DIY - 84/85 Accord Front Brake Upgrade

From G1 Prelude

If any of you have attempted a brake swap for your prelude, CraigB's writeup comes to mind (http://www.g1preludes.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=17). It's none the less an awesome upgrade and brought some insight to all SN owners. I attempted this upgrade a few days ago and with huge results. I wanted to do a more in depth installation guide so here we go!

The main reason for any SN owner to upgrade is to not only get better braking but to upgrade to vented rotors versus the stock solid rotors which tend to warp extremely easy under heavy braking. There's no disadvantages to this swap and it's bolt on. You also gain a larger rotor diameter and double the size in the brake pad.

  • Warning - DIY involves the removal of the JDM calipers which are different then the USDM calipers in the pictures. The removal and installation process is identical to the USDM style, everything will work!

5/24/11 UPDATE Through reading forums and the process of elimination, figuring out what the next brake caliper that will bolt up to give us even bigger rotors and calipers has taken some time. I had the opportunity to work on my friends '93 DA Integra 2dr LS and while we were replacing the rotors and pads, I took the prelude caliper and mounted it onto the caliper bracket of the Integra. Sure enough the holes lined up perfectly but the stock prelude rotor was too small to fit over the hub and stuck out from the caliper. This however opens up new windows for brake upgrades. More info to come once I find the time.

Required Tools: Quart of Dot 3 Brake Fluid '84/85 Front Accord Caliper Assemblies with New Brake Pads '84-90 Front Accord Rotors Brake Line Washers 17mm socket wrench 14mm socket wrench A friend to help out, maybe even bring a case of beer

Before:


After:


Comparison Shots:



1. Pull the car onto a flat surface and put the car in gear. Pull the ebrake and make sure to have your jack ready. 2. Loosen the lug nuts on either side but do not remove them completely. Will do this later on. 3. Put the jack under the front crossbeam jack location and jack the car up until the wheels are off the ground. 4. Finish loosening the lug nuts and take off the wheel. 5. Your brakes should look a little something like this:

6. Start by undoing the back caliper bolts (x2) that hold the caliper assembly to the knuckle. There's one on either end of the caliper. Look at your new Calipers for help on their locations.


7.Now remove the Banjo Bolt from the side of the caliper that supplies the brakes with brake fluid. Keep a cup near by to collect the loose fluid. I used an old soup bowl.

8. Once the caliper bolts are removed, remove the entire caliper assembly out from the rotor.

9.Remove the rotor. *Some rotors may be held in with two screws that hold it to the hub. Remove these if you have them*

10. Now you should be left with your hub showing. Take the time to clean the rust or corrosion off where the rotor will sit up against it with wire brush or brake cleaner. I didn't do it with this install but it doesn't make a difference with the install if you don't want too.

11. Now it's time for the install. Grab you newly bough rotor and put it over the hub. When it's on, screw in your lug studs to hold the rotor on the hub. Makes the install 10 times easier doing this.


12. Take the newly bought caliper and slide it over the rotor, allowing the brake pads to slide over easily. Make sure nothing binds when putting it on. Line the holes up and tighten bolts from the old caliper onto the new caliper. 13. Now's a good time to replace the two copper washers that go on either side of the brake line. If you don't have any (usually supplied with refurbished calipers), you can use the old existing washer. Place on either side and tighten the banjo bolt.

14. This should wrap up on the brake install and it should look like this.

15. Don't put the wheel back on just yet, but repeat the same process for the opposite side. 16. Once the opposite side is done, pull out the brake fluid and fill your brake reservoir to the fill line. 17. Now's a good time to have a friend come over and help out with bleeding the brakes or you can do it using a single person brake bleeding kit I picked up from Advance Auto Parts for $13.00. 18. Loosen the bleed screw on each of the calipers and bleed the brake system. Now's also a good time to flush out any old or contaminated brake fluid in the system. Constantly keep checking on the brake reservoir to make sure it's at the fill line, add brake fluid when necessary. Here's a great article if your unsure of how to complete this procedure, it's quite easy but tedious! (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-part ... eeding.htm) 19. Once the brakes are bleed, go around the calipers and rotors once more time to make sure everything is on nice and tight and put the wheels back on. 20. Torque the lug studs accordingly, in a "X" pattern and lower the car. Your Brakes should look like below. Wheels are the 13" optional alloy's. Clearance looks close but no rubbing.


21. Go take the car for a drive and see how your newly added braking abilities work for ya. Feel the stronger pad contact. If the pedal feels mushy or like a sponge, you still might have air in your brake lines so revisit the bleeding procedure again.

Side Note - Please allow the brake pads to slowly wear on the new rotors. A good slow drive for about 20 miles is a great way to wear in your new brakes. This helps with them not instantly warping and helps pad wear. Not doing so will yield warping rotors and uneven pad contacts down the road. A slow break in is a happy break in!

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