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Replacing The Rear Brake Pads Last month, we saw how to replace the front brake pads. This month, we'll see what's required to change the rear pads. The process is similar, with a few differences here and there.
First, we'll have to loosen the lugnuts, raise the car, put it on jackstands, and remove the wheels. As with last month, this month we'll be working on the passenger side of the car. First, remove the caliper shield (see illustration at left). It's held on with two 10mm bolts. NOTE: The Acura Vigor Service Manual instructs you to remove the parking brake cable at this point. It isn't necessary. The purpose of removing the caliper shield here is to gain access to the caliper mounting bolts. You MAY choose to remove the caliper without removing the caliper shield. If so, remove the rear bolt and loosen the bottom bolt. Then, wiggle it out of the way until you can get a socket on the caliper bolts. Removing the Caliper
Remove the two caliper bolts using a 12mm socket. See photo at right. Arrows indicate the two bolts. As with the front, these two bolts are the only thing holding on the caliper, so you should be able to pry it away from the caliper bracket now. But before you do, remember to have a length of wire handy to hang the caliper. A coathanger will work. Oh... and don't forget to release the parking brake! If it's engaged, you'll never get the caliper off. Do NOT allow the caliper to hang by the brake line. This will put stress on the brake line and may cause a hydraulic failure later on.
So... gently but firmly pry the caliper away from its bracket, slip the wire through the caliper bolt hole, and suspend the caliper from any convenient point. See photo at left. At this point, the old pads will probably fall out, but they may remain in place, sitting there on the caliper bracket. Remove the pads and examine them. The pad thickness should be the same as the front—at least 0.06" (1.6mm). This is for the pad alone and does NOT include the backing plate. If your pads are anywhere near this spec, then they should be replaced.
Lubricating the Caliper Pins Remove the two caliper pins (see photo at right). Wipe them clean, coat them liberally with brake lube, and reinstall them. As with the front brakes, the head of the caliper pins have two flat sections. However, on the rear brakes, the flat sections should go fore and aft instead of top and bottom. Retracting the Piston As we saw last month, the caliper piston has extended into the caliper to maintain contact with the brake pad backing plate as the pad wears. If the pads are worn, the piston will be extended enough that the caliper won't fit over the thicker, new pads. However, things are a little different back here, because on a Vigor, the rear brakes incorporate the parking brake. Here, the pistons use a different mechanism and must be rotated back into place. There are a number of "special tools" available for rotating those pistons that incorporate a parking brake. They range in price from less than $20 to well over $150.
Look at the piston and you'll see that it's not hollow, like the front pistons. Instead, it has two bisecting grooves forming an "X." The least expensive "special tool" is a "cube" that fits on the end of a ratchet extension. There's a socket on each of the six sides, with two small fingers (a different sized set of fingers on each of the six sides). You find the set of fingers that fit the Vig's grooves, put a socket extension into the opposite side of the cube, and ratchet the piston back in. The more expensive sets get pretty fancy, but the bottom line is that... none are really needed. While researching this article, the author found that a large screwdriver or a plain ol' file will do the trick. In fact, the file (see photo at right) actually worked better than the "cube" tool. So... using whichever method you prefer, rotate the piston back into the caliper (turn clockwise). Don't forget to clamp the line and open the bleeder screw as we discussed last month. That fluid has to go somewhere. Then, take a look at the inner pad. You'll see it has a tab which is engaged by the piston. Align the groove in the piston with that tab by rotating the piston either outward or further in, whichever seems "closer."
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