Honda Civic (FN3) Rear Brake Disc and Pad Replacement - EBC GD Grooved Discs and Yellow Stuff Pads

New EBC GD discs ship with a protective anti-corrosion film that must be removed before fitting, and the box carries a warning to that effect. Wipe it away with white spirit; the zinc-plated versions may arrive dry with no obvious coating, but clean them anyway. Critically, grooved discs are directional (handed): the spiral groove is meant to fling hot gas and brake dust outward as the wheel turns, so fitting a disc to the wrong side reverses that and drags debris inward. Confirm which disc belongs on which side before you install anything.

Inspect the side edges (shoulders) of each new pad, where they slide into the carrier. Manufacturing can leave burrs, paint, or fixing compound here, and any high spot stops the pad moving freely in the carrier channel, mimicking a seized caliper. File each shoulder only as far as needed to strip off the paint and leave bare, smooth metal, and no further. Pads that have to be hammered in because of excess shoulder material will neither clamp nor release properly. Note the small metal wear-indicator prong standing just proud of the friction material: it touches the disc and squeals once the pad is spent. It usually sits at the bottom of the inboard pad, though the symmetrical carrier means the orientation can differ on your car.

Chock the wheels, slacken the wheel bolts, then jack the car and lower it onto axle stands. Never work under a car held up by the jack alone. Slide the removed wheel under the sill as a backstop in case a support fails. Before you strip anything down, spin the hub and listen to the existing pad-to-disc contact so you have a baseline noise to compare against once the new parts start bedding in.

Release the upper caliper guide bolt and lift the caliper off its carrier. Honda bonds the pads to the caliper and piston with a plastic film, so the caliper is often stuck to the old pads; twist and pull to break it free. Do not let the caliper hang from the flexible brake hose, as that stresses the hose. Rest it on the tyre or otherwise support it. The handbrake cable stays connected at the rear caliper, which limits how far the caliper can move and rules out cable-tying it up. While you are here, check the guide-pin rubber boots move in and out freely, since that float is what lets the caliper follow the disc as the pads wear.

Undo the two bolts holding the caliper carrier (pad carrier / caliper housing) to the hub and take it away complete with the pads. The disc itself is retained by two countersunk Phillips screws; use a tight-fitting No.3 Phillips bit so you do not round the heads. These screws are commonly corroded solid, so shock them loose first with a centre punch, or use an impact driver, before trying to turn them. A screw beyond saving can simply be drilled out; the disc is clamped by the wheel once bolted up and does not rely on these screws. The disc usually rusts onto the central hub spigot as well, so free it with a rubber mallet and persistence.

With the disc off, remove all corrosion and debris from the hub mounting face and the central spigot until the face is flat and clean. A disc seated on a rough or rusty face runs untrue and brings on vibration and braking faults. Close by, clean the magnetic ABS wheel-speed sensor and the toothed reluctor ring; iron filings clinging to the teeth and packed-in dirt disturb the magnetic signal the sensor reads. A nylon brush handles most of it. Clearing this can also cure VSA complaints on the rear axle.

A rear piston cannot be pressed straight in like a front one because it carries the handbrake mechanism; it must be rotated clockwise while being pushed in. A wind-back tool (for example the Laser caliper rewind tool, around 29.99 GBP from Halfords) engages the two lugs on the piston face. Apply hand pressure and turn clockwise to retract it. The very first movement is often stiff. Match the tool adaptor to the piston bore, because an oversized adaptor can jam inside the caliper. Crack the bleed nipple open with a one-way pipe fitted (or lift the reservoir cap) so displaced fluid is expelled instead of being forced back up the system. Finally, set the grooves on the piston face to a plus (+) orientation, not an X, so the raised central boss on the pad back will seat in the piston groove.

Smear a very light film of copper grease on the hub spigot and the inner (hub-side) face of the new disc to stop it corroding solid for next time. Keep it thin, as too much throws the disc out of true and causes vibration. Fit the correctly handed disc and secure it. Then pull the pad guide shims out of the carrier, clean the caked dirt from both faces, and clip them firmly back home so they mate properly. Lightly grease the guide channels that the pad shoulders run in.

Apply a little copper grease to the pad shoulders and their sliding faces. The black rubber layer on the pad backs is an anti-squeal damper, so greasing the piston side is optional. Seat each pad in the cleaned guides with the wear indicator positioned as noted earlier, and confirm the pad's raised central cylinder drops into the correctly oriented (+) piston groove. Both ends of each pad should slide back and forth in the guides under light finger pressure, since the spring guide only clamps the shoulders gently. If a pad has to be forced, take it out and file the shoulders down further. Refit the caliper and torque the fasteners.

Put a sighting mark on the carrier lined up with the edge of the disc and rotate the disc slowly; the gap should stay constant all the way round. Visible side-to-side wobble points to a problem: recheck that the grease on the inner face is only a light smear, look for rust spots or trapped debris between the disc and hub, and test the wheel hub for play that would indicate a worn wheel bearing. A dial-gauge disc runout set gives a precise measurement if you have one.

With everything back together, bleed the caliper thoroughly; on this car a rear piston was found full of air rather than fluid, so do not skimp here. After bleeding, pump and release the pedal and confirm the disc spins without binding. Apply the handbrake and check the disc locks, then releases fully when the handbrake is dropped. Spin the disc and listen: with zero runout you should hear a steady light rub, and with a little runout the rub will rise and fall. A pattern of rub then silence then rub suggests the disc is running out and needs another look.

EBC pads carry a coloured bedding compound that gives a surprisingly sharp initial bite for the first few stops until it wears off. Bed the brakes in gently: around 150 miles of light braking and no emergency stops for the first 200 miles, checking at roughly 25 miles for even pad contact and the correct groove direction. Rear braking may feel weak at first and firms up as the pads bed and the zinc plating wears off the swept face of the disc. Drive with the windows down early on so you can listen for any rubbing or squeal.