help required in changing rear brake pads

[sr72]

hello everyone,
i woud be gratefull if any body could give me any tips as im thinking of doing this myself to save some dosh.ive got an haynes and it looks fairly straight forward til it gets to the bit where youve got to use a special tool to screw the calliper piston fully into its bore and cut outs have got to line up with back of pad.i suppose it looks different when the wheel is off i determined to give this a go albeit at my own pace but he-he if it goes tits up illhave to put my foot out to stop ....how long do you you think this will take for a rookie?im noot a pudding...i can change the oil,filters and wheels etc but wanna learn a bit more,

taa

sorry...forgot-the car is a mondeo 2litre R reg

 

[PowerTool]

If you are following the manual,and doing it for the first time,probaly take you an hour.
Removal takes longer than replacement,the second one will be quicker than the first (because you will know how it's done by then )
Is the Mondeo sliding calipers ? If so,only problem usually is the "r" clips holding the retaining pin if the clips or the pin have gone rusty.
Don't need special tools to push the piston back - I normally use a wide,flat-bladed screwdriver between the disc and the pad to gently ease the piston back - remember,when you do this,it pushes brake fluid back into the master cylinder,so if the master cylinder is fairly full,and the brake pads fairly worn,wrap a cloth around the master cylinder and loosen the top (if it overflows,the cloth will stop it ruining your paintwork )

 

[sr72]

thanks power tool,i shall give it a go tomorrow.there iis one other thing.when i rung the ford dealer and they asked for the reg they said my car was shoes only(..bit wierd,do you think they were winding) surely there must be pads as well? thanks
ps.rung for pads price-probably cheaper fron an indie

 

[PowerTool]

Normal set-up is pads at front,shoes at rear (front discs,rear drums)
High-performance models tend to have discs all round (vented at the front) so it depends on the model.

 

[sr72]

thanks for your advice powertool.

 

[sr72]

hi powertool,
have you got any tips on changing the shoes,it looks a little trickier than pads ....thanks

 

[PowerTool]

Shoes generally held on by springs and retaining clips - easiest way of removing them is with a pair of pliers,grip,press down and turn 90 degrees (but they do sometimes spring off)
Then shoes are either side of an adjuster at one end,and either side of the brake cylinder at the other - you normally have two springs holding them on - TAKE NOTE OF WHERE THE SPRINGS GO before you take them off!
I normally pull bottom end of one shoe back against the spring pressure to get it past the adjuster - once done,the whole lot goes slack and comes off easily.

And then,as the saying has it "replacement is a straightforward reversal of the removal procedure"

Important point 1) Check cylinder for any signs of fluid leakage (lift the rubbers if need be)
Important point 2) If automatic adjusters - make sure they are slackened off before replacement - and when finished,press the brake pedal several times to take up any slack before you drive anywhere!

When doing anything new on a car,I tend to read the manual,look at the car so I can see what they mean,then read the manual again to make sure I understand it all first.

 

[sr72]

howdy power tool,
thanks for replying.sorry to be a pain but how do you slacken the automatic adjusters? is there cable or something.think ill have to tread carefully.ive got visions of these springs flying off,bouncing then never being able to find the little blasterds ill keep the haynes handy.once again thanks for your help

 

[PowerTool]

Automatic adjusters are normally two small ratchets,one of which is spring-loaded.
To slacken,lift the tension spring with a screwdriver and ease the ratchet back.

 

[sr72]

Automatic adjusters are normally two small ratchets,one of which is spring-loaded.
To slacken,lift the tension spring with a screwdriver and ease the ratchet back.

thanks again power tool, .it always helps when somebody knows what there talkin about

 

[PowerTool]

No problem,learnt through practice and following the manual.
Times have changed - when I got my first car in 1980 (age 16) it was normal to buy the car you could afford outright,and had to maintain it.
Nowadays,in our credit-centred world,it is normal to buy the car you can afford the repayments on - also,cars have developed into increasing complicated things with less user-serviceable parts (no,I don't miss setting the points..)
Whe I was younger,it was perfectly normal to change the engine over the weekend,and nearly all my mates had a collection of car spares sat around the garage that we used to trade with each other.

But I still think progress is a good thing

 

[AdamW]

Ah, you see the people who had old bangers that they maintained at home, leaving a greasy engine block on their mother's best table cloth, are now middle-aged. Therefore they can afford new cars, often big expensive ones, and will be damned if their kids will have an old Metro sitting outside with the engine on the drive!

Plus there are the reliability benefits of a new car, I don't recall any of my mates sitting on the hard shoulder waiting for a tow-truck, or pushing their car through sleet.

You are right, things have changed:

My dad's first car, a 1920s or 30s Standard Flying 10 with cable brakes and fold-flat windscreen. He once changed the entire engine in an hour or two with the help of a bloke at the scrapyard, whilst driving down to visit my mum. IIRC the car cost him £5, tax and insurance was £10.

My first car, unfortunately no fold flat windscreen but aircon, 8-speaker CD, laborious task of opening windows now taken care of by motors. Car cost £9K, tax and insurance was another £1K. Engine still works on the same old Otto cycle, car does same basic job.

Mine may be "better", however I know which is the more interesting of the two...

Hmmm, went off on a tangent there. Couple of safety points:

1) DON'T use the wheel-change jack. I'm sure you weren't going to, but enough people do! Seeing as you may find it comfy to sit on the floor with legs under car, you want to have a good hydraulic jack. Axle stands are best so if you have a set then use them, but they are not essential for this task.
2) When you take the wheel off, place it flat on the ground under the wheel hub. That way, if the jack fails then the wheel will prevent the car falling too far (and possibly whacking your head inside the wheel-well, or landing on your legs!)
3) Be careful with brake dust. OK it no longer has asbestos in but you still don't want to breathe it or rub it in your eyes!