86 civic si brake conversion help needed

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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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!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Well i think everything i need is finally on the way. I even ordered a front/rear swaybar kit from nopi. I will most likely also get the illumina 5way adjustable shocks also. I had to order some brake pad retaining spring because i notice that the front calipers i got from pull apart didn't have them. Only thing left to do is get the MC from the teg ground down...i would do it myself but i don't have a grinder. bad enough that i will be doing all this work in my apartmen parking lot...:( wish i had a house with a garage. anyway just giving eveyone a update
Oh where can i get a better cam for the EW4 1.5L FI that i have. and what other kind of stuff can i do to the top end?

Well, it's all done. i did the swap the weekend before last. started at about noon on saturday and got done about 6:30 sunday. Everything went pretty smooth but i had to go back to the junk yard and pull 4 of the longer bolts from the teg. somehow i forgot to get them the first time. and you need these longer bolts for the back because the calipar mounting bracket is thicker than the what was used on the civic drum setup. the front was cake, had all the old stuff off( calipar, brake lines, rotor)and new stuff on in twenty minutes. I also got the MC from the teg and one from a 87 prelude. The prelude MC is the same as the teg 7/8 bore so either way you will have to grind down the flange to get it to fit in the civic booster. I didn't go the get the whole rear axle route. i just took off what i need from the teg. to do the back you should get a 9/16 deep socket because there were a couple of bolts that you'll end up having to tighten with a box end wrench if you don't have the deep socket. the rear drivers side was pretty easy. just take everything off the civic so that all is left is the spindle. switch out the 4 longer bolts from the teg and reassemble with the new teg parts. On the rear passenger side you will have to take out the control arm bolt on the bushing end so you can remove it enough to get to the bolts you need to replace with the longer teg bolts. once those are inplace its same as the other side. The emergency brake lines fit in the stock civic e-brake location. only one of the mounting points didn't line up so i just made new holes and used the brackets from the old e-brake lines to mount it up. the biggest pain in the ass was the proportioning valve. the lines just didn't want to come loose. i spayed them with PB blaster on saterday and let them soak untill sunday afternoon and i still ended up getting a small pair of vise grips and using tape to hold two small pieces of metal on the teeth so they didn't mess up the nuts. after i got that all replaced and bolted up i bled the system and then went over all the nuts and bolts to make sure they were tight and torqed down. and i still missed two. Took it out for a test drive and it was really soft and didn't stop that well. i also was hearing a clunking noise comeing from the front end. turned out that the clunking was coming from the calipers. the outside peice where the pad goes on was not bolted down tight enough because it had loosend up after a couple drives. Also, the pedal would have pressure at first but would then fade to the floor at stoplights and stuff. i couldn't find a leak at first but then noticed brake fluid on the inner front fenderwell that was leaking from a very small hole in the right front brake line that i had got from the junk yard. make sure you wash all the dirt and whatnot off of the brake lines and check them extremly well for holes. on monday afternoon i took it to my machanic and had him do a quick check of the hole thing, turns out that there are two washers per calipar that you need to use where the brake line mounts to the caliper. for some reason i dindn't notice this on the civic calipers and the one brand new caliper that i bought didn't come with them. I'm sure they would be included if you bought new brake lines though. Now, two weeks later things are great. the improvment is so good over the stock civic brakes. I have 205/45 17x7 nitto neo gens on and they are so grippy that i almost have to use both feet to get them to lock up....thing stops hella quick.if i could put bigger rotors on, it would stop insanly fast. I know its kinda over kill, but i used drilled and slotted rotors with EBC green pads up front and the stock rotors and pads in the back. I drive alot in seattle up and down the hills with a loaded car and with the stock civic brakes i was getting alot of fade at the bottom of some of the steeper hills. not so at all with the new setup. There has already been one time where if i would have had the stock brakes i most likely would have ended up in the back of someone. I was going to take pics of all this but ended up not doing it. I still have to replace the control arm bushings so when i do that i will take pics of all the new stuff.

sweet deal, it's always good to hear positive results on jobs like this

Cool, I'm glad it all worked out for you!

does anyone know if the integra gsr suspension will swap into a 93 civic hatch. i found a great deal on everything from springs to a front crossmember for a teggy gsr and i was hoping i could throw it on my civic to get those rear discs.

does anyone know if the integra gsr suspension will swap into a 93 civic hatch. i found a great deal on everything from springs to a front crossmember for a teggy gsr and i was hoping i could throw it on my civic to get those rear discs.

Try asking in the 92+Civic forum.

I just checked my brake fluid two days ago and it's all the way down to the minimume line.....looked all around and didn't find a leak anywhere. took it to the shop the next day and they couldn't find a leak either...anyone have any ideas? It's only been a month...shouldn't have lost that much fluid so fast.

did you use new lines? have a friend pump on the brakes and have a look around for leaks? not really sure what else you can do.

How does the pedal feel? Firm? Mushy?

It's been a little over a month since your swap so that means it is a very small leak (unless you have been constantly refilling your fluid). This means that pumping on the brakes probably won't reveal a leak.

Check your brake pads. Your'e using drilled and slotted rotors with EBC pads and 17" wheels, which means your'e generating more heat which causes your pads to wear more. Also, the 17" wheels require a little more stopping power (= more brake heat) because the wheel has more leverage/torque on the brakes. If youre stopping like a maniac then your problem could be that you're wearing the pads low and/or boiling the brake fluid. This would cause a change in fluid level.

What kind of fluid are you using? Boiling fluid is dangerous because the fluid turns into a gas which creates bubbles in the system, thereby causing loss of pedal pressure and fluid level.

Here's what you should do:

Fill it with fluid then clean around all of the fittings (including the base of the fluid resevoir) then check again for leaks. Also check the caliper pistons for a bad seal or a slow leak and check the pads for excessive wear and replace if necessary. Then drive it for a week and check again for leaks. If there is still no sign of leakage then the only other place it could be leaking from is at the back of the master cylinder, which also means the brake booster could be filling with fluid (I've had that happen before).

If you still have the problem then flush the brake fluid and replace it with high temp fluid.

If changing the fluid doesn't solve the problem then change your rotors/pads to stock. It's great that you have slotted/crossdrilled rotors, but like I mentioned at the very beginning of the thread, stock pads/rotors work best for a street car. This is because crossdrilled rotors have less surface area and require a harder pad which creates more heat. They're great at the track when you're generating ALOT of heat, the holes/slots remove gasses and cool the brakes, but not so great on the street.

I'm using the stock Integra system and haven't had any problems.

There was a very small leak coming from the threads of one of the lines off the MC. Just tightened it up and it is a bit stiffer and feels much better now. If it goes down again i know i've got more leaks somewhere. but i think its good now.

Quick update.

After installing slightly wider wheels on my CRX I found (the hard way) that they were rubbing on the rear brake hoses. After using the E-brake to limp my way to the nearest auto supply, I asked the guy at the counter for a set of brake hoses and he replied "OK they will be here in 3 days". That wasn't going to work for me since the car was sitting in their parking lot, so I called a friend for help. We went to my favorite junk yard to get the hoses but they didn't have any Integras, so I pulled the hoses off the front of another 1G CRX. We went back to the car and found that the CRX front hoses actually work better than the Integra hoses! I was able to route them through the hole in the swing arms for the E-brake cable and it worked out almost perfectly (as good as it could be without custom made hoses). We bled the brakes and I was on my way!

In short, the front brake hoses from a 1G CRX work better on the rear brakes than the Integra hoses. If someone is attempting this swap and has an extra set of front hoses, use 'em.

Wow. That is great to know. I have a spare '85 in the backyard! Woohoo! One step closer!

Here is a tip to resolve the MC fit into the brake booster. You can use a booster from a 90 Civic or a 2G CRX. The code on the top of the booster should read NM-205V-3. The 7/8" bore MC will fit into this booster without modification. Only one thing to note. You must use the spacer plate on the Civic so that it fits properly on the firewall.

If you get the booster and MC from the 90 Civic you won't need to pull the one from the Teg. It is a 7/8 bore. You may have to do some adjusting on the length inside the car. I haven't got that far yet. So far everythng fits on the outside.

I have pics if anyone needs them for comparison. JS