How to Replace Install Front Brakes 2008 Honda Accord

Hi, I’m Mike from 1A Auto. We’ve been selling auto parts for over 30 years!

I'm going to use the breaker bar and a 19-millimeter socket, and loosen the lug nuts with the vehicle on the ground. Raise and support the vehicle. We're using our two-post lift, but you can use a jack and jack stands. I'm going to use the socket and finish removing the lug nuts. The hubcap is held on with the lug nuts. Take the wheel and tire off. Put that aside.

Before I remove this caliper, I want to push the piston back in slightly so it's easier to pull off the pads. Use a large flat bladed screwdriver, and just kind of wedge it in here and gently pull it out. It will compress the piston in. It's just going to push that fluid back into the master cylinder. So we can also see that our caliper is moving nice and freely. The caliper's in good shape.

Now I can go ahead and remove these mounting bolts. Start with the bottom one. It's a 12-millimeter bolt. I'm using a closed-end wrench to loosen it. Spin it right out. Before I take it all the way out, I'll do the same to the top one. Thread both of these out. Hold on to the caliper so it doesn't fall. Pull the caliper right off the brake pads. Going to rest it right there for a second. Hold on to it.

I'll take a bungee cord, and I'll wrap a bungee cord around it. I'll just hook it up here to the spring. It will just keep it from getting in my way or falling on the floor. Hook that around so it holds it. Perfect. I'm going to pull these hardware springs right out and just kind of squeeze them together. They'll slide right out. They don't have much tension to them. Pull the brake pads out. Wiggle them out of the clips. Same for both of them. If they don't come out easily, you can take a flat bladed screwdriver, a large one, and just kind of push them out.

I'm going to use a large ratchet and a 17-millimeter socket to remove the upper and lower bracket bolts. Get them both broken free. Those are pretty loose. I'm going to hold on to the bracket, and just thread the bolts out by hand. I'm just going to hold the bracket because I don't want it to fall. Pull that out. The rotor is held to the hub with these two large Phillips head screws, so I'm going to use a large Phillips head screwdriver and loosen them. And these ones came out easily.

Sometimes they don't come out very easily. You have to rust penetrant. You might have to use an impact screwdriver. I got lucky on these ones, and they came out easily. The rotor should slide right off the hub. If it doesn't slide right off, there are threaded holes that you can put eight-millimeter by 1.25 bolts in here, and push the rotor off. But this is going to come right off.

Here's our original pads and rotors from our vehicle and our brand new pads and rotors from 1AAuto.com. They're an exact match: same style pad with the wear indicator. These have new shims on them. They are nice and thick. These weren't too bad, but we wanted to show you how to change them anyways. Same exact bolt pattern and vented rotor. These will fit great and work great in your vehicle.

I'm going to install the rotor backwards first. Take some brake parts cleaner. Just clean off the oil that it's shipped in so it doesn't flash rust. Wipe off the excess with a rag. This hub's in good shape. It's not overly rusty. I'm not going to worry about cleaning it. If it was really rusty, you could take a wire brush and knock off the heavy bits of rust, but this one's in good shape, so I'm going to leave it. Install the rotor into the correct side now.

Make sure you line up these screw holes with the threaded holes on the hub. I'm going to install the screws so it holds the rotor in place. And the torque on these is not very high. Just get them down hand-tight. All they do is hold the rotor in place while you're installing everything to keep it from flopping around. If you didn't have these or you destroyed them coming out, you could just put a lug nut on here to hold the rotor in place while you're working.

So I'll just get them a little snug. That's perfect just like that. Clean the fact of the rotor with some brake parts cleaner now, and just wipe off the excess. You can clean this hardware and reuse it. It's stainless steel. Just use some brake parts cleaner, wire brush, and clean it up. Do the same for the other side. Caliper slide pins I noticed earlier when I was moving the caliper in and out that they're moving nice and freely, so I'm not going to worry about them. They're in great shape.

This can be reinstalled in the vehicle. Put the caliper bracket in place. Get it roughly lined up. You might have to move it around a little bit. Thread the bolts in. The other bolt threaded in. I'll come back and torque these afterwards. The torque for these bolts was 79.6 foot-pounds. I'm going to do it to 80 foot-pounds. I'll just round up a little bit. Once it clicks, it's reached the torque and you're all set. Do the same for both. Just want to make sure the pad face is nice and clean—you didn't touch it with any greasy gloves or fingers. Just take some brake parts cleaner and just quickly spray it. You don't need to soak it. You just want to clean off any dirt that's on there or grease.

I'm going to take a little bit of brake caliper grease. I'll put it right on the ears. This is where they ride in the caliper hardware or clips. You don't want to put too much, just enough. These pads have a curve to them. The outer curve is going to match the outer curve of the rotor. Going to slide it into the clip in, and then slide it into the other clip. It will just sit up against the rotor like that.

Do the same for the outside pad. Going to reinstall our spring clips. They go on the little holes right here. They'll want to push the pads outwards. That's okay. These help the pads release after you let off the brake. Got to get them into place. That'll be okay for now. This piston is really—it's already compressed into the caliper, which is good. If it was sticking out further, it might not go on over the new pads because they're thicker. You could take your old brake pad, put it in here, and a large C-clamp, and just gently compress this in, but I can see that it's basically retracted into the caliper, so I'm going to try to install it as is. If I need to, I'll compress it some more.

So what's happening when you compress this piston, the brake fluid is being pushed back into the master cylinder. There's no need to open the cap or bleed the system. You may need to remove some extra fluid at the end because these pads will take up less fluid, and you can just remove it using a turkey baster. There's no need to open the bleeder screw on the caliper.

Install the caliper. Make sure it's not twisted around the line. Squeeze these together with one hand. Yep, that was compressed just enough. So these caliper slide pins have a flat spot. It's going to meet that flat spot there. Make sure both of them are set up that way, just like that.

Reinstall the slide pin bolts. Do that for both of them. Get them tight just with my fingers, and then I'll torque them. Torque these upper and lower slide pin bolts to 37 foot-pounds and a 12-millimeter socket. Once it clicks, it's all set. Do the same for both. Don't forget to take your bungee cord out.

Turn this all straight, and reinstall our wheel and tire. Lower the vehicle to the ground. Put the wheel and tire back on. Hubcap popped off. The lug nuts do go over the hubcap, so I'll just find the opening for the tire valve, and put it right over that. It should line up with the holes. It'll just snap in place.

Start our lug nuts by hand. One caught. Do the rest. The socket tighten these down. Torque these with the vehicle on the ground, but for right now just tighten them down by hand. Tighten them to 80 foot-pounds in a cross pattern.

Before you start your vehicle, just gently press on the brake pedal. It will bring those pistons out to meet the rotors, because we compressed them earlier. It'll slowly build up pressure. It starts getting harder. You don't have to get in here and slam it to the floor. Just gently pump it up. Got a nice hard pedal now. Your brake job is complete. You can go adjust the brake fluid level as necessary, but you're all set.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1AAuto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry

How to Replace Install Front Brakes 2008 Honda Accord

step 1 :Removing the Wheel

step 2 :Removing the Brake Pads and Rotor

step 3 :Preparing the New Brake Pads and Rotors

step 4 :Installing the New Brake Rotor

step 5 :Installing the New Brake Pads

step 6 :Reattaching the Wheel

step 7 :Testing the Brakes

Tools needed

Shop Products

Honda Acura Front Ceramic Brake Pad & Rotor Kit TRQ BKA10850

Part Details:

How to Replace Drum Brakes on Any Vehicle

How to Replace Install Front Brakes 2008 Honda Accord

step 1 :Removing the Wheel 0:21

step 2 :Removing the Brake Pads and Rotor 0:56

step 3 :Preparing the New Brake Pads and Rotors 4:39

step 4 :Installing the New Brake Rotor 6:30

step 5 :Installing the New Brake Pads 7:47

step 6 :Reattaching the Wheel 11:06

step 7 :Testing the Brakes 12:17

Tools needed

Shop Products

Honda Acura Front Ceramic Brake Pad & Rotor Kit TRQ BKA10850

Part Details:

How to Replace Drum Brakes on Any Vehicle

step 1 :Removing the Wheel

step 2 :Removing the Brake Pads and Rotor

step 3 :Preparing the New Brake Pads and Rotors

step 4 :Installing the New Brake Rotor

step 5 :Installing the New Brake Pads

step 6 :Reattaching the Wheel

step 7 :Testing the Brakes