Should I even mess with them or just bite the bullet? I initially was going to replace both front and rear calipers on my 2000 Accord EX, but rear calipers proved to be unaffordable to me so I bought a repair kit for those and was hoping to rebuilt them if needed. I actually started with the rear calipers going on the assumption (we all know how well those work) that rear brakes have a drum type emergency brake inside the rear rotors. Obviously I was wrong, itā€™s a screw type actuator that I have never dealt with before or just forgot how to ā€œworkā€ it. Sliding pins and mating surface on both sides of the rear calipers were gunkā€˜d up and brakes were dragging, but now I donā€™t know if it was only the hardware causing the dragging or the calipers rusted out inside and contributing to the issue. If I twist the brake cylinder (again assumingā€¦ in the clockwise direction) and it moves back and force fairly easy does it mean the calipers are fine or I need some other type of test? I am just trying to avoid rebuilding those things, but on other hand avoid redoing it again if it continues dragging afterwards. Thanks for your help, BTW, I ordered replacement sliding pins for both front and back, but the rear once came without the rubber grommets at the end of the two of them. Where would I get those?

 

i feel your brake pain. I spent 5 hrs yesterday replacing the pads, calipers, and rotors on teh rear of my passport.

That beauty has the drum inside the rotor parking brake design. It wouldnt retract unless i used a mallet. Had to to get the new rotors on...My solution is to not use the parking brake.

 

 

If you free up the piston so it rotates, you should find it turns clockwise to retract the piston back into the cylinder. That's the auto-adjust mechanism inside the caliper.

Work the handbrake lever (the one on the caliper) to verify that it pushes the piston out & back in. You should be able to feel the motion of the piston. Also shouldn't have excessive friction (corrosion?)or the springcan't release the handbrake. IF that allworks, you should be good.

If the mechanism is corroded or the lever sticks, getsomeone else tohelp. I haven't overhauled a rear caliper yet. I think you need a certain type of long snap ring pliers to reach way down into the caliper bore.

Don't necessarily twist the piston to retract it ALL the way. Only enough to install the new pads & rotors. It won't be perfect, just the closest match because you have to match the slot to the little pin on the brake pad.

After the pads wear down a little, you'll find out whether the auto-adjusters are working.

 

Cylinder moves freely back and force and so is the em. Brake leverThanks for pointing out the little pin on the pad! Iā€™d of missed that if you wouldnā€™t mention it.Comparing old pads to the new ones it looks like they had about 70% left on it. Oh well, I am not going to put old pads with new rotorsā€¦ BTW, the new pads are Morse and in addition to the pins they come with shims (separately), I am just concerned if those shims would not take too much of the height of the pin.I probably should open another thread but it is related. Do you recommend to mess with the rear spindle? I tried spinning it and itā€™s pretty slow spinning, probably never been lubricated properly. Itā€™s held in place with spindle nut that needs to be replaced. So can I/Should I take it apart, clean it with brake cleaner and lubricate it, put it back. Just thought Iā€™d do it while I am working on the brakes. [/ol] Thanks again!

 

I think the rear hub has sealed bearings. You can't lubricate them. Besides, you probably feel the drag of the seal, that's normal.

 

Thank you very much! one less things to worry about. I assume when bearing goes bad the noise will drive me out of the driver seat

 

Wheel bearings can do funnythings.

Had a rearwheel bearing go bad on a '98 Accord. It was a kind of a noise like rolling a large steel ball around in a cooking pot. It started out soft & gradually got louder.

Another bad wheel bearing (on an older Saab) sounded & felt just like real coarse knobby mud tires like you'd put on a jeep.

Another one (even older VW) just became loose with no noise.