Only do this every 2 or 3 years (could be longer) and I always forget how to change these darn things and hence it ends up taking 2 hours to do one wheel!
So key things to remember, firstly the obvious things, setup the car, loosen wheel nuts before jacking, ensure handbrake is on and the car is resting on the transmission also.
1) Brake Calipers pivot around the top bolt (fwd one), this bolt does not need to be loosened or removed, can’t bloody well budge it anyway:)
2) Remove lower bolt (aft) and pivot caliper about the upper bolt, this requires alittle compressing of the piston to release the pads from the disc. At this point ensure the cover on the brake fluid reservoir is removed.
3) Remove existing pads – note, brake disc dust is bad for ya..do not blow the stuff again 🙂
4) Check reservoir cap is off…again… using a ‘G’ clamp compress the piston until it is level with the caliper, do not compress over this point, damage to the seal can occur, however on these particular ones I think there is a shoulder in the caliper which prevents the piston moving past the caliper.
5) Unpackage new pads, these are packaged in pairs, ie a pair of inboard (or inside) and a pair of outboard (outside) pads. The pads are different, basically the retaining clips are different, the actual pad appears the same.
6) Now the bright lads at Ford made things really tricky by not giving at bit of extra margin when new pads go on. It is really damn tight to get both pads on. The inboard pad is put on first, the caliper can ‘float’ laterally (inboard/outboard) , move the caliper to the most inboard position. Tweak the pad retaining spring alittle to make it easier to get it into the recessed part of the piston. With the caliper rotated insert pad onto the piston by locating the retaining clip into the recess.
7) With the caliper still rotated up, position the outboard pad on the disc temporarily and then ‘float’ (laterally) the caliper and inboard pad as far outboard as possible, basically it needs to against the floating stop. Jiggle the inboard pad while doing this and ensure the pad arm (upper) is located over the caliper mating point and the shim is in place. These shims are f*&$#ing hard to get in place after the fact.
8) Rotae caliper down and with alot of swearing move the pad up and the same time, alittle help with a tapping hammer is recommended. Given the fact that with the new pads and there is no gap between the pad and disc, this is tricker than it sounds. So the caliper will not be roated all the way to originals position but just resting there, make sure the two pads are in position and the upper arms are on the caliper shoulder.
9) Looking at the lower caliper bolt, it will not be evident how little adjustment there is with the new pads! Using the tapping hammer gently tap the caliper down and inboard to get the lower bolt holes to align. Do the usual bolt torquing etc. Do not torque too much, I have already busted one of these getting it off 🙂
The pads will be tight, the lefthand one is much tighter than the right hand side! Bed the brakes in by speed up to 60km/h and braking firmly until almost stopping, about 5km/h. repeat about 6-8 times. The brakes will be smoking hot and stink, probably also literally smoking!
The brakes will feel like butter for alittle while until hydraulic pressure is returned and the pads wear a bit, giving them better cooling etc. This usually only takes a day or two.
Now…read before doing it next time to save time and stress 🙂
