DIY Brake Job

[94eg!]

I may do that some time. I really like the idea of having the sealant on the threads too.

[94eg!]

Okay, this evening I gave gravity bleeding a try on my wife's 04, and for whatever reason it was just a no-go. I don't know why, but the fluid just would not flow on it's own. I ended up having my 4-year-old work the pedal for me while I worked the bleeders.

To be honest, I'm kinda disappointed.

[krazykarguy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think you could gravity bleed a vehicle with ABS...

[94eg!]

Originally Posted by krazykarguy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think you could gravity bleed a vehicle with ABS...

This could be the reason the fluid would not flow. It did come out and make it's way to the cup. But once the cup got about 1" of fluid in it, it just seemed to stop (or slow WAY down). I waited about 15 minutes (or maybe more) before I gave up.

[YipMan_Style]

How many cans of brake fluid should I get to bleed? Just give me an estimate as I like to buy them at once, and finish the job at one shot.

[94eg!]

Originally Posted by YipMan_Style

How many cans of brake fluid should I get to bleed? Just give me an estimate as I like to buy them at once, and finish the job at one shot.

Get two of the small 12oz bottles or 1 big bottle.

You can order the OEM 12oz bottles on ebay for $5.75/ea shipped (just search "Acura DOT-3"), but it's shipping from North Carolina. You can also call your local Honda & Acura dealers to ask how much if you'd rather just pick it up. Usually the local dealers are a little more than ebay + sales tax.

acura dot-3 | eBay

[got_s54?]

Great thread. I replaced all 4 rotors and pads yesterday on our 2004 Pilot. I decided to go with Centric premium rotors and centric ceramic pads. For those that aren't aware, Centric owns Stoptech. The rotors had black paint on the hat and edge for anti-rust. They looked really good. I bought them all from Amazon for $262 shipped. I performed the bedding in as per their recommendations (a series of very hard 45mph to near 0mph stops) and am VERY impressed with stopping performance. Maybe it's in my head, but they feel like they stop better than the OEM set.

I also flushed the brake fluid with OEM fluid using a suction brake bleeder (connected to my air compressor) I bought from Harbor Freight. It was a breeze doing it that way.

[94eg!]

Centric makes awesome stuff. I recently used the Centric premium rotors, Stoptech pads and Stoptech stainless lines on my Civic. Outstanding fit and finish. The rotors are e-coated and fully balanced and inspected. You can find a lot of centric dealers online for ridiculous prices. I got my Integra rotors and pads for about $28 each + coupons.

BTW: I spent some time talking with the guys at the stoptech booth at SEMA this past Friday. They were great guys, and those big 4 & 6 piston brake setups look even more amazing in person (especially the anodized trophy calipers). Wish I could afford that stuff on my cars.

[switch]

Originally Posted by 94eg!

Since your just going to be replacing fluid and not bleeding air out of the system, I recommend you look into Gravity bleeding. It's a simple 1-man bleed process that lets the fluid slowly drain out each caliper and into a cup (don't touch the brake pedal with the bleed port open). Once fresh-clear fluid is seen coming out of the cailper through your clear vinyl hose, you close the bleed port and move to the next caliper. Just keep an eye on your fluid level in the reservoir and keep it topped off. The pilot should bleed in the following order: LF, RF, RR, LR. Do this after you replace the pads.

Hi,

A couple quick question if I may.

Can this be done to do a complete fluid replacement, and if yes, how long will the fluid take to drain out on each line (I expect the rears will take a fair bit longer).

What's the hose size?

I replaced the pads on my Pilot a couple days ago (which was super easy to do), and was going to get the dealer to do a brake fluid flush, but if I can do it myself I'd rather go that route as it'll give me something to do.

Thanks.

[94eg!]

If you keep reading past that post you will find that gravity bleeding doesn't work on the Pilot. I could not get the fluid to flow. You will need to have someone work the pedal while you work the bleed port. Have them hold pressure on the pedal. You open the bleed port, let the fluid flow out, and close the bleed port. Then tell them to let go and do it again. Repeat till you see clean fluid coming out.

[switch]

Originally Posted by 94eg!

If you keep reading past that post you will find that gravity bleeding doesn't work on the Pilot. I could not get the fluid to flow. You will need to have someone work the pedal while you work the bleed port. Have them hold pressure on the pedal. You open the bleed port, let the fluid flow out, and close the bleed port. Then tell them to let go and do it again. Repeat till you see clean fluid coming out.

Doh!

Thanks for the reply.

[switch]

One thing I noticed after changing the pads is that I removed a bit of fluid and then the brake and VTM lights illuminated on the instrument cluster. The difference between not enough and just right seems like a couple teaspoons.

[N_Jay]

Originally Posted by 94eg!

Close.

First: there should be no air bubbles in the system right now, so I wouldn't expect to see bubbles come out at all when you crack the bleeder open. Just ugly dirty brown old fluid.

Second: you don't need a bottle with a hose in it or anything like that. Just take the cap off the reservoir and use a turkey baster to suck all the old fluid out that you can reach. Then top it off slowly with fresh fluid. Refill the reservoir to the full line after each time you finish bleeding a caliper.

Third: You only need one 2-3 foot piece of hose to run from one caliper to a large cup with a small amount of brake fluid in it. Once you finish that caliper, remove the hose and move to the next caliper. I clip the hose to the side of the cup to keep it from flipping out and flinging brake fluid everywhere.

Fourth: When it comes to bleeding, you want to have someone push the pedal and hold pressure before you open the bleed valve on the caliper. It should go like this:

- push on pedal and hold pressure
- open bleeder
- pedal drops and fluid comes out the caliper and into cup
- close bleeder
- let off pedal
- repeat on that caliper till clear fluid is coming out.

For the rears you will repeat this process probably 20 times or more to get the old fluid out. Or you could skip all that hassle and do a gravity bleed like I mentioned on the previous page. As long as your hose is turned upward right off the bleed port, it's impossible for air to back up into the caliper.

Sixth: It doesn't matter if you have the cup higher or lower than the bleeder. The fluid is being pushed by either gravity or the brake pedal. As long as catch bottle is lower than the master cylinder level, fluid cannot back up (unless you release the pedal with the bleed port open). Bubbles however CAN travel back up a tube.

Did someone mention not to push the peddle to the floor?

It is best not to goo too much further then the normal stroke range used for breaking.
The inside of the master cylinder is kept nice and clean from using the brakes. Pushing to beyond the point that is normally (or even occasionally) whipped during normal use will subject the seals to the much rougher surface where corrosion may exists and lead to early master cylinder failure.

[carguy07]

Originally Posted by N_Jay

Did someone mention not to push the peddle to the floor?

It is best not to goo too much further then the normal stroke range used for breaking.
The inside of the master cylinder is kept nice and clean from using the brakes. Pushing to beyond the point that is normally (or even occasionally) whipped during normal use will subject the seals to the much rougher surface where corrosion may exists and lead to early master cylinder failure.

X2, Honda actually put that in writing in one of the service bulletins. I used to to think it was more a wives tale until I saw that.

Found it.

[N_Jay]

If you disassembled master cylinders to rebuild them, you KNOW it is for real.

I always push my peddle to the floor once in a while, so (in theory) the corrosion never has a chance to start.

Not hard to do while sitting at a light about once a week or so.