I’m replacing the rear calipers on my 2005 Accord V6. The driver’s side piston is frozen and I might as well do both while I’m at it. The car has 180,000 miles on it, and I suppose at this point, I should consider it maintenance.
I can remove everything but the parking brake cable. The clip holding it in place was tough to release, but with PB Blaster, a couple of screw drivers, and even a hammer (LFH, not BFH), the clip finally came off. Now the cable seems frozen in place. I tried pulling it on both sides of the bracket, prying with screw drivers, and even the LFH, but to no avail. Anyone have suggestions for removing the parking brake cable from the bracket?
I have been doing that and it doesn’t move. By your description, you want me to push the cable out of the slot. It seems easy, but the cable won’t move. Maybe I should try pushing a thin flat blade screw driver blade between the cable and the sides of the slot to break the bond caused by age.
I looked at the new calipers again, and the parking brake flange is missing, even though it is shown on the part on the Advance Auto Parts web site. I immediately thought about returning them, but then it hit me: why not just unbolt the flanges and bolt them to them new calipers? Dope slap! Such an easy solution. It’s raining today, and Mrs JT informed me that tomorrow is a particularly bad day to work on the car. Monday I’ll get the driver’s side done, and now that I have some idea what I’m doing, I can probably get the passenger side done Monday, too. Thanks for helping me think about it, @Tester.
Ok, @tester, i see what you mean about pushing down on the cable. I couldn’t get it off the parking brake arm, and didn’t have the room to move the arm. Once I unbolted the L bracket, the cable slid right off. I was able to get the cable back on the parking brake arm after replacing the cable in the L bracket. The left side is back together, brakes bled, and I took it for a test drive. I did look at the right side, and the pads have a lot of meat left. Apparently the left side caliper failed and jammed the pads on the rotor. I didn’t hear anything until late last week, though. I suppose if you drive a hundred miles a day it doesn’t take long to destroy half spent pads. I think I’ll replace the right side too since I bought the pads, rotor, and caliper already. The caliper is the only extra cost and it was a little over $70. Now that I have an idea what I’m doing, the right side should take a couple-a-three hours.
I suppose if I worked harder and smarter I might make it as a flat rate mechanic, but I’ll keep my DIY status. Experience counts for a lot. It would also help to have a lift. It would have been a lot faster if I had access from below.
