Replacing Ford F150 Front Brake Pads And Rotor

Vehicle Info

• 2004 Ford F-150 w/ 4.6L V8
• ~242,000 miles

When your brakes start looking like those below you should change them out asap. These pads and rotors were OEM with only around 20,000 miles on them. Looks like one of the pads was defective and it tore up the rotor. You will want some kind of breaker bar to give you more force when removing some of these bolts. Everything is straight forward and there is plenty of room to do the work. Enjoy the tutorial!

Removing Brake Components

1. Once you have the wheel removed begin by removing the caliper bolts (13mm). With the bolts gone, move the caliper out of the way.

2. If you are changing just the pads then remove the spring clips and slide the pads out. Follow the rest of the article to remove the rotor.

3. Next step is to remove the anchor bracket. It's held by two 18mm bolts.

4. If you have a high mileage truck then it's a good idea to remove the slide pins and lightly coat them with some bearing grease. Don't forget to remove the slippers.

Installing The Brake Components

1. You will have to compress the brake piston back into its bore. This tools comes in handy but you may also use a C-Clamp and one of the brake pads to do the same job.

2. Install the rotor and then install the anchor bracket. Tighten the bolts to 148 ft-lb.

3. Install the new pads, spring clips, and slippers. I like to apply a little grease to the slippers as well.

4. Install the brake caliper and tighten the bolts to 47 ft-lb.

5. Install the wheel and tighten the fasteners to 150 ft-lb.