I have an 07 Fit...

Ok, I'm pulling my hair out... I've done countless brake jobs, so what the hell is the deal with my rotors? I pulled my wheel, removed the two bolts that hold the caliper in place and zip tied it to the strut tower to hold it out of the way. Then using my impact screw driver removed the two rotor screws, the rotor WILL NOT come off, and I mean not to save it's life either.

My 07 Fit has 93k on it and they're worn out so replacing everything (lot of hiway miles) I found a tap and cleaned up the threads on the rotor hat so I could use those to pull the rotor off, threaded in some grade 8 bolts alternating half turn each to pull the rotor off... no way baby, imagine my surprise when I realized that the rotor hat was cracking, and splitting and NOT COMING OFF WTF?! Any ideas? I'm seriously stumped, I don't want to take it to the dealer but this rotor has serious separation anxiety :P

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

ok well I got it... my gawd... I had to beat it off, Ohio salts their roads in the winters, and this guy has 4 winters under it's belt, there was a lip of corrosion built up inside the hat which wouldn't pass over the hub that holds the wheel studs in place, I had to slowly beat it, turn half turn, beat it, and turn, repeat... ultimately it came off, the studs look fine. The rotor looks terrible but I got it off so onward...

wish my luck...

 

Nice, Good luck. I just bought OEM rotors and pads and wantd to do the job myself or with my gf but I'm not 100% confident I'll do it right. What will you be using to push the caliper back in? The special tool for ABS brakes or just a C-clamp or something?

 

No special tools needed. An impact driver and hammer to remove the rotor screws, and a C-clamp and an old brake pad will do just fine for retracting the pistons.

 

getting brake rotors off that have been on for a long time sucks sometimes. I had trouble once on a friends car, I ended up beating it off with a 3lb hammer. One of the rotors actually broke in half while doing it.

 

yeah they were seriously corroded, the drivers side came off with a LOT less fuss.

as for compressing the piston in the caliper I just stuck the old pad back in there and used a large C clamp and slowly tightened it till the piston was flush in the housing.

I'll need to bed the pads in tomorrow if I get the time, otherwise, mission accomplished.

 

bedded the pads this morning on the way to work, 35 min commute rural county hiway so that worked out well, almost no traffic at 6:30am.

Brembo OE replacement rotors and Hawk Ceramic pads, yup... it stops gud. I'm certain it will continue to improve as I get the first couple hundred miles on them. I checked the rotors this morning after getting to work and I have a nice blue halo around the base of the rotor hat so I'd say its all done.

For anyone who is interested these are the parts I used. Shop around and compare prices, IRP's prices are really decent and shipping was very fast.

Rotors
Front - Brembo OE Brake Rotor :: Brake Rotors :: Brakes :: Import Replacement Parts

Pads
Front - Hawk Ceramic Brake Pad Set :: Brake Pads :: Brakes :: Import Replacement Parts

 

good prices , does ceramic pads wear faster ?

 

Would you happen to know what company makes the Honda OEM rotors?

 

I believe Nissin makes the calipers. I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear Brembo makes the OEM rotors either.

 

That's what I thought. I remember hearing Brembo makes the blanks but not 100% sure.

 

I can't confirm that Brembo makes the OEM rotors or not, I might look into it a little more.

As far as I know the ceramic pads do not wear any faster than the OEM pads (they should last longer), I wanted something with at least the same or better performance as the OEM pads and these were one of the pads that the guy from IRP recommended to me. I read several favorable reviews of the Hawk Ceramic pads on Honda-tech and the price was pretty good so I thought I'd give them a try.

According to Hawk these pads;

• Increased stopping power
• Increased rotor life
• Extended pad life
• Ultra-low dust
• Extremely quiet
• Stable friction output

I will comment about the low dust later after I've lived with them for a few thousand miles, as for quiet part, I have experienced 0 braking noise, no squeaks, squeals, or other noises.

@Funkster - Nissin definitely makes the calipers

 

i had the same issue with my rotors too, i had to hammer them off... pain in the ass. New England salts and whats not...used about 2 cans of WD-40

 

My hawk pads are really quiet except the noise right before I completely stop or just let go of the brake from a complete stop. It doesn't bother me much. But as for the performance of the pads, they are awesome! The brake dust situation is just as little worst than the oem pads IMO, but I could blame my drilled rotors.

 

FWIW, OEM pad material is ceramic.

To those who are trying to use WD40 to break rust, change to a penetrant like PB Blaster and you will be amazed.

 

Cripes, replacing Rotors before 100K? What is the deal there?

 

They don't make rotors like they do in the '70s. It's easier and cheaper to replace them but they wear out very quick. I don't know anyone who even has them turned anymore. Usually there's nothing left to even out. Could also be related to the Fit's extremely long braking distance. Very annoying.

 

Most people never adjust rear brakes and end up using 80+ % of the stopping power from the front brake pads. That is why rotors and pads wear out quickly.
I had mind turned by the dealer when slight vibration developed at 16 K. They were within spec of course.

 

I had great luck on the stock rotors and pads. They even worked great for a few races during the beginning of my AutoX season this year. The rears did eventually get high spots from racing. I had them turned a few months ago and have them adjusted for some drag to help heat them up for racing.

 

Holy 3 year old thread, Batman!