Brake pads messed up 911 !!!!!

[toddious]

so for about the past week, i've heard the slight scratching of the front driver side brak pad. I knew that i was needing to change them, but they seemed alright, and didn't squeek at all. this afternoon i got in my car and started backing out, and i heard terrible grinding and crunching coming from the drivers side. i pulled back forward and climbed under the car, but could not see anything. i tried backing up again, and the noise continued.

i assume that the brake pads need changed. i have read as much as i can about changing them, although i've never done it before. what i need to know is, what size wrench do i need to reveal the brake pads? i'm getting a ride from a friend to the parts store to pick up the pads, and i don't really want to have to make multiple trips.

also, anyone have any advice? thanks! i'm stuck without a truck as of now. todd.

 

[JDraper]

If you're just changing the pads, and the rotors are ok, I believe you need a 10 mm wrench to get the calipers off the cage. If you need to remove the rotors for re-surfacing or replacement, you need a 15mm wrench to do the job.

You should check the rotors to see what condition they are in before just tossing new pads on. The rotors should be smooth with little or no ridges or grooves cut into them. If they are grooved slightly, you can get them turned. If they are grooved a lot, replace the rotors. I'm not a big fan of turning rotors on the newer vehicles, as the rotors are made thinner now than they used to be. The thinner the rotor is, the more prone to warpage it is.

 

[toddious]

are the rotors the disk? i'm not real familiar with brakes. thanks, todd.

 

[Lee S.]

are the rotors the disk? i'm not real familiar with brakes. thanks, todd.

Yep, rotors are the discs...and pick up brake caliper grease at the auto store while you're at it. Lots of witeup's on the site. Not a hard job at all.

Lee

 

[boominXplorer]

front caliper bolts are 1/2'' and rears are 10mm (go figure). get a caliper compressor while your there.

 

[Iowa Hick]

get a caliper compressor while your there.

If you don't want to buy one of these, a big C-clamp will work fine.

 

[toddious]

yeah i got a c-clamp and the pads, still a little unsure of what all i need to do. i know that i need to use the c-clamp to press the pistons down, anyone got any pics though?

also, whats the best jack point? is on the lower arm ok?

 

[Lee S.]

You should remove some (but not all) of the brake fluid (use a turkey baster or similar) from the reservoir before you compress the caliper so it doesn't overflow into the engine bay. You can use the old pad and c-clamp to compress the caliper. I'll try to find the thread I followed to do my brakes and post it for you.

Lee

 

[Lee S.]

This is the best I could find for you:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78189&highlight=Brake+replacement

Lee

 

[toddious]

thanks for the help, got dark before i could really start working, so i'm gonna try it in the morning. todd.

 

[JDraper]

front caliper bolts are 1/2'' and rears are 10mm (go figure). get a caliper compressor while your there.

On my '01 4WD X, both the front ard rear caliper slide bolts are 10mm, and the caliper mounting brackets are 15mm...might be something to do with yours being 2wd that they are 1/2"

 

[Tony H]

eek! better look first. sounds like a new Disc is in order. Grinding=not good

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes Tony, ditto. Did you try it in reverse? If you hold it in gear with light brake pressure, and then put it in reverse, it should not move. if the pad is falling apart, there will be an unusual feeling when changing directions.

Skip the C-clamp. Open the bleed screw while compressing the piston, not pushing old brake fluid up into the ABS pump. It can ruin it, and that's expensive. To compress the piston, with just the wheel removed, place a screwdriver between the pad and caliper, and pry the piston in. This damages the pads, so only do it if replacing the pads.

The front 4x4 rotor comes off without tools. Remove as much fluid as possible from the master cylinder, and replace with new fluid when done. Don't loosen the tiny caliper bolts. Leave them alone. Remove the caliper bracket bolts. They are not fragile, and you can easily change the pads by hand. Buy pads with anti squeak plates on the backing, and don't waste money on "brake grease." Good luck,
Don

 

[toddious]

well, i got it all apart, and pads were definately not the issue. i was nowhere near the wear indicator. so now i'm thinking it must be wheel bearings, or something like that. the scratching and scraping sound is pretty bad, especially while in reverse. how hard of a job is the wheel bearings?

 

[merc2dogs]

Easy job, should be able to do it in an hour or two since it's your first time.
I'll stress the inspection part again, make sure the roters are good, but if you've cought them in time and haven't used them as stop signals, they should be good.
I bought a second explorer a while ago, cheap because the brakes went out on the guy, got it home, ( it's a stick, e-brake worked, and I live on backroads, so brakes weren't an issue, never even touched them all the way home) jacked it up and looked them over, and found that there were NO pads on the pass side, and only one on the drivers side, I don't mean just no pad on the steel backer, I mean it was piston to roter to caliper, and piston to roter to backer on the drive side real nasty, made me nervous to think that there were actually people who'd drive around with their brakes like that.

ken.

 

[toddious]

no, my brake pads were definately fine. i mean, compared to the brand new ones, they were almost 75% as thick. and a goot 1/8th from being on the wear indicator.

what tools will i need for the wheel bearings? someone told me i might need a special puller or something since its 4wd (but this person talks out of their @$$). i did all my research on brakes, since i thought thats what the noise was, and now i'm panic-ing because that wasn' the problem, and i don't have a working truck.

it's a PITA to get to the parts store and back, so i need to know what to get before i head out. What will i need to do the wheel bearings? THANKS! todd.

 

[JDraper]

To replace the front wheel bearings, you just need a 15 mm socket to take the brake caliper and cage off, and a larger socket and biga$$ breaker bar (or air tools) to remove the spindle nut. To remove the bearing assy (and they aren't cheap as they are a sealed unit that includes the hub) all you need to do is remove the brake caliper and cage, remove the brake rotor, remove the spindle nut, disconnect the ABS sensor and the bearing and hub will come out. You may need to tap it out of the spindle bracket. Ford recommends that you replace the spindle nut whenever you replace the hub assembly.

Have you checked to make sure you have no gravel or rocks stuck between the rotor and the dust shield? If you get some in there, they can make an awful racket.....

 

[toddious]

Have you checked to make sure you have no gravel or rocks stuck between the rotor and the dust shield? If you get some in there, they can make an awful racket.....

would i be able to just pull the dust shield back easily to try to remove any gravel? or would this require removal of the rotor? i would obviously like to try this solution before i dive right into replacing a wheel bearing. todd.

 

[JDraper]

I'd pull the rotor. It's easy enough to do. Two 15mm bolts hold the caliper in place, then you just have to remove the retaining clips that hold the rotor on (spring clips over 1 or 2 of the studs...many vehicles already have them removed), and it comes off.

 

[toddious]

once the caliper has been removed (but not the cage), should the rotor be able to move? mine has a lot of give, like i can angle it and make it rub the cage. is this normal? or is there something that should hold the rotor on tight beside the wheel? todd.