52 replies to this topic

[icebox187]

Rear Integra Brake Swap how-to

So after many many searches, and many topics reviewed. I would say there is no "complete" thread on how to do the Integra disc swap into the rear.

First of all you need the following parts from a 1986-1989 Acura Integra.

Rear Hubs or just the extended lug nuts
Rear Brake Shields
Rear Calipers
Rear E-Brake Cables
Rear Rotors
Rear Pads
Proportioning Valve

Obviously the easiest way to do this swap would be to remove the entire axle from an Integra and swap it in minus the trailing arms. But because these cars are so hard to find, alteast around here, this is the alternative. All the parts listed above can be baught bran new, either from Rock-Auto or from your honda dealership. For my swap, Im going to use a combination between used and new parts. I will be using used hubs, shields, and cables. The Rotors and Pads are new from Brake Labs.

You will also need the following tools

Flat screwdriver
Metric Socket Set
Metric Wrench Set
Line Wrench (10mm)
1 1/4" socket/wrench
Floor Jack
Jack Stand
Penetrating Lube
Wheel Wrench

Continued on the next post.

might want to add spindles to the parts list

[chedda_j]

Spindles are the same. The only difference in the two units are the length of the studs in the hubs which can be bought separately from rock auto which I may do, because the guy that was supplying me with parts bailed. I may be buying every part new.

[kaymo]

Buford,

A "how to" for your solution would be very helpful. I have a couple of ideas but haven't followed through yet. I just used creative routing of the cables for now but the problem I have is equalizing the pull evenly to both sides. JS

ill bet you dollars to doughnuts that its not the brake cables, its the calipers. i couldnt get equal pull either and discovered that one caliper was not working correctly. played with it for hours before i realized it


and yeah spindles aka stub shaft dont usually need replacing. make sure and use a little grease tho

[chedda_j]

ill bet you dollars to doughnuts that its not the brake cables, its the calipers. i couldnt get equal pull either and discovered that one caliper was not working correctly. played with it for hours before i realized it

Yeah it all really makes me wonder about making a hydraulic ebrake set up. Hydraulic Ebrakes are relatively cheap, and easy to make. I would need to mount a secondary set of calipers or figure out a way to have a one way valve with the e-brake master cylinder. A friend of mine has VW with this set up, but he has a handle for either side.

Anyways, got my sexy new disc brakes and ceramic pads in today. Gotta love Brake Labs. I also wanted to note something about the brake pads, I did a little research and found out that they fit on many different rear disc hondas, including the later integra and del sol. That makes you wonder if the calipers would work with a custom bracket.

[chedda_j]

Is anyone know if you can run them without the dust shield. I'm having a hell of a time finding some.

[RETROCRX]

I've never used the dust shields.....you're good to go

[chedda_j]

The "how-to" continues slowly.

Here are the parts that you absolutely need. All the pictures below are pre-cleaing. I have a feeling that I may actually powdercoat many of the parts. Im going to start by sandblasting them.

Rear Stubs



Rear Caliper Mounting Brackets



Rear Calipers



Rear Brake Hubs



Im going to refurbish the parts that I can. Im also going to install new studs into the hubs because they are all bent. Lovely eh?

[chedda_j]

Rebuilding The Calipers

Its not entirely neccessary to rebuild the calipers if they are in good shape. Mine are kind of rough so Im going to redo the piston seals, the boots and most likely get them powdercoated.

Caliper Bracket

Remove the sliders with your fingers, sliding the boots down as you go along.



Now remove the old brake shoe shims. My brake shoe kit came with new ones.



Remove the old slider boots. Now off to sandblasting.




E-Brake Lever

Use a 17mm socket and some real force to take this bolt off. I used my foot and stood on it while turing.



The E Brake spring and Lever can be removed with a flat screw driver. Watch your eyes.



Now use a 1/2" wrench to turn the e-brake bolt all the way open till it locks.



Piston Removal

The piston itself is attatched to a screw inside the cylinder, this screw allows for adjustment of the e-brake for proper tightness. In the previous photo, the e-brake lever is turned by wrench to push this screw out as far as possible.

I dont have the tool to adjust the e-brake cable. So what I did was use a 1/2" wrench, putting pressure on the outisde of the piston and one end of the wrench in one of the four holes and turn the wrench. This will turn the piston untill it falls out.



Remove the caliper piston WIPER seal with a flat screw driver or seal pick. The wiper seal is used to prevent debris from entering the brake system and damaging the piston, cylinder and main O-Ring seal.



Now remove the caliper piston O-Ring seal. The O-Ring seal prevents hydraulic fluid from traveling past the the piston.



Inspect the pistons and the cylinder making sure there is no scoring or pitting.

To be continued: If anyone can tell me how to remove the e-brake adjuster screw, much abliged.

[EuphoricBlue]

Contrary to popular belief, pitting and scoring on the caliper walls doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that the piston is good, and that the square cut o-ring seals against its seat.
The only thing that you need to worry about in the cylinder is to clean it of all the junk, and to make sure there's nothing sticking out that can touch and bind/score the piston.

[chedda_j]

Contrary to popular belief, pitting and scoring on the caliper walls doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that the piston is good, and that the square cut o-ring seals against its seat.
The only thing that you need to worry about in the cylinder is to clean it of all the junk, and to make sure there's nothing sticking out that can touch and bind/score the piston.

Ya now thinking about it, I guess your right. The piston doesnt have a o-ring, the cylinder does. So make sure that the piston is free of holes and scratches. And clean it all up like you said.

[jweber89]

Glad to hear everything arrived ok, but sorry that some parts are in rough shape. They've been sitting in a box since I pulled them off an integra at pull a part a year and a half ago. I will forever have a scar on my hand from when I had some trouble removing everything. Nice write up, very nice detailed pictures.

Jeff

[chedda_j]

Thanks. The only thing im a little bit upset about is that all the wheel studs were bent. I think I will just use my original hubs and get new studs for those. Not your fault tho.


Removing The E-Brake Mechanisms

I figured out how to remove the mechanism after some cleaning and looking at a few pdfs from Acura Majestic. Here is a good reference.



First of all remove the adjuster screw depicted above by pulling and light twisting. Now remove the snap-ring with either snap ring tool or combination of flat screw drivers. If the first picture you can see how you can get under the ring with a small flat.



In the second photo, use the corresponding movements to remove the ring up and out of the cylinder.



Now you can remove the rear E-Brake Piston. Stick your small flat screw driver in the brake line hole and lightly wedge the piston out. I used some oil to assist the removal.



Remove the rear E-Brake Lever Bolt by turning and pulling, then remove the bushing.



Seen below is the Rear E-Brake Lever Bearing



After the removal of the piston the cylinder will look like this. Dont loose the little pin in the bottom.



Here is a E-Brake Parts Layout. There are two extra o-rings in the E-Brake assembly, good to note when ordering. (Rock Auto)

[chedda_j]

Sand Blasting

The rebuild continues, with some sand blasting. I have 1/2 of the blasting done. Now looking at the parts, and the way this project is going, I think I will use caliper paint and just paint everything nice and black or red, rather than powdercoating.

Below are some comparisions of the parts before and after sand blasting. Also Have the first half taped & ready to paint.

[chedda_j]

Paint

I chose to paint the items with caliper paint. I chose VHT's Brembo Red. The VHT paint allows you to do all of the coats in the first hour, where as the brand Plastic Coat, requires you to wait 4 hours between coats. Both brands require you to bake the parts at 200*F. As silly as it sounds, I baught a $5 toaster oven just for this. I wouldnt recomend doing it on your own In-House oven or you might have a very irritated wife/gf. Or you might be looking for a new one...a gf that is.

Below, you can see the sandblasted items prepped for paint. I also cleaned the items with a Wax and Grease remover recomended by VHT before painting.




Here is the final product. Painted and ready for the rebuild parts.




Im awaiting the parts from Rockauto. I will list the rebuild kit part numbers once Im sure I have double checked they are the right ones.

[chedda_j]

Re-Assembly

Lets start with a small parts list of things you need to rebuild your calipers.

Caliper O-Ring
Caliper Wiper Seal
E-Brake Piston O-Ring
E-Brake Screw O-Ring
E-Brake Lever Wiper Seal
Caliper Bushings

The following part numbers are what is needed from Rockauto

2 x Dorman D351783
1 x Dorman HW16011

I also replaced all the wheel studs at the same time.

1 x 610-408




You will NEED some assembly grease. You dont want any kind of foriegn materials instide of the caliper. You also dont want to rip any of the seals.



Time to replace the E-Brake O-rings

First the Piston



Then the Screw



Now Its time to start putting the lever back together.

Install the new E-Brake Lever Seal and Rod





You will need to twist the Rod in slowly and with alot of grease. Make sure to grease the rod little bearing inside aswell.



Ok now install the tinny little rod and e-brake piston into the cylinder. Note the easiest was is to make sure that the E-Brake lever Rod is alligned. Do this by looking down the cylinder with a flash light to see if you can see the little piston rod acceptor is open. Then take the little piston rod and cover it with grease. Slide the piston rod into the bottom of the piston. Then turn the caliper over and push the piston up into the cyldiner. There is two studs on the bottom of the piston that need to allign with the bottom of the cylinder. If it is installed properly you will be able to turn the E-Brake Rod and it will push the E-Brake piston towards your finger.