86 civic si brake conversion help needed

[supercivic86]

I have a 86 civic si and am looking to swap out the stock brakes for bigger ones....drum to disk in the back. I read somewhere that pretty much anything from a 90-93 integra will fit on the 86 civics and crxs. any help would be great...links to peoples sites that have done this ect. all of the stuff that i have found online so far ends up being for 88 civic/crx.

[lxndr]

I performed this swap on my '86 CRX SI about a month ago. This swap will be a HUGE improvement over your stock system!

What you'll need is the brake system from an '86-'89 Integra. An '86-'89 Integra is mechanically the same as an '84-'87 civic and most parts will bolt right on. You can even get cross drilled rotors for this system if you want, but for a street car, stock rotors will work best (more surface area).

The parts needed from '86-'89 Integra:

Master cylinder (don't bother with the booster, it won't fit on the Civic)
Proportioning valve
Front calipers
Front rotors
complete rear disc assembly
Rear brake hoses
E-brake cables
Rear caliper mounting bracket to rear axle bolts (4 per side)
(get the whole rear axle with a complete brake assembly if you can)

Since you will be putting alot of effort into swapping these parts, I would recommend rebuilding them or at the very least, have your rotors turned.

Tools needed:

32mm socket
10mm tubing wrench
Breaker bar or pneumatic impact wrench
Torque wrench
The usual tools (sockets, open/box end wrenches etc.)
Repair manual (Civic)

Here's what you'll need to do:

Starting with the master cylinder.
You will need to do a little modification to the mounting flange in order to get it to fit. The round cylinder (barrel) on the back of the master cylinder mounting flange is about 1/4" too large in diameter to fit into the booster, so you will need to grind down the "barrel" a little (not difficult). You can then seal the master to the booster using RTV. Another option that I have heard of, is using the master cylinder from an '87 Prelude. Apparently this master will fit on the Civic booster without modification (I have not tried this yet, so I can't tell you if this really works or not, but as long as the Prelude booster has a 7/8" bore, in theory it should work).

Replace the Civic brake proportioning valve with the Integra unit.

Next, Jack up the entire body of the car SECURELY!!!!! Support the rear axle and remove the wheels.

The front brakes are really easy, just replace the Civic parts with the Integra parts.

The rear brakes are a little more involved, especially the passsenger side (assuming you are in the U.S.). Before you get started removing parts, remove the bolts that hold the bottom of the rear struts in place, this way the torsion on the rear axle will not be fighting against you.

The rear drivers side:

Remove the old drum, hub, brake mounting plate, E-brake cable and brake hose from the Civic. What you will be left with is a spindle and four bolts. You will need to remove these bolts and replace them with the same (longer) bolts from the Integra. The reason for this is because the Integra caliper mounting bracket is much thicker than the Civic brake backing plate.

Next dismantle the driver side brake set up from the Integra. Remove the caliper, rotor, hub, dust shield and caliper mounting bracket untill all that you are left with is a spindle. Toss the Integra spindle and trailing arm in the trash pile since you will not be able to use them (the Integra trailing arms are shorter than the Civic arms).

Install the four bolts (mentioned earlier) from the Integra axle into the Civic axle, then install the, caliper mounting bracket, dust shield, hub, rotor, and caliper.

The rear passenger side:

Remove all parts from the Civic the same as the drivers side. The only difficult part is dismantling the Integra parts. To do this you will need to break apart the Integra swing bearing. This is because the caliper mounting plate is mounted behind the bearing on the Integra (not so with the Civic).

Back to the Civic.

Remove the four bolts around the spindle. You will need to rotate the spindle in order to get them out, as you remove them you will bend the dust flange a little but don't worry about it just bend it back into shape with a flat screwdriver after you have installed the Integra bolts.

Next, install the Integra bolts, straighten the dust flange and assemble this side the same as the drivers side.

Torque down the spindle nuts and stake them.

Install the Integra rear brake hoses:
They are a little longer than the Civic hoses were, so you will need to route them in a way that takes up some slack. Mine ended up in sort of an "S" shape.

Install the Integra E-brake cables:
You will need to use the Civic mounting tabs, so carefully cut the rubber tabs off of the integra cables. These cables are also a little longer than the Civic cables, but you can still route them the same way. The only difference is that I ended up crossing them over underneath the car and installing the left cable to the right side of the E-brake handle and the right cable to the left side, just to take up a little excess length.

Next look around the car and make sure that everything is installed, tightened and bolted down (like the rear strut bolts and hub nut dust covers etc.).

Bleed the brakes.

Adjust the E-brake

Then install the wheels and take it for a test drive!

Note:
It is very important that you DO NOT mix the Civic and Integra brake parts. For example, don't swap the rear disc brakes onto your Civic but leave the stock Civic calipers on the front. Or, DO NOT swap all the disc brakes on to your Civic without swapping the Master cylinder and proportioning valve. This is because the ammount of pressure needed to operate the Integra 4 wheel disc brake system is FAR MORE than the ammount of pressure required to operate the stock Civic drum system. The Integra brake system was designed and balanced at the factory for safe operation, so don't mess with it unless you have a thorough understanding of fluid dynamics!

I'll keep an eye on this thread, but Email me if you need help or have any questions.

[supercivic86]

OMG!!!!!!! dude that is the most in depth explanation of how to do a swap i've ever read......i've been looking for a few months now. I will for sure let you know how things are going with it...i will probably start next weekend.

[cvcc_wagon]

yeah, that was pretty sweet, my bro has an 89 crx, will the integra swap wor for that year as well?

[lxndr]

Two things that I forgot to include:
You will need to use 14" or larger wheels in order to clear the disc dust shield (unless you don't use the dust shield), and you will need to disconnect the passenger side trailing arm so that you can rotate the spindle.

This swap took me one weekend to complete. This is because I had no guidance at all (other than rumours on the internet), and it turned out that I needed a couple more parts from the junk yard so I had to go back the next day and pull them. Don't worry, if you get all of the parts on my list you'll have everything you need!

--------------------------------------------

I'm pretty sure this swap will not work for an '88-'91 CRX since the suspension is completely different from the '86-'89 Integra, but I have seen several aftermarket kits for the 2nd gen CRX (check with BAER), and I think the 2nd gen CRX SI was equipped with discs on the rear, but don't quote me on that since I'm a 1st gen CRX guy!

[cvcc_wagon]

thanks lxndr, his si does not have discs on the rear but his car was also a recon. car so it may not have all origional parts

[QuackerStacker]

thanks for the info i think i am going to try the swap

[lxndr]

Good luck guys! You won't be disappointed with the Integra brakes! If anyone decides to use an '87 Prelude master cylinder, please let me know how it works for you.

[supercivic86]

I'm going to get all my parts for the swap from a place here in seattle called pull-a-part auto...i'm going to get a both the integra master cylinder and the accord MC since they are both about 5 bucks...i will let youi know if the accord one works without having to grind it down like the integra one.
Thanks for all the info guys... i'll keep ya posted on how things are going. i will have to take all the parts off the integra myself so it might take a day or weekend to get all the stuff i need. thats the only drawback of getting all the parts from this kind of pull it yourself junkyard.

[cvcc_wagon]

yeah, thats always a pain, and in seattle its guaranteed to be wet, just like the wreckers in vancouver

[lxndr]

Hey supercivic86,

Grab an '87 Prelude master cylinder, not an Accord.

Pull-a-part is a great place to get parts! I sometimes go there just for fun! One thing that I like is that you can wander the yard and mock up your swaps before you attempt them on your car. Thats how I figured out that the Integra swap really would work! If they don't have the parts you need, check with Acura-Honda U-FIX-IT in Woodinville 425-481-1414. You can't pull the parts yourself but you can usually wander the yard with them. Their pricing is not as good as Pull-a-part but they are reasonable and you can usually hagle with them.

Contact me if you need help since I am also in Seattle.

[supercivic86]

Well, i got most of the parts that in need yesterday from pull apart....i was lucky that it was only misting out when i was there and the car wasn't in one of there huge mud puddles. i got everything that i need except a passenger side front caliper and a passenger side rear rotor. they only had one 88 integra there ....no prelude...but i think i will give that U-FiX- It a call. Hopefully all the caliper repair kits and stainless steel brake lines and pads will be here by next weekend so i can finish it up .....i am taking tons of pics also to post online. anyway, thanks again for all the info and i will keep you posted.

[QuackerStacker]

sweet let me know i want to try this swap as well

[supercivic86]

How do i put a picture of my car under my name?

[cvcc_wagon]

in your user profile there is an option to upload an avatar, it has to be less than 90x90 pixels tho