Starting at the right rear caliper, essentially the brake furthest from the driver's position, he loosens the bleed screw slightly and places the end of a length of 3/16-inch hose over the bleed screw. The other end of the clear hose is connected to a container that will catch the fluid; the clear hose revealing any air bubbles in the fluid stream.
We pump the brake slowly a few times to get pressure in the system, then hold the pedal down while Rodriguez bleeds the brake, opening the screw just enough to allow fluid to exit. Once no bubbles are escaping through the hose, he tightens the valve and moves on to the next caliper, repeating the procedure. When he's all done, he makes sure the master is filled with fluid. We should note that there are vacuum bleeders available on the market that would make this a one-person job, but in general, two people are necessary to bleed, one to pump the pedal and one to open and close the screws.
 With the Civic on stands and...  With the Civic on stands and the rear wheels off, Rodriguez does one brake at a time. He begins on the backside of the knuckle splashguard by removing the single bolt securing the magnetic pickup that is the ABS speed sensor. |  Rodriguez uses a flare-nut...  Rodriguez uses a flare-nut wrench to break loose the brake line-to-hose fittings, and then finishes unscrewing the fittings with a standard combination wrench. |  To prevent a brake fluid mess,...  To prevent a brake fluid mess, the open end of the hard line is capped and zip tied until the new line is run. Remember: brake fluid destroys most automotive paints. |
 Disconnecting the rear anti-roll...  Disconnecting the rear anti-roll bar from the trailing arm is next on the agenda. |  The linkage shaft is kept...  The linkage shaft is kept in place with an Allen wrench as the self-locking nut is backed off and removed. |  Rodriguez will have to replace...  Rodriguez will have to replace the parking brake cables because the fittings at the end of the drum cables are not compatible with the disc calipers. First, he removes the center console to get at the parking linkages underneath-the console has a handful of screws fastening it to the chassis and floor. Then he loosens the adjusting nut, which makes unhooking the cables from the equalizer much easier. |
 Since the cables are coming...  Since the cables are coming out, the cable clamp must be temporarily removed as well. This also creates additional slack, useful for disconnecting the cables from the equalizer. |  The cables and their grommets...  The cables and their grommets are pulled away from the underside of the vehicle. |  The under-body cable housing...  The under-body cable housing clamps are unbolted, as is the bracket clos est to where the cables enter the cabin. |
 With all the peripheral stuff...  With all the peripheral stuff out of the way, it's time to unbolt and drop the OE ES2 trailing arm assembly. Rodriguez starts by taking off the pivot through bolt for the lower control arm. |  At the leading end of the...  At the leading end of the trailing arm, the two bolts for the bushing are removed. |  Then the through bolt for...  Then the through bolt for the upper control arm comes out. |
 Last but not least, the shock-to-lower...  Last but not least, the shock-to-lower arm bolt is unfastened and removed. |  Factory trailing arm assemblies...  Factory trailing arm assemblies are heavy, so a pair of jack stands can be invaluable when attempting a swap like this one. Since Rodriguez is alone and working sans lift, jack stands fill in as a second set of hands. Here, he uses them to support the new arm as it's about to get installed. |  When we got the assemblies...  When we got the assemblies from IAS, the arms and knuckles arrived in separate boxes. While many might be disappointed that the parts didn't come turnkey from the yard, ultimately this was a good thing, as it gave Rodriguez an opportunity to clean up the components and spray everything in sexy black. Once the paint dried, he bolted the knuckle to the trailing arm and the assembly was ready to rock. |
 When we got the assemblies...  When we got the assemblies from IAS, the arms and knuckles arrived in separate boxes. While many might be disappointed that the parts didn't come turnkey from the yard, ultimately this was a good thing, as it gave Rodriguez an opportunity to clean up the components and spray everything in sexy black. Once the paint dried, he bolted the knuckle to the trailing arm and the assembly was ready to rock. |  Installation is reverse of...  Installation is reverse of removal. Rodriguez gets rolling by securing the lower shock mount and upper control arm (pictured) through bolts. |  Next, the trailing arm bushing...  Next, the trailing arm bushing bolts and the LCA pivot bolt are tightened in place. For the pivot bolt, Rodriguez uses a pry bar for leverage to assist in aligning the mounting holes. |
 With the big stuff out of...  With the big stuff out of the way, Rodriguez reconnects the rear stabilizer bar and the fluid line in the well. He also remounts the sensor for ABS (pictured) using the ES2's pick up. |  Time to slap on the disc....  Time to slap on the disc. Rodriguez unbolts the caliper from its bracket on the knuckle to make room for the rotor. |  The EBC Brakes parts Rodriguez...  The EBC Brakes parts Rodriguez ordered arrived just in the knick of time for this story. He picked up its zinc-anodized replacement rotors, which come drilled and slotted, and front and rear Red Stuff ceramic pads (compared here against stock). Designed for higher horsepower vehicles, EBC Reds are purportedly good for repeated heavy braking and emit less dust than conventional semi-metalics. |
 If we did in fact have to...  If we did in fact have to reuse the factory rotors, we would have first gotten them resurfaced to a perfectly flat finish for the calipers to clamp on to. Any number of service shops should be able to handle the resurfacing task. |  A dab of thread sealer should...  A dab of thread sealer should keep the rotor retaining screws from backing out under stress. |  Finally, the caliper is re-bolted...  Finally, the caliper is re-bolted to its perch and outfitted with pads, shims and retainers. Cleared of the old e-brake cables, the cables that came with the IAS fare are routed along the same paths. They're fed into the cabin and the grommets reseated. Inside Rodriguez connects the cables to the equalizer, re-secures the cable clamp, and tightens down the adjusting nut until there are about six clicks of travel in the brake lever. Once that's done, he tethers the end of the cable to the actuator lever on the caliper, which is secured via a spring clip on the routing bracket (arrow). |