new brakes and rotors | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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new brakes and rotors

mcatgt

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Joined
August 16, 2005
Messages
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City, State
Lorton,VA
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 Sport
i never have changed my brakes..i have a 99 with 74K on them. I want to change the front brakes and rotors...not sure what i should do about the rear... are there any special tools i need? what about a technical write up on this procedure. any advice would be great. thx
 



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its been a couple years since i changed my brakes, but all you should need is a jack, a wrench set, and something to push the brake piston back into the brake caliper. all you need to do is take off the wheel, take off the caliper with the wrenches, and replace everything. should be pretty simple.
 






If you are going to do the rotors and you have 4WD, you may have to pull the hubs, which is a bit more involved. If it's AWD, you might not have to pull the hubs. Someone on this board should know for sure.
 






There is no hub for 95 and up. The brakes are very easy to service, like the previous poster sez. I take my brakes apart once a year to put fresh grease in the slider pins.
If you have never done it before, suggest you go get a service manual from any book store. It will give you step by step procedure. It is very simple.
 






Having spent a boatload of money on brakes from repair shops for my X I can attest to one thing Ford brakes and aftermarket cheapo brakes stink. I payed Sears $585 to replace all my brakes including rotors back in January. After all that they still did not stop like I thought they should have.

For about $ 200 or so per axle in parts I could have had Power slot rotors and Green Stuff ceramic brake pads. This woul have provided awesome stopping power that was fade resistant and would have lasted a long time. I have put about 15,000 on the Sears brake job and will need to replace the fronts in the future. My Ford manuals say that 4 wheel drive is easy to do, especially when taking off the rotors- two wheel drive is a bit more involved.
 






I've been very happy with my brakes (morse cermic) and rotors (duralast) that I got at Autozone. They stop like crazy compared to my old worn brakes.

As stated above, get a manual (I prefer Haynes over Chilton) and it will have instructions on how to do it. It is not brain sugery but it helps to know something about cars in general. Also get a torque wrench for putting the bolts back on at the right tightness as well as a large c-clamp to push the pistons back in.

When I do brakes and push the pistons back in I just stuff a non-linting paper towel in the brake resevior - that way it just sucks up the excess and does not spill.

Also, depending on your year you may need to put loc-tite on the caliper bolts - many have reported that the bolts can come loose :eek: It never hurts to loc-tite bolts that are subject to vibration like the ones in the brakes are.
 






FYI, pushing brake fluid back up beyond the ABS pump is an expensive risk. If any very dirty fluid gets up above the ABS pump, and then gets in the ABS, you may ruin that expensive compnent

With any ABS equipped vehicle, the wisest method is to push the pistons back in while the bleed screw is cracked open. You want that filthy brake fluid out of the system, not reused, and not forced up beyond the ABS pump.

Always start by emptying virtually all of the fluid from the master cylinder, and adding some fresh fluid. The caliper bolts should be almost as tight as lug nuts, around 75 lbs.ft. Good luck,
 






Since I have a lot of time to waste I will go ahead and explain it.

Front Brakes Only

Tools and more:

-Socket set (10mm-22mm will probably do the job)
-C-clamp (or channel locks)
-DOT 3 Brake fluid
-Hose Clamp (or something to pench the rubber line)
-Sand Paper (high grit) or Wire Brush
-Brake Lube (ACDelco makes some good stuff, but you can use silicone grease as well)
-Brake Cleaner


First Things First:

-Jack up the front wheels and secure properly
-Remove wheels to access rotors/brakes
-Do NOT leave the key in the locked position (this will keep you from turning the rotors left or right for better access to bolts,etc.)


Step 1:

Turn the rotors to the side where it'll be easy to access the bolts (i.e. turn the driver side to the right for better access and turn the passenger side to the left for better access)

Remove the bolts for the caliper (2) and pull the caliper out of the way (it is ok to let the caliper hang, but it is recommended to tie the caliper up)

Step 2:

Remove the pads and make sure you note the inboard and outboard pads (unless all 4 new pads are the same - which I think for an Explorer they are).

Remove the craddle bolts (2) from the spindle and set it aside.

Step 2b (optional - for rotor replacement only):

Pull the rotor off and and and replace the rotor with the new one. When I do a brake job at work, I will still machine (turn) the rotors to make sure they are true. A non-true rotor will cause a vibration, pull, and/or a brake pad grab (aka. clunking).


Step 3:

Be sure to clean the rotor off very well with brake clean or other before putting the craddle and pads back on and after complete installation. Grease, dirt, etc. can cause a brake vibration, pull, and more than likely noise.

Take the sand paper and clean all metal to metal surfaces (i.e. where the pads sit in the craddle, the piston in the caliper, etc.). You can usually tell what needs cleaning by the rust on it. If your brakes did not come with new anti-rattle/noise clips, clean the ones you have and put some grease (a small amount) on the clips where the pads will sit.

Pull the slider pins out of the caliper and clean them off with a rag. Re-apply grease to the pins and a little inside the hole. Do not put too much in, it can only hold but so much. If the pins aren't fully compressed that is ok. Be sure non of the pins are stuck (before and after you clean) or you may have a problem.

Check the boot around the piston for cracks - dirt around the piston may cause the piston to lock up and/or seize.

Put grease on the back of the pads (DO NOT use a lot - just in contact spots).

Step 4:

Put a hose clamp on the rubber line and open the bleeder screw. Take a old pad if needed and put it against the caliper piston and use a c-clamp or channel locks to push the piston back and the fluid out of the bleeder screws. Bleeder screws should NOT be take all the way out -- just brake them loose so fluid may draw out. Close the bleeder screw once the piston is fully depressed. Then remove the hose clamp.

Step 5:

Put the craddle back into position and tighten down as tight as possible (do not exceed 150 ft. lbs). You may use loc-tite on these bolts.

Put the pads in the right place and put the caliper back on and bolt the caliper down. Do not overtighten - bolts should only be tight, not too tight. I would say at most 65 ft. lbs.

Step 6:

Clean the rotor again by spinning it (may be a little tight) and spraying it clean with brake clean or something as good.

Step 7:

Do the same on the other side.


Step 8:

After every brake job I do a bleeding sequence called gravity bleeding. If you only did the front, then you should be ok by only bleeding the front. By depressing the calipers the way we did - this should not allow air into the system unless you have a leak elsewhere.

Gravity Bleeding Procedures:

Make sure the master cylinder is full and the cap is off. Brake open the bleeder (one at a time) starting with the left front to right front to left rear to right rear (a.k.a. the Z) Open the bleeder screw on the left front and allow fluid to run out until it looks like it's running constantly and no air is coming out. Close off the bleeder and clean off the brake fluid on the caliper and the back of dust sheild. Repeat on other side.

Once you have finished bleeding, fill up the master cylinder and put the cap back on. After double checking everything (i.e. bleeder screws are closed and everythings tight), get inside and press the pedal down. The pedal will more than likely go straight to the floor. Let up and allow pedal to come back. Then re-apply and repeat. The pedal should eventually get strong again. If the pedal does not get back to normal, check everything again and make sure you tightened everything properly. You may need to bleed the system another way if this happens:

Normal Bleeding Procedures (you will need another person):

Get someone inside the vehicle and pump up the brakes as much as possible (3-4 pumps) and then open one of the bleeder screws (usually starting from front left and doing the Z as described above). Allow fluid to come out and then close after 1-2 seconds or until pedal is fully depressed. Close off the bleeder screw and tell the person inside to pump the pedal back up. Do this atleast 3-4 times on each wheel. If the problem does not go away, you have a leak in the system that needs to be repaired to seal the braking system.


Step 9:

After the wheels are put back on and are torqued to 100 ft. lbs, take the vehicle for a test drive. DO NOT slam on the brakes immediately. Ease the brake job into working conditions. Do atleast 10 30mph-0mph brake stops. Do not slam on the brakes, slowly depress the pedal to a complete stop. This will allow the pads to wear in properly and will most likely keep you from having brake noise.


That's it -- Hope that will help. It's really not that hard. For the first timer,I would allow 3-4 hours for the job. You will get better once you do it more often. Good luck.

-Drew
 






that took a while..
 






ExplorerDMB,

Well Written and thorough!!! :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup: :usa: :thumbsup:
 






davidmmm69 said:
that took a while..

I was waiting for another class to begin and too far from home to drive home.

trucku- thanks
 






Wow, Thanks!

I done a lot of brake jobs and now I won't even have to open my Explorer manual to find out what is different for an Explorer. ;) Just kidding as I always like to know what I "might" need before I get into a project. I will print out your procedure though so I have it to check against my manual. Thanks again.
 






Yeah man, once you do a few brake jobs - especially Fords, you can do most of them. Disc are extremely easy.

-Drew
 






Do they recomend

changing the rotors? I've only got 60K on them and they stop fine; no pulsating throug the steering wheel. My son has had several Japanese cars and the rotors were all so thin they couldn't be turned and had to be replaced. Guess that's one way to keep the weight down but on an Explorer that would seem to be a bad idea. Just wondering?
 






No you don't have to change the rotors, but you should always mic them and see what kind of specs they are in. We always turn the rotors at work when we do a brake job, and if we will go under spec after machining - then we get new ones.

-Drew
 






Yea,

that's what I've always done in the past too. Guess I know what I'll be doing on Saturday. Thanks for the info.
 






Just my 2 cents, Autozone sells a hardware kit, it has new boots for the slider pins and new clips(?). Cheap and makes the job smoother.
 






Sure,

you wait until after I've finished the brakes to tell me this. ;) Oh well maybe it will help someone else as I sure would have used them if I had known. Maybe I should have thought to asked but the kid behind the counter was busy telling me about his car and all the stuff he has done to it and I just wanted to get started with my project. Had a hard time finding a place close to the house to turn the rotors but Checker came to my rescue for $9.00 each. I'm just taking a supper break before I go out and slowly break the brakes in. Thanks for all the info.
 






only reason you would need a hardware kit is for drum brakes. But they do make things look a lot better and clean up a little easier.

-Drew
 



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Can someone describe for me what the slide pins look like? I don't even see a picture in my Haynes manual

What about anti-rattle clips? Does a 99 have them?

Is the cradle the thing that holds the caliper on the rotor?
 






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