Civic Rear Caliper Disassembly

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Manstink1

Manstink1

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How do you make sure the parking brake is disengaged? Doesn't it auto engage when you shut off the car?
The parking brake doesnt automatically engage unless you're in the car with it in drive using brake hold then unlatch your seatbelt, then it will apply the parking brake.
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Thank you. I figured that out today. Rear wheel bearing going bad. :(
 


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Recently I decided I wanted black brake calipers to match the sport hatchback wheels on my car because I thought the stock silver didn't look good enough, especially when dirty. I knew I didn't want to use spray paint because it doesn't look good over time and can be affected by brake fluid and fade in the sunlight. So I decided to powder coat my calipers. I finished the front calipers just fine with not too much issue thanks to the abundant articles and videos on how to disassemble them and paint them, but when it came to the rear calipers it was a different story. As far as I know, I am the only person who has disassembled the rear calipers and documented it.


TLDR; I disassembled my rear calipers to show you how to do it yourself.


DISCLAIMER; I am not a professional, i do not claim to be a professional. This is how I did my brake disassembly, yours may differ depending on your tools and mechanical knowledge. I take no responsibility for what you do to you or your car as a result of attempting to replicate this post. Wear gloves, and work on a surface that can get brake fluid on it. enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure the parking brake is DISENGAGED and the wheels are chocked off so your car doesn't roll away

Remove the wheel and keeping it somewhere safe so it doesn't get damaged


On the back of the caliper there's gonna be a rubber boot with plastic caps over the ends, you'll need to remove those (they pull off by hand)

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Inside the rubber boot there are allen key bolts (7mm I believe) loosen them, don’t remove them


Then on the front of the caliper there is a spring clip that needs to be removed, it can be popped off easily with a small screwdriver


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Also make sure to have the brake line crimped off so the fluid doesn't leak out and air does not enter the brake system when the brake line banjo bolt is removed.

Use a pair of long nose Vise-grips with hose over the end so you don't cut your brake line, also they make Vise-grips without teeth for this purpose.

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Use a 14mm socket and remove the brake line bolt. Make sure to have a catch tray ready to catch brake fluid that drips. DON'T GET ANY BRAKE FLUID ON YOUR CARS PAINT, IT WILL EAT IT AWAY.

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Use a small flathead screwdriver to push in the release on the electronic parking brake (EPB) connector and remove the cable.

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After the EPB cable and the brake line has been disconnected you can fully remove the allen key bolts holding the caliper on and then remove the caliper completely from the vehicle. (may require extreme wiggling to get it off.)


When the caliper is free from the vehicle and on your work surface use a caliper wind-back tool to completely screw in the piston.


DO NOT under any circumstances UNSCREW the piston to remove it. The parking brake mechanism contains a corkscrew with a channel where exactly 71 super small ball bearings and 9 equally small springs live, pressed tightly together to create the threads for the piston to rest on. Losing a single ball or spring could result in a scrapped caliper because the only part available from honda for the caliper is the dust boot. I know all this because I unscrewed the caliper on the other side and a spring flew out and I luckily found it. But reassembling the parking brake mechanism took about 2 hours and could have been avoided entirely. So just don't unscrew the piston and you'll be okay :)

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Then using a 3/16 allen key, remove the two bolts on the motor assembly for the EPB and remove the assembly by pulling it off.

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Using a flathead screwdriver pry the dustboot away from the caliper, the dust boot is the only replaceable part on the caliper so if you break it you should be okay. But it isn't hard to remove

Dust boot part number: 43214-TBA-A01 (check you cars fitment)

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On the back of the caliper where the splined shaft comes out there is a “C” clip on the base that prevents the innards from sliding out and it needs to be removed. I used a steel chisel and ball peen hammer to tap it out from the surface its resting on, then it will slide (with some help) down the splined shaft and off completely. Then the complete inner mechanism can be removed by pushing the shaft from the back. There is a thrust bearing that must not be dropped or let dust get in. the piston head itself just sits on top of the inner mechanism so dont think you've broken it if it starts to slide off, just put it back on. Set the inner mechanism aside in a clean place with paper towels to soak up brake fluid that may drip out.

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In the back of the piston hole, where the shaft went through, there is an O-ring and possibly the washer that sits on the back of the thrust bearing. They can be removed with a curved pick. Also use a curved pick to remove the square cut seal from the piston bore.

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If you haven't done so by now then remove the rubber boots from their holes on each side of the caliper, then you will have yourself a disassembled rear caliper ready for whatever you needed it disassembled for. The re-assembly is going to be the exact opposite of the disassembly, be sure to put grease on the back where the “C” clip sits.


Here's my powder coating.

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I sandblasted it too, don't worry.

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Mate, do you have any pictures or steps to put those ball bearings and springs back together please? I think the caliper piston on mine was turned counter clockwise and springs are all loosened.

also are those 9 springs are equal in length or 8 small springs and one long spring?

your help is much appreciated and a savior for me. Many thanks in advance! ??
 

Dave B

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Does the piston assembly come out as 1 piece after you remove the C clip at the back?

Also, if you just want to change the dust boot, do you need to remove the piston or can it be done with the piston still in the caliper?
 
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Manstink1

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Does the piston assembly come out as 1 piece after you remove the C clip at the back?

Also, if you just want to change the dust boot, do you need to remove the piston or can it be done with the piston still in the caliper?
Yes, after the clip is removed the piston assembly will slide out as 1 piece. Be careful not to let the inner mechanism unscrew from the piston otherwise you'll have a mess of balls and springs to deal with.
 

Soulnchain

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Hey guys, i started having brake caliper issues some months ago: my rear passenger side caliper doesn’t fully open back up when i break, dragging the brakes and wearing down my pads fast. I never took the caliper off the car but i cleaned the pins and the pad bracket, greased the pins, sanded the parts where the pads sit on the bracked and grased with antiseize, basically cleaned everything and made sure everything slides good but today, the first day i drove the car after the cleaning, the same issue came back. I noticed a small slit in the rubber piston boot so i guess dirt got in and is preventing the piston from going back, so i wanted to take the piston out and clean that and change the boot.
Now my question… i saw a YT video where the guy said that these pistons are supposed to be just pushed in and NOT screwed in because they have an ebrake. My piston goes in either way and both times i removed the ebrake motor from the back before pushing it in and also screwed the torx bolt behind the piston clockwise after removing it. I am so confused😅
 
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Soulnchain

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Recently I decided I wanted black brake calipers to match the sport hatchback wheels on my car because I thought the stock silver didn't look good enough, especially when dirty. I knew I didn't want to use spray paint because it doesn't look good over time and can be affected by brake fluid and fade in the sunlight. So I decided to powder coat my calipers. I finished the front calipers just fine with not too much issue thanks to the abundant articles and videos on how to disassemble them and paint them, but when it came to the rear calipers it was a different story. As far as I know, I am the only person who has disassembled the rear calipers and documented it.


TLDR; I disassembled my rear calipers to show you how to do it yourself.


DISCLAIMER; I am not a professional, i do not claim to be a professional. This is how I did my brake disassembly, yours may differ depending on your tools and mechanical knowledge. I take no responsibility for what you do to you or your car as a result of attempting to replicate this post. Wear gloves, and work on a surface that can get brake fluid on it. enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make sure the parking brake is DISENGAGED and the wheels are chocked off so your car doesn't roll away

Remove the wheel and keeping it somewhere safe so it doesn't get damaged


On the back of the caliper there's gonna be a rubber boot with plastic caps over the ends, you'll need to remove those (they pull off by hand)




Inside the rubber boot there are allen key bolts (7mm I believe) loosen them, don’t remove them


Then on the front of the caliper there is a spring clip that needs to be removed, it can be popped off easily with a small screwdriver





Also make sure to have the brake line crimped off so the fluid doesn't leak out and air does not enter the brake system when the brake line banjo bolt is removed.

Use a pair of long nose Vise-grips with hose over the end so you don't cut your brake line, also they make Vise-grips without teeth for this purpose.



Use a 14mm socket and remove the brake line bolt. Make sure to have a catch tray ready to catch brake fluid that drips. DON'T GET ANY BRAKE FLUID ON YOUR CARS PAINT, IT WILL EAT IT AWAY.




Use a small flathead screwdriver to push in the release on the electronic parking brake (EPB) connector and remove the cable.




After the EPB cable and the brake line has been disconnected you can fully remove the allen key bolts holding the caliper on and then remove the caliper completely from the vehicle. (may require extreme wiggling to get it off.)


When the caliper is free from the vehicle and on your work surface use a caliper wind-back tool to completely screw in the piston.


DO NOT under any circumstances UNSCREW the piston to remove it. The parking brake mechanism contains a corkscrew with a channel where exactly 71 super small ball bearings and 9 equally small springs live, pressed tightly together to create the threads for the piston to rest on. Losing a single ball or spring could result in a scrapped caliper because the only part available from honda for the caliper is the dust boot. I know all this because I unscrewed the caliper on the other side and a spring flew out and I luckily found it. But reassembling the parking brake mechanism took about 2 hours and could have been avoided entirely. So just don't unscrew the piston and you'll be okay :)




Then using a 3/16 allen key, remove the two bolts on the motor assembly for the EPB and remove the assembly by pulling it off.




Using a flathead screwdriver pry the dustboot away from the caliper, the dust boot is the only replaceable part on the caliper so if you break it you should be okay. But it isn't hard to remove

Dust boot part number: 43214-TBA-A01 (check you cars fitment)




On the back of the caliper where the splined shaft comes out there is a “C” clip on the base that prevents the innards from sliding out and it needs to be removed. I used a steel chisel and ball peen hammer to tap it out from the surface its resting on, then it will slide (with some help) down the splined shaft and off completely. Then the complete inner mechanism can be removed by pushing the shaft from the back. There is a thrust bearing that must not be dropped or let dust get in. the piston head itself just sits on top of the inner mechanism so dont think you've broken it if it starts to slide off, just put it back on. Set the inner mechanism aside in a clean place with paper towels to soak up brake fluid that may drip out.
I took your guide and made a video ;)

 

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I took your guide and made a video ;)

Thanks a lot for the video. Interesting that you don't need to take the piston out to change the dust boot even though it is a PITA. (I have tears there as well but no leaks or reason to suspect an issue with the inner piston seal.)
 

Soulnchain

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Thanks a lot for the video. Interesting that you don't need to take the piston out to change the dust boot even though it is a PITA. (I have tears there as well but no leaks or reason to suspect an issue with the inner piston seal.)
Surprisingly I had no leaks, i guess the o-ring does a good job at sealing the piston surface from the outside.
 

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Before pushing the piston back in with the electronic parking brake. You're Supposed to disengage the parking break either manually or electronically with a scan tool. Then compress piston. Pinch the brake line and use the release valve for draining the little bit of brake fluid out. Should be the first step too!!
 

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Now my question… i saw a YT video where the guy said that these pistons are supposed to be just pushed in and NOT screwed in because they have an ebrake.
This is true. The Electric drive should be backed off either manually or with a scan tool. Only then should the piston be pushed in (not turned).

The maintenance manual approved way to manually back the epb off is to remove the actuator and take a torx socket and turn the spindle manually.
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