Has anyone here replaced the brake pads themselves on a 2001 orlater Odyssey?

Hello,

My '01 LX has 29K miles on it... I am the original owner, having purchased
it in June 2001.

I took a look at the front pads and was pleasantly surprised at the lack of
wear. It looks as if the groove is still about 3/16" deep. The pads on
both front wheels are wearing evenly.

My question: when should I take another look at these? It's a pretty easy
job to replace disk pads, at least on other vehicles. Can anyone chime in
with any "gotchas" with regard to changing brakes yourself on the Odyssey?
Is there a brand of replacement brake pad I should absolutely avoid? (I
bought a box of the house brand from AutoZone - but cannot recall the name
right now - should I return them and get my money back?)

Also, once I had the wheels off, I had a good look at the CV joints and
decided it would be prudent to wash the rubber boots, to remove any
grime/grease that may have settled there, since this is what causes them to
crack open later and fail. I took the Odyssey to a nearby carwash and, with
the front wheels turned in one direction to their maximum, stuck the wash
wand in and sprayed that yellowish engine degreaser on them, on the front
suspension parts and into the wheel wells. I did all four wheels. Then I
did the high pressure rinse. Does anyone know if this is actually prudent
or am I possibly washing away something more important, like grease from
certain fittings?

Thanks!

Bill

 

If you are replacing disks, my recomendation is replace them when they
are half worn. Pads are cheep.
Drum brakes are another story. Honda drums have to be assembled on a
bench vice. They have a different installation method than GM or Ford.

 

Bill, washing your cv boots is not only excessive it is also a waste of
time. It is not that slight buildup that causes then to wear and crack but
the accordion like motion they make when you turn the wheel, i'm afraid the
only way to prevent cv boot wear is to drive in a perfectly straight line.

As far as the brakes go, I recommend inspecting your brake every 7500 miles
like it says in the owners manual. The brake pads from AutoZone will make
so much noise you wont be able to stand it. Get pads from a dealer OEM pads
are more expensive, but you can DEFINITELY tell the difference. Honda's
recommended service limit for pad thickness is 2mm.