How do you remove brake rotor on 1994 Honda Accord?

Answer:

On an Accord, the pads do not come off without removing the

caliper first. The rotor on these Accords is not easily removeable

by most home mechanics, it is a difficult job. You do NOT "knock

the rotor off of the spindle", the rotor removes from the wheel

bearing hub assembly only after the bearing assembly is removed

from the steering knuckle, (it doesn't have a spindle).

Here's how: Remove hubcap. Use large 36mm socket (borrow it or buy

it for about $18), use it and a large breaker bar to loosen the

drive axle nut. THEN loosen the lug nuts, lift the car and remove

the wheel. Remove the 14mm bolts that attach the rotor to the hub

assembly, these are in between the lug studs. The rotor is now

loose, but you can't get it off yet. Remove the lower ball joint

cotter pin and nut, the pinch bolt at the lower end of the strut,

the through-bolt for the strut fork, two bolts for the stabilizer

link, remove the cotter pin and nut from the tie rod, use a pickle

fork to separate the tie rod and steering knuckle, then separate

the lower ball joint. Pull the steering knuckle assembly off of the

drive axle, turn the knuckle as far to the outside as possible, to

access the four bolts that hold the bearing hub assembly to the

knuckle. Remove these 4 bolts (14mm) and soak the bearing area with

penetrating oil. Remove the hub bearing from the knuckle, (this is

rusted in place on most of these cars I've worked on and is usually

EXTREMELY difficult to get it loose without destroying it.) Once

the hub is removed from the knuckle, the rotor is now free. So as

you can see the front brake pads are a quick, easy job on this car

but the brake rotor is not.

Answer

Go to www.hondahookup.com. Register as a member. You will have

to activate your account through the em that Hondahookup has sent

you in your em. After you activate your account you will be given a

welcome message. You are now ready to go to manuals. Go to manuals.

Look for the 94 Honda Accord CD7_CD9 Manual. Download it to your

desktop. You have to have Adobe reader to view the manual. Its a

free download from Adobe. When you download Adobe reader download

it to your desktop. Once it is downloaded, exit all of your

applications. Run your Adobe application without any other system

running. This assures for a clean setup. If other applications are

running at the time you are installing Adobe, you may have to

reinstall the whole deal again. The manual that you download will

describe in detail how to do your work with illustrations. It will

give you the most professional way to do it. It also tells you the

special tools that are needed. The manual from Honda Hookup is a

more detail description. The job is easy if you have the right

tools. I have air tools. You don't need air tools. Also use a

digital camera to record your movements. Use small plastic

containers with labels to know where the bolts & nuts go. Buy a

Haynes # 42013 Honda Accord 1994 thru 1997 repair manual. Always

have a manual for the car you own. An original Honda manual is the

best. The Haynes manual is not as good for this job as the Honda

manual I got from the Honda Hookup website. The Haynes manual does

show how to use a two-jaw puller on page 10-6, picture #8.5, to

separate the lower control arm from the steering knuckle balljoint.

On page 10-11, picture #16.4, it shows how to use the two-jaw

puller to separate the tie-rod end from the steering knuckle arm. I

buy the right tools for the right job, I used the Honda tool not

the two jaw puller, it didn't go under the ball joint properly for

me. Make sure your car is stable before you start working. Don't

depend on a hydraulic jack to hold your car up. Use strong jack

stands. I use 6 jack stands. Use tight blue rubber gloves to keep

your hands from looking like crude. Clean the brakes with brake

cleaner first. If its hot outside use a fan. The fan will blow away

all of the harmful dust that you may breathe in. I also use sun

blockers if you are in the open. Sun blockers are anything that

keeps the sun off of you. If you are crafty you can build a canopy

to block the sun. I have light stands and sand bags that I use to

attach large pieces of cardboard to. The sand bags are to keep the

light stands from falling over. This is for blocking the sun. I can

also place a tarp over my work area with this method. For outside

cold weather I use a 1000 watt Lowell D light. You can buy this

light from BH photo. Its the best light in the world for winter

work. I use portable led lanterns, Power On Board from Sam's. I

also use a portable Dewalt light. All are rechargeable. Work smart

not hard. Take a break if you get tired. Problems happen you are

tired. Always have a cell phone near by for the unthinkable. We

won't talk about this. lol If you have a video camera shoot what

you do. It will be great as a guide when you have to put it all

back together. Also it can be uploaded to youtube. I have been

working on my cars all of my life with the help of all of my

professional mechanic friends advice. I always buy Honda parts.

Honda parts are the finest. It only cost a few dollars more to go

first class. You can get oem Honda parts on-line for the same price

as the aftermarket parts. Just type into the search engine

"original Honda parts". One example is majestic Honda I buy mine

on-line and at the Honda store in town. Have a blast working &

learning on your Honda!

Update: Recently I found out that if you put this tool number

into Google you will get all of the information you will ever want

on the subject of how to do anything with your Honda. Its a gold

mine of information. Just type this into Google, 07MAC-SL00100 (32

mm). You will get pdf's about different makes of Honda's. The

07MAC-SL00100 (32 mm) is a Honda ball joint separator tool that

works on the 94 Honda and many other Honda cars. It separates the

ball joint from the lower arm. If you use this special Honda tool

you will make your job really easy. So many mechanics take the nut

off of the ball joint and beat the lower arm until it separates.

This is not the way I would recommend you to do it. You can

accidentally hit the threaded part of the ball joint and then you

are really in trouble. You have to put a 12mm hex nut onto the end

of the threaded section of the ball joint to prevent damage to the

treads. Then use the ball joint separator. There are many mechanics

that use a Pittman arm separator to separate the ball joint from

the lower arm. This method will tear the rubber boot on the ball

joint. This is why I use the Honda 07MAC-SL00100 ball separator

tool. $138 online. The tool will pay for itself. You can use other

tools to do the job but you might be out of more money than you

have bargained for in the end. Use the right tool for the right job

and don't sweat it. Its easy when you use the Honda tool. Tearing

the rubber boot will get you into more work. You will then have to

replace the ball joint. Trying to save money can actually make you

spend more money. How many times have I tried to save and then said

"I knew better but I was trying to save money that I didn't have".

If you have to replace the struts you will need the Honda tool

again. What about if you eventually have to replace the ball joint.

You can use this tool over and over again. And if you have a friend

who has a Honda Accord you can split the cost.

I just looked into the Haynes Repair Manual # 42013. On page

10-6 picture # 8.5 they show how to separate the lower control arm

from the steering knuckle balljoint with a two-jaw puller.

Evidently it works. And it can also be used to separate the tie-rod

end from the steering knuckle arm on page 10-11 picture # 16.4.

This is probably the best way to go. The Honda special tool is the

best but some what pricey. After finally doing all of the research

on this job, I would recommend you using the two jaw puller that

you see in the Haynes shop manual. It's more affordable than the

hard to get Honda tool. As you see the Honda tool is made special

for this job but the two jaw puller works well.

Update: I just found a web page that shows in detail how to use

the Honda tool. Here is the web address.

http://www.acuraworld.com/tsb/TSX/b90-027.pdf

Check this site out, I thought it was very informative. It has

step by step information with detailed pictures of how to do the

whole operation. I still think the special Honda tool is the best

way to go. Still check this out. In this website the persons says

the two jaw puller that the Haynes manual says use doesn't work. He

didn't use the special Honda tool. He used a pickled fork which

will damage the rubber boot on the ball joint. I still like the

effort he has given here. He does show that you new the star 12mm

socket to loosen the hub. That is something I hadn't touched

on.

http://www.hondahookup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154862

This is really the best example I have ever seen on how to use

the tool. This tool works on more than one Honda. Always check with

your local Honda dealer as to which of the two Honda tools is right

for your Honda. It takes a minimum of two weeks to get this tool

from all of the Honda dealerships & it could take even

longer.

I haven't been able to find the Honda tool from any place except

Honda.

update: I just found this online, I do not recommend this. This

is an example of what I told you about people using the wrong tool.

This person has said to use the pickled fork to separate the ball

joint from the spindle. I would not use the pickled fork myself. I

just wanted to let you see what others are saying. This is not my

recommendations. this is a way to tear the rubber boot in my

opinion. I know that thousands of mechanics all over the world use

this method. NOT ME!!! Here goes someones opinion....

"Your Accord has what is called "Trapped Rotors". They actually

fit behind the hub. The procedure to remove them is not

complicated, but it is time consuming.

Here is how I do it:

1) Remove axle retaining nut.

2) Remove brake caliper and bracket.

3) Remove lower ball joint retaining nut and use pickle fork to

loosen spindle from lower ball joint.

4) Remove axle from hub.

5) On the back of the spindle, remove four bolts that attach

hub/bearing to spindle.

6) Use slide hammer to remove rotor/hub assembly.

7) Remove 4 bolts attaching rotor to hub.

8) While it is a snug fit, the hub bearing does slide through

center of rotor to remove it.

Installation is in reverse order.

A bad bearing usually makes a growling noise while driving".

• == Final thoughts on this whole deal! Use the Honda tool or

  the OTC ball joint separator from Sears. Item# 00971255000

  Model# 6297. They have cheaper versions. From what I have read from

  others who have tried the two jaw puller it doesn't have a good

  enough grip on the jaw area to get under the rubber boot to hold

  on. That's why Honda made their tool to securely hold on.

  
  ==

• UPDATE 11-10-09
• I just changed out my rotors. I can truly say that I have

  new news about this ordeal. This is ground breaking NEWS. I now

  know how to do the whole job. Without a serious problem in getting

  it done. Follow my advice above about the Honda tool. It worked so

  fast & efficiently. I left off the instructions @ the point

  where it really gets tough. After you have disconnected everything,

  you still have to separate the rotor from the hub. All of this is

  done while the rotor & the hub are still attached to the car.

  Reconnect the tire rod end for stability. Use two cold chisels

  (regular size with flat points, the gap is flat so you use flat

  pointed chisels). You have to place the chisels between the front

  hub(the part with the tire studs on it) and the rotor. Place one

  chisel on the left and the other on the right. I heard a story

  about a person using a air chisel, it won't work unless the

  attachment is large enough to separate the two pieces. Take a 5

  pound hammer and bang your head off. Do not hurt anything in the

  center. Always look to see where you are banging. Don't hit

  anything. Just use the chisels to move into open areas between the

  two objects. Use a small flash lite to see where the chisels are

  headed. Once you have separated the front hub piece as far as you

  can and the front hub hasn't released itself, use a steel wood

  wedge. After a nite of using the two small cold chisels with

  success, I had failure on the drivers side. I couldn't get the hub

  & the rotor to separate. (the two small chisels were not thick

  enough)The log splitter wedge is the tool to use if the two cold

  chisels don't work. I had two of them in my tool bin. It worked

  like a charm. There you have it. Use the two regular cold chisels

  first. (always look where you are going with the chisels)You have

  to use the two small cold chisels first. The gap between the the

  hub part with the tire studs & the rotor is too small to use

  the log splitting wedges. I now call the log splitting wedges the

  new separators for this job. After separation, you have to rejoin

  the two hub pieces. Attach the rotors bolts to the front hub piece

  with strength. Use pressure to tighten the bolts into rotor. It has

  to align itself for proper rotation. Use a 2X4 on top of the back

  side of the hub to put the two parts of the hub back together. (

  you have to use the wood as a cushion so not to hurt the metal. You

  have to take the mud guard off to get to the back part of the hub.

  An impact screw driver was used to take the mud guard screws off.

  (only on one side, use a penetrating oil) I had to use gentle

  knocking and penetrating fluid to release the back hub part &

  patience. It was all rusted after I got it off. I sanded all of the

  rust away with Grey fine sandpaper. I repacked the bearings. I can

  now tell you that separating the rotor from the hub is unreal if

  you use a slide hammer(a hub separator won't work as good as my

  method). The rust can cause serious problems. My method of using

  the chisels & the log splitting wedges works better than the

  sliding hammer & hub separator. The force you put on the chisel

  and the wedge is greater than the force you can place on the

  sliding hammer. You can't use a regular hammer. Has to be a 5 lb.

  or larger. Don't let the hammer slide off the chisel, it just might

  hit you left index finger. (still in pain, I was tired when doing

  this job, never use the hammer when tired) Use the wedges after you

  get a good gap. Good luck.