Civic-EG.com Forum 3.3.1

- Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:07 am #351846 DIY IN PROCESS


I know there's already a DIY stickied.
But I thought I'd post up another rear disc conversion that's based on my own personal experinces.

And hopefully it will answer questions that might not have been addressed in other tutorials.

It's going to a working thread, so bear with me until I finish my tutorial.


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Parts List: Condition Cost Parts Location

Rear Spindles (used) $200 (for 2) Junk Yard
(includes Lower & Upper Control Arm, Caliper, Rotor)

Rotors - Rear (new) $43.98 (for 2) Autozone / Part #31149
Energy Suspension Bushings Master Kit (new) $130 (kit) Ebay or Summit / ES Part #16-18103
Energy Suspension Bushings Trailing Arms (new) $35 (kit) Ebay or Summit / ES Part #16.7106G

Brake Master Cylinder 15/16 (from a 1991 EX) (new) $75.99 Autozone / Part #NM52517
Brake Hoses (new) $36 (L&R sides) Autozone / Part #70502 & 70504

Brake Fluid DOT3 (1 qt) (new) $6.59 Autozone
Carbureter Cleaner (new) $3.49 Autozone
Caliper Paint (new) $8.99 Autozone
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Total Cost $540.04

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RETRIEVE PARTS


Acquire rear disc brake parts
Most likely you'll get most of your parts from the junk yard as there are plenty of hondas lurking the yard
Some parts I got brand new out of personal preference
See my parts list for a more comprehensive cost layout of this project.
I did spend a lot of time cleaning my parts because they accumulated a lot of dirt and grime
It's the most boring part of the process, but the visual payoff is rewarding







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PREP NEW PARTS FOR INSTALLATION


Clean up your parts (optional, but recommended)
You dont have to clean your parts, but you might as well freshen up your parts.
It makes the whole job a lot cleaner when you're doing the install
And it makes everything look nicer and cleaner
I also like to add that using a HEAT GUN loosens up the grim and makes the clean up process a lot easier!

I ended up painting the hat of my new rotors to prevent them from water corrosion






I also painted my calipers & brackets to give them a nice clean look as well.






One clean spindle next to the dirty one, you can see the big visual difference it makes when you clean your parts





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Replace bushings (Optional I guess)
Not required, but if you're going this far and dealing with 20+ year old parts, I can guarantee your rubber bushings are either shot or getting there.
All the the bushings on my acquired parts had a lot of visual signs of wear.

Energy Suspension Polyurethane bushings are a great purchase for the money.
If you're installing polyurethane bushings to replace the old rubber one, then the good news is that you do not have to remove the metal ring that holds it in place.
Usually you have to get the metal ring pressed out with a special tool.

I used the following tools to remove the rubber trailing arm bushing:
Electric drill
Carbureter cleaner
Flat head screw driver (medium sized)
C-Clamp

REMOVING BUSHINGS

Use a drill to cut/drill out pieces of each rubber bushing to weaken the bushing.
Spray carbureter cleaner on the bushing and scrape/poke/jab/pry the rubber bushing with a flat head screw driver
Once you actually get the carbureter cleaner to penetrate the bond between the rubber and the outer ring of the bushings, the rubber will loosen up very easily.
Use the C-clamp to help press the metal slot sitting inside each bushing


INSTALLING NEW POLYURETHANE BUSHINGS

Once you have all the bushings removed, the installation of the new polyurethane bushings are very easy and straight forward.
Make sure you use the recommended lubricant properly

The only one that's a little difficult to install is the trailing arm bushing
I had to make my own prop to help the bushing go all the way through the metal ring straight.
I recommend using a long bolt, some big washers and some sort of bracket to help pull the bushing through the metal ring housing














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PREPARE CAR FOR INSTALLATION


Set up car for swap - Lift car and place on jack stands
You'll need plenty of room, so lift your car up as high as you can
I used rhino ramps to lift of the front quickly.




Remove exhaust pipe (everything between the headers and muffler)
You're gunna need to remove this in order to get the hand brake cables out of the cabin











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REMOVE STOCK REAR DRUM SPINDLES
Detach brake hoses
Remove the retaining clip
Disconnect the brake hose


Have a plastic bag handy with a strong clip
Once you disconnect the brake line, you'll want to hang a bag on the hard line to capture leaking brake fluid


Remove hand brake cables
Go inside your car
Remove center console


Loosen & remove the hand brake assembly




Go underneath car remove brackets that hold hand brake cables to the car chassis







Pull hand brake cables through the bottom of car



Remove lower control arm bolts


Remove compensator arm bolts (use a marker to label where the arm is supposed to be bolted at as a reference point for re-installation later)




Remove trailing arm bushing bolts







Remove upper control arm bolts



Remove rear spindle assembly



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INSTALL REAR DISC BRAKES

Prepare disc brakes for installation
You should have the rear disc spindle cleaned and prepped and ready to install by now
Attach hand brake cable to spindle
Attach upper and lower control arms to the spindle
Attach compensator arm to the spindle
Attach new brake line to spindle
Attach caliper & bracket to spindle



Pre-install rear spindles
Hand bolt in lower & upper control arm, compensator arm, trailing arm bracket to car (for test fitting)
(I recommend attaching the upper control arm first so that the weight of the whole spindle can be supported while you test fit the rest of the parts)













Install hand brake cables to car
Push hand brake cables from underneath the car's center console area
Bolt in hand brake cable brackets underneath the car to make sure fitment is proper

I also like to note that I took my parts off of a 2dr EX coupe.
The hand brake cables are TOO LONG FOR THE HATCH!
In order to mitigate the excess cable length, I had to cross the cables over each other before I ran the cables through the chassis.
Most likely youll have to get shorter cables to make it fit better on a hatchback.
Anyway. It still worked. Now, going forward....







Finish assembling the hand brake cables from inside car


Test fit rear spindle
Hand bolt in:

Lower control arm
Compensator arm (Keep the compensator arm alignment the same as it was installed before you took it apart for proper rea wheel alignment)
Brake hose

























Pre-load the suspension (use a jack stand to bring load the rear suspension as if it were sitting on the ground)
Torque down all your control arm bolts & brake hoses
Lower your suspension



Replace brake master cylinder for 15/16 MC
Bench bleed new brake master cylinder








Remove old brake master cylinder










Install new brake master cylinder






Bleed brake fluid from entire system






Install wheels back on car
After installing my 13" steelies, I noticed that the bottom rubber dust shield was rubbing on my rims.
All I did was clip the edge until I had enough clearance






Test drive car




I got a lot of help from great people from this forum
So here's me sharing what I have learned. Thanks guys!

DIY IN PROCESS

- Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:13 pm #351851 Awesome write-up! Its good to see someone do it correctly and clean/replace everything while they are at it. Those polyurthane bushings can be a pain but they are worth all of the extra work its one of the first things I've done to every car I have ever owned.

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- Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:36 pm #351904 Thanks man. Yeah the trailing arm polyurethane bushings were the most hassle to install. But the control arm stock rubber bushings required the most patience to remove since they were so small.

My car's ride feels more solid on the road now!
I gotta give you credit for helping me out too. THanks man.

[suspendedHatch]

- Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:40 pm #352087 New write-ups with a different take are always welcome. Very well written and good pics, but it seems like you were trying to spend money. $540 is outlandish I would look at aftermarket big brake kits if you're spending that kind of money. You should be able to do this for under $200.

You don't need the whole trailing arms. Removing the spindles is a pain but not impossible if you have torx bits. Reuse the hoses, rotors and pads. On rear brakes they almost always have plenty of life on them. 15/16 non ABS master cylinders are not super common, but you keep your eye out for a while until you come across one. Don't forget to look for 4WD wagons as those sometimes pop up. Prop valves go for cheap. You don't need a whole bushing kit, just buy the trailing arm bushings. I recommend against ES for these as Prothanes are better.

There's also the option of the conversion brackets.

Don't forget to list the prop valve and the source applications for trailing arms. Also, why not do the lower swaybar while you're at it? Those LCAs don't appear to have the boss for the end links. If you're spending money, go ahead and get an alignment. Just the fact of changing the bushings will affect it. Maybe get hatchback ebrake cables new.

You refer to the trailing arms as spindles which is a little confusing. The spindles can be separated from the trailing arms.

Mad props for completeness, using the right tools, cleaning up the parts, and taking care not to wreck the alignment. No doubt you're aware of everything I've said here, but anyway, those are my contributions.