[SAK1134]

After my saga with the stuck lug nut, I finally got around to attempting my first brake job on my 04. I'd like to start by thanking all of those who have posted so much good information on this site, it's invaluable to someone like me.

Thanks to the exceptional how to http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45544&highlight=Brake+install I had no unexpected problems and finished with confidence (the front pads anyway I ran out of light).

I do have a couple of questions I was hoping for some help with, so here they go in no particular order

1. What are the best jack point locations for lifting the front and back of the element? The owners manual only mentions the side points which are not helpful for putting the car on jack stands. I ended up using a point on the bottom of the transmission case but would like to know the recommended spot.

2. I was going to do the front rotors but the screws were stuck in place. It seems an impact screw driver is the fix for this but wanted to make sure. I hate to pull it all apart again but the e is our only car so leaving it apart was not an option.

3. Is there an easy tutorial out there for bleeding the brakes? It doesn't sound hard at all but a nice picture filled tutorial is always a bonus.

4. Several posts mention using a turkey baster to pull the fluid out of the master cylinder as a way of changing the fluid over time. Is there a way around the screen in the MC? It prevents me from pulling out very much fluid.

5. Is anti-seize recommended on any of the brake bolts? At 114K several of them were not inclined to move but I didn't want to put anything on the brake hardware that might encourage it to loosen up.

6. Once finished I took the e for a test drive and there was some very very mild squeeking and when I got back to the house a bit of what smelled like hot brakes. I had used some penetrating oil on some of the bolts and I assume the smell was simply that burning off. I re-tightened the lug nuts again and after test drive #2 no squeeks no smell and all seems fine. I only mention this as I have a 4 month old and if I screwed something up my wife will NEVER EVER forgive me.

Thanks for the read and the responses in advance.

Steve

 

[ramblerdan]

What are the best jack point locations

See

As for the rest ... if you choose to proceed without a service manual, you'd do well to have an experienced person on hand.

 

[94eg]

1. What are the best jack point locations for lifting the front and back of the element? The owners manual only mentions the side points which are not helpful for putting the car on jack stands. I ended up using a point on the bottom of the transmission case but would like to know the recommended spot.

2. I was going to do the front rotors but the screws were stuck in place. It seems an impact screw driver is the fix for this but wanted to make sure. I hate to pull it all apart again but the e is our only car so leaving it apart was not an option.

3. Is there an easy tutorial out there for bleeding the brakes? It doesn't sound hard at all but a nice picture filled tutorial is always a bonus.

4. Several posts mention using a turkey baster to pull the fluid out of the master cylinder as a way of changing the fluid over time. Is there a way around the screen in the MC? It prevents me from pulling out very much fluid.

5. Is anti-seize recommended on any of the brake bolts? At 114K several of them were not inclined to move but I didn't want to put anything on the brake hardware that might encourage it to loosen up.

6. Once finished I took the e for a test drive and there was some very very mild squeeking and when I got back to the house a bit of what smelled like hot brakes. I had used some penetrating oil on some of the bolts and I assume the smell was simply that burning off. I re-tightened the lug nuts again and after test drive #2 no squeeks no smell and all seems fine. I only mention this as I have a 4 month old and if I screwed something up my wife will NEVER EVER forgive me.

Thanks for the read and the responses in advance.

Steve

1- The rear toe hook is your rear jacking point. For the front, there is a nub that sticks down on the forward cross-memeber dead center where the plastic bumper stops.

2- Impact driver is the answer. You can try hammering on a regular screw driver as well. Just make sure it's an expendable one cause it may break. At worst you will have to drill out the screw heads, but that's okay. You don't need those screws anyways. The wheel is what holds the rotor on...

3- The internet should be full of tutorials. I prefer the two-man method. Just be sure to keep the fluid level up. Other than that, the only thing you need to know is the proper bleeding sequence. I asked this question on Honda-Tech a long time ago and here is what I got: LF, RF, RR, LR

http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2025422

4- The screen should just pull out. I haven't worked on this car yet though so I don't know for sure...

5- I wouldn't use anti-seize on the bolts. Just be sure to clean & re-lube the caliper guide pins. You do NOT want those freezing up on you. This will require replacement of the entire caliper. Do the pins one at a time they go back where you got them. You don't want to mix them up...

6- It is important to properly bed in new pads. The purpose is to put a coating of pad material on the rotors and burn off any mold release compounds out of the pads. Simply perform a series of 6 to 8 medium pressure slow-downs from 45 to 5mph. Follow that with a 5 minute cool down drive using little to no brakes (just drive back & forth on a side street). Then perform a series of 6 to 8 heavy pressure (near ABS) slow-downs from 55 to 5mph. By the end you should be smelling hot/burning brake pads. Follow that up with a 10 minute cool down drive using little to no brakes. When your done, the rotors should be more gray then silver....

 

[tangboy5000]

Yes, an impact driver is the way to go. I had never used one of these until I had to do my rotors and I thought it was the coolest thing I have ever used. I put anti-seize on the screws for the rotor, and the bigger caliper bolt. Also use a wire brush to clean up the hub and caliper.

 

[ApriliaGuy]

The screen "lifts" out of the fluid resivior.

Don't use anti-sieze on the bolts. Be sure the slider/pins are lubed with brake grease.

It is a good idea to clean everything (calipers, rotors, brackets, etc) with "brake clean" before assembling everything....that remove contaminates like the penetrating oil.