Do we need to use the screws that come on our OEM rotors?

I was having a tough time taking mine off when I resurfaced my rotors a week ago and when I went to put the screws back in, I broke the head off of one. Since I broke one, I decided not to use any of them since I see cars without them all the time.

All was fine until I started hearing a knocking noise coming from my front end while braking just before the car comes to a stop. (from like 5mph-0mph). It's a knocking noise and I can feel it.

I can't think of where else this noise would be coming from. I checked my lug nuts and they seem fine. The brake assembly was all tight (all bolts were nice and snug) and this is the only thing I have left to check.

Any ideas?

 

Yes you need those rotor screws replace them immediately. Your rotors will not be seated properly.

 

Not only do you need them, but I suspect that Honda recommends replacing with new ones every time they are removed -- to prevent the type of problem you describe.

 

 

Well this sucks. I have no idea how I could remove the one that I broke the head off of.

Weird thing is, I saw someone on here telling someone else they didn't need those screws since their new rotors didn't come with the holes for them. I thought it would be okay not to use them. I guess not.

 

You're talking about the four flat screws, correct? Try assembling with just three. Also the top and bottom caliper pins are different. If you get them wrong you can produce the symptoms you're describing, most likely your problem. Upper one should have a "smooth" shank I believe. Check 'em and possibly reverse locations while you're in there.

 

Yeah, the flat rotor screws.

If the caliper bolts are different, do you know which goes on top and which goes on the bottom? I didnt notice any difference (wasn't really looking since i thought they were the same) so I just put them in and I probably have only side wrong. I guess I'll know if I only fix one side

edit: I see in the diagram that they are different... I'll have to check them out 16 and 11.

 

Best I can give you - you might call a Honda parts or service department, they'll tell you.

 

Unless you edited your post, I'm not sure why I missed the "smooth" part of your post. I see it now in the diagram. Thanks for your help. Now I have to wait a few days until my replacement lug key arrives. I bent the original while taking my lugs off... which were torqued to spec. That's a "whole 'nother" story though.

 

If it ain't one thing it's another... HA!

 

I just got my front left wheel off and realized that I never removed those caliper pins so that couldn't have been the problem. Also, the boot on the caliper, does that come off and go back on? It seems stuck on there and I don't want to remove it if its not supposed to come off but I noticed one of mine is a bit loose on the caliper end and I'm afraid of getting dirt in there. Anyone take those boots off or the caliper pins?

Well after removing the wheel and taking the caliper off on the left side, everything looked good. So the problem is either the right side assembly or those silly flat head screws I didn't use...and can't seem to find. Guess there's a trip to Honda in my near future.

 

well, i've done the rotors on my brother's geo metro and the screws where so rusted we had to drill the heads... we left it that way and the rotor was pretty snug after the pads came back on. it's been 3 months now and no problems whatsoever

 

Took both brake assemblies apart today and found nothing, and the noise is still there. I guess I'll have to find a way to take out the broken screw and replace all four of them. If they have them at the dealer when I go there, I plan on buying a bunch of them. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'm torching the car

 

dont go and torch the car. I'm pretty sure that it's the rotor screws. I've always re-used the old ones and never had any problems with those.

 

I use anti seize compound on the screws, I took care of it at my first tire rotation. Also a good idea is to use anti seize on the back of the rotor as it can get rusted on and can be a real pita to get off. Someone suggested using ss rotor screws availabile at HD but I can't find the thread.

 

stainless steel screws? HD?

 

For those flat headed screws when i slapped on new rotors, i replaced them with new OEM screws. I couldn't break them free, i had to drill them out. Yeah it was PITA cuz each bolt took 20 minutes drilling to get out. This has occurred with every honda i've owned. Those little screws are really tight from factory and the only way to get them off properly is to remove them with a torque gun, or just drilling it out.

You need those to keep the rotor seated properly. Most honda's have them. Do not try to reuse them, just replace them there cheap from honda. And when you put the new ones back on, just use a little bit of thread locker (blue) to keep it from backing out, but easily removable with a screwdriver.

As for the caliper bolts, there the same so u can swap them. The boots are not supposed to come off, so don't tug on it.

HD = home depot. Don't do that though just go through honda. They have them in stock b/c all honda's use the same flat headed screws.

 

Rotor set screws are only there to hold the rotor in place while installing them, and when the wheels are off. Once the wheels are installed, your lug nuts torque the rotor down against the hub. And yeah, always have extras on hand when doing a brake job, since even when they're properly removed the heads will get a little mangled.

And the tool you need to remove them is an impact driver, they're not expensive. I would never use any kind of thread locker on them, they're hard enough to get out as it is. Use high temp anti-seize, and that will make it a tiny bit easier to remove them next time.

 

+1 I used a hand impact driver I bought years ago and rarely use. The rotor screws are on tight from the factory,even when there is no rust present . The ss rotor screws are a great idea I dont like to go to the dealer for anything. If I find the thread I will post.

 

the hand impact driver will be enough to get them off you dont need to drill them out from my experiences. also when putting them back on dont put them on to tight. The rotation of the wheels will tighten them down over time that's why they're usually a pita to get off.