Hi everyone I have a 2003 Acura TL. I'm going to be replacing my pads and rotors this week for the first time. I've watched plenty of videos on doing this but have a few questions. How can I tell if I need to replace the rotors? The car does shake when I hit the brakes. Also what will need to be greased and what type of grease should I buy? Any recommendations on what type of pads/ rotors I should buy? Thanks

 

Does the entire car shake or just the steering wheel. A shaking steering wheel, I would think your front rotors are wrapped. A common problem with these cars and stock/cheap rotors.

Grease the slider pins and make sure the move in and out freely.

Here is a thread on how I fixed my wrapped rotors. Having had any problems with this setup. There are other good setups just make sure you get good rotors.

https://acurazine.com/forums/second-...brakes-929797/

 

I saw on the videos I watched they greased other parts. Do inhale to grease anything else besides that slider pin? Also any other recommendations on brand name rotors and pads? Also can I paint the calipers and housing like the poster above did? I like that a lot, what brand and kind of paint would I use for that?

 

1st and most obvious recommendations specially on the single pot caliper..
Get the most expensive Rotor you can afford, DO NOT cheap out on this unless you like to re-surface rotors every 2 months.. The TL uses a very hard braking bias of 80/20 and that puts a lot of stress on the front rotors, This combined with a cheap pad and the single pot caliper is a recipe for Warping.

2.- Brake Pads: Again don´t cheap out on FRONT PADS get the best you can afford! on the rears you can use what ever you like because of the bias they do very little work..

3.- Grease the slider pins and the contacts between the pad and the caliper bracket shims, that´s it for the brake pads. If you are replacing the E-Brake pads you need to grease several points.

 

Any recommendations on which rotors and pads I should get. I'm planning on keeping the car for a year or so....thanks

 

Are centric posi quiet pads decent? What rotors are good?

 

If you plan on keeping the car for a single year then cheap out on everything.. No point in spending money on a 1 year only car.

 

ck NAPA or rockauto.com or local parts stores, get a medium price rotor and pad set
Grease - use special brake caliper grease, there are contact wear points that will be obvious on pad backs.
Ck our DIY on brakes for more help

FLUSH the brake fluid for sure- needs to be done every year. Will give new life to brake pedal feel and caliper action~
Special TL order is LF RF RR LR
driver front, then clockwise around the car from drivers viewpoint

 

Definitely sounds like you have some warped rotors. The centric posi quiet pads are decent but won't hold up to aggressive driving. I'd recommend the Stoptech Street Performance for a great daily/autocross pad. They will create more dust and noise but they are a better pad overall.

Check out our brake packages that include pads and rotors for all four corners.
Acurazine Brake Packages ACURA - Excelerate Performance - Japanese and European Performance Specialists!!

 

Thanks for the replya guys, well appricated..so I'm going to tackle this project over the weekend. While I'm at it I will flush and fill my brake fluid that has never been changed. Which should be done first pads/rotors or flush n fill brake fluid? Thanks guys

 

I always bleed the brakes last.

 

I'd do everything all at once. Get the new pads and rotors on there, then flush and fill. Just make sure the pedal is nice and firm when your done.

 

Does anyone know the outside diameter of the bleed pin? And when bleeding the brakes, you want to press the brake pedal about 10 times and then press the brake all the way down and then unscrew bleeder pin correct? Once I unscrew the bleeder pin it should flow out and I don't press the brakes to pump the brake fluid out?

 

Any help on my previous questions in the above post???thamks

 

Not exactly sure on the 2G, it's usually like an 8mm. If you're going to bleed manually you should pump the brakes a few times, then have someone press brake pedal and hold, while you open the bleeder. Pedal will sink to the floor, fluid will come out with some air (hopefully). Then close the bleeder before friend lifts their foot off brake pedal. (Do not pump while bleeder is open)

Pump brakes with bleeder closed and repeat above process until air doesn't come out. Keep an eye on the fluid level. Be sure to add brake fluid when it gets low.

 

KEY THING!!!!! NEVER PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR WHEN BLEEDER IS OPENED.
The oring inside master cyl rod gets damaged.
If helper doesn't know how to stop pushing and hold midway, get a $25 vac brake bleeder at harbor freight tools and see diy instructions. MUCH EASIER!
At this point you do not know enough to touch your brakes! have you looked at our threads on subject?

On the brake fluid change: you want to move several ounces of fluid thru the line and out the bleeder- must refill master cylinder res as it gets low, about 1 time per brake caliper
Do it until only fresh new fluid comes out- do it more than you think is needed!

 

duplicolor caliper paint comes with everything you need and avail in many colors ~10$

NAPA auto parts rotors and pads are more than enough for DD general use and will drive fine when selling the car in a year

When flushing fluid you DO NOT want to find any air! Just new fluid appearing
IF bleeding the system after a line was opened for caliper replacement or new master cyl or new lines,
THEN you will have air in the lines = you want to see bubbles as its moving out (clear plastic tube used for drain/viewing)

Special info!! If you have a line opened for any reason, you MUST do 2 ABS stops from 45 mph to dislodge air that snuck into the ABS- then rebleed brakes to remove that air.