I don't have anywhere to change my brake pads but a public street. So if I park along a street, I can change one brake pad on the sidewalk side, but the other side has moving cars so I can't without risking someone hitting me as I'm crouched near the tire.

Can I change one brake pad on the sidewalk side. Start the car up after it's all done, drive to the other side of the street and change the other side?

I don't foresee a problem with doing this. The caliper pistons aren't connected, so the fact that one side pad is thicker than the other should have no problem right? The only thing I can think of is since one pad is thicker the piston needs less travel to touch it, so the car might pull to one side when braking but this wouldn't be so severe right?

 

You will be fine....in a pinch I've replaced one side during the week as it was starting to get into the rotor...waited until the weekend to do the other.

 

Cool. Did you notice any pulling or anything funny when braking with only one new pad?

Also did you do a brake pad job on ABS brakes? The internet is torn about whether you need to bleed when compressing the piston, if I didn't have to do it, it would make the job easier. I saw a Honda service manual page on changing brake pads and it didn't say anything about bleeding but this may have been for non-ABS brakes.

For ABS brakes, compressing the caliper piston should be as follows?:
Put clear piping over the bleeder screw on the caliper.
Put the other end of the piping into fresh brake fluid.
Open the bleeder.
Compress the piston. Fluid should force through piping pushing air in piping out until it ends up in fresh brake fluid as air bubbles that float up and disappear.
Close the bleeder.
Disconnect hose, done.

 

You don't have to bleed the brakes but doing it when changing pads is a reasonable reminder if you don't always pay attention to bleeding fresh fluid every couple years.

Have you been adding fluid over the life of those pads, as the pistons move out? If so, you'll have to worry about the reservoir overflowing when you press the caliper pistons in.

 

IMO, you don't have to bleed anything. You have to turn the rear calliper piston clockwise, to retract it, and make sure the slot lines up with the tab on the inner pad. If the master cylinder is full, you will have to remove some fluid, because when you push the calliper piston in, the level at the master cylinder will rise. Also, be careful not to damage the rubber piston boot when turning and pushing it in.

Beat me to it Jim.

 

Hey thanks for the replies guys.

You have to turn it? I thought all you had to do was push it in?

 

Front caliper pistons simply push in to make room for the thicker new pads.

The rear calipers have the handbrake auto-adjust mechanism inside, so they don't push directly in. You have to twist them as if you're screwing in a bolt. There's a slot (or crossed slots) on the piston, you can figure out a tool for that. There's actually a tool, but all kinds of ghetto tools will work just fine. Use a putty-knife as if it were a huge wide screwdriver. Or maybe you have a huge wide-blade screwdriver?

While twisting the piston, you need to pay attention to the rubber dust-boot. Make sure it doesn't wrinkle, twist, & tear. It's supposed to slide nicely, but it's gonna be dirty & maybe you need to help hold it straight.

 

Alright, cool. Yeah I forgot to read the part where "rear" was stated.

I didn't add any fluid as the pistons moved outward, so I'm assuming provided I don't bleed, if the pistons are pushed back in that fluid level will increase but not more than what was in there before the pads wore down.

For the rubber dust boot, how will I know if I'm damaging it say if I were to put the old brake pad over the piston to even out the pressure I apply with a C-Clamp or use one of the clamps made specifically for brakes that have a wide flat area to push on the pistons with? Is the boot going to get caught under the piston when the piston goes back in causing the boot to tear or something?

 

Here is a good video on how to do the rear brakes.

 

If you're doing the front brakes, those rubber dust-boots pretty much fold back properly all by themselves. If you use a C-clamp, then the clamp goes inside the hollow part of the piston, leaving you with a good view of the dust-boot as it compresses. Just watch it, you'll see what we mean.

When you do the rear brakes, it's the twisting motion that more likely causes the dust-boot to wrinkle up. Again, just be aware of it and you'll see whether it's going OK.

Front and back, when you fit the inboard pad into the caliper, watch that the rubber boot has folded OK so it doesn't get pinched between the piston & pad. You'll be able to see what we mean.