraulic floor jack. The POS jack supplied with your car will not suffice by itself (can we say death trap?), as you will need to torque on some bolts while the car is elevated. Compact jacks are not stable, and will likely tip in this situation. I recall someone on the board this summer that had one tip.

2. Be sure to break the lug nuts loose before elevating the car (DO NOT take them off - just break them loose so that they can be taken off easily when the car is elevated).

3. jack up the car, and place the jack stands under a stable portion of the frame. I have not done this on a CL, so I can not recommend any place better than another.

4. Remove the lug nuts and the wheel.

5. At this point you need to remove the calliper. There are two bolts holding the calliper together, and two more holding it to the mounting bracket (which also prevents the rotor from coming off at the moment). At no point should you have to disassemble the calliper, even to change the pads. Just remove it from the bracket.

6. With the calliper assembly out of the way, the rotor is ready to come off. This can be very easy, or very difficult. If you can't pull it off (don't tip the car!! Not much effort should be required here), look for a couple holes in the center portion of the rotor, in the area of the studs (the bolts the lug nuts attach to). These holes are threaded, and intended to have a bolt driven down in them to work the rotor off. I do not knoow the dimension / spec of this hole. I've also used a rubber mallet to knock it off from the back side. Just be very careful - you have a 3000+lb auto up on a jack[stand]!.

7. To replace the pads, simply pop them out of the callipers. Pay attention, and do one at a time - you'll reverse the process for assembly. There are usually a couple springs on the callipers to help seperate them after an application of the brakes, but again, I have not done this to a CL, so I don't know for sure.

8. To re-assemble, reverse all the processes.

I'm purposely being a little vague here, because I want you to go buy a book, or get some experienced help (these are your brakes were talking about here!!!). However, I want to show you that this is a very easy job to do, and a great way to save yourself a lot of cash!!! Make checks payable to.....

 

I just did the work yesterday. What I thought was going to be a 3 hour job turned into 8! That was mostly because I didn't have the right tools (Impact Wrench, Brake Spreader, etc.). If I didn't have to make a bajillion trips to the parts store, I could have done it in less than 3 hours. Anyhow, here is what I had to do in addition to JDL's fine instructions above.

1. Remove the wheels (see instructions above).

2. Remove the calipers, two bolts in the back (5/16th) I think. They are pretty tight so make sure you use a little bit of WD40 or liquid wrench before you try to wrestle with them. Careful not to force the car off the jack stands. BTW, secure the car by putting blocks all around tires especially if you are working on an inclined driveway or garage. Mine was pretty flat but I didn't want to take chances :-)

3. Remove two phillips screws that are located just on the inside of the lug bolts. These might be rusted tight in there so again use liquid wrench first. That still didn't work for me and I almost ended up stripping the screws. So I ran to the store and bought an impact wrench ($12). I also got replacement screws at Home Depot for less than a buck. They are 6mm and about 1/2 - 3/4 inch long. The impact wrench was a piece of crap but after a lot of hammering, I managed to get the screws off.

4. Remove the rotors. With the screws removed, I gently tapped the rotors from the inside of the fender well. I was replacing the rotors so I didn't care if I damaged them with the hammer. You might want to use a rubber mallet if you are reusing the rotors. The rotors moved pretty quickly after a few gentle taps of the hammer.

5. Replacing the pads. This was a @#$%^&*()(*&^%$#! It was dirty and tough for me--not sure about the rest of the studs on this board. I had a hard time sliding the pads in place because of the stupid retainer plates. I was so frustrated I almost destroyed one of them. I recommend you use brake cleaner and clean the calipers before putting the new pads in there. It was getting dark and I was lazy. It is probably a good idea to good get a brake spreader to push the caliper piston back.

Now you can repeat the process above backwards to put everything back. Don't forget to bleed the brakes. Use google for tips on how to bleed brakes.

Good luck
JD

 

A C clamp works great to push the piston back as well.

 

so do some freakishly large channel locks.

 

the hardest part for me was getting the to phillips screws holding the rotor on that were rusted on