F. Brakes on '99 Ford Taurus - Easy?? (See inside?)

[BillGates]

I've been getting a real nice pulsing when stopping hard, which tells me that my front rotors are wasted.....and I know I'm going to have to replace the pads and rotors, so I'm taking my time and getting max wear out of them...

I know that if I brought the car somewhere to have this done it's probably going to be $400-$500...

My question is, is this a difficult thing to do on a car - I have a nice set of basic tools - sockets, wrenches, the almighty vice grips, screwdrivers, etc... I am also pretty well mechanically inclined, this is just nothing I have ever done... Provided I could find a good deal on the rotors and pads online (anybody know of a good source for this) I think I could save a decent amount of money and not lose the car to a shop for a day or two...

I've replaced rotors and pads on my sportbikes, but I imagine cars are a little more difficult - and does the fact that the car has ABS make any difference in the difficulty??

 

[Linflas]

I have replaced them on my 95 Windstar and they were pretty easy to do. Just pop off one of the front tires and have a look. Disk brakes are such a breeze compared to the old drum systems that I never hesitate to do my own.

 

[Thegonagle]

You'll just need a 6-8 inch C-clamp to compress the piston.

It's easy enough, and the fact that it has ABS makes no difference. There's a wheel speed sensor somewhere down there, but it wont be in the way. The caliper design is no different because of ABS.

I'd invite a buddy over who's done it before for a few beers. He can give you pointers as you go.

 

[Linflas]

Have a look here to get an idea what the parts will cost.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Figure about 60 bucks for the factory pads. Don't buy aftermarkets.

You can take the rotors to NAPA or somewhere to be resurfaced.

It's easy, one of the easiest things you can do yourself.

Dealer price to do a front brake job on that car is about 200.00. Not 400-500. You could get all the brakes done for that or less.

One of the advantages of having the dealer do it is that their brake lathe machines the rotors ON THE CAR, which helps to keep them from warping.

 

[BillGates]

The problem is that I know that I'm going to have to put on new rotors as well - the steering wheel makes a really fun shaking motion during stops from highway speeds and the pedal pulses as well...

 

[Linflas]

Rotors are no big deal to replace, at least on the cars I have owned and worked on. Most of the time it requires nothing more than removing the caliper bracket along with the caliper to slide it off and slide the new one on.

 

[Vette73]

I am a mechanic and your car is very easy to do.

If this is the first brake job or the rotors were replaced at the last brake job then you can have them turned. If they have been turned or you have a metal to metal problem then they will need to be replaced.
As for Pads go to AutoZone and get the Carbon Metallic ones. Cheaper than the dealer and will last longer and give better breaking. I use them on my customers cars and even my Monza 2+2, and I run my monza hard so I need some good stopping power.

And don't forget to flush the break fluid, it does not last forever.

Do this and take your time and you should be ok.

As for price I get about $120-140 for a brake job if I can turn the rotors, if they need to be replaced then add the rotors to the bill. FWD rotors on a American car don't cost that much so don't worry.

 

[Thegonagle]

<< Figure about 60 bucks for the factory pads. Don't buy aftermarkets. >>



Agreed! I cheaped out last time and bought the "premium" pads at Napa. They kind of suck! They always make a little bit of a metallic noise when stopping, and sometimes they just squeal like a pig, despite the anti-noise shims that were included. The old factory pads were 100% silent all the time up until the end, when by design, they started squeaking because the noise maker started making contact with the rotor.

Oddly enough, my rotors were barely warped at all before, so I didn't touch them, but now, a few thousand miles after the Napa pads went on, they pulse like mad. I don?t know if this is related to the cheap pads, or whether it was just their time, but when I replace them, new factory pads are going on, and I?m throwing those other turds away.

 

[Pacfanweb]

<<If this is the first brake job or the rotors were replaced at the last brake job then you can have them turned. If they have been turned or you have a metal to metal problem then they will need to be replaced.>>

This is true sometimes, but not all the time. If the rotors are warped badly enough, it doesn't matter if they've been turned before....they'll probably be below the minimum thickness before you get them straight.

Also, just because a brake job has been done before doesn't mean the rotors are junk. We do Tauruses all day long that are on their 2nd and 3rd set of brakes with original rotors.
It just depends on how it was driven, and how much material had to be machined off each time. If all the shop had to do was smooth them up, they might be ok.

In your case, with the brakes pulsating, you may well need rotors. That makes the job even easier. Just remove the calipers, replace the pads, remove the rotors, and slip the new ones on. Reinstall calipers and you're done!.

Remember to pump the brakes a few times to get the pads in contact with the rotors. The first couple of presses of the brake pedal usually go to the floor.

 

[XMan]

I have a '96 Taurus, which is the same braking system, and it's easy as pie.

Off the top of my head, you will need two metric wrenches (I think 13 and 9). The brake pads ride in a channel that is bolted to the axle, this cups over the rotor to keep it on. It's held on by two 13mm bolts, and the caliper is held on by two 9mm bolts. (I might be wrong about the sizes, but I know they are metric).

Once you have the caliper off, make sure you have the top of the master cylinder open. Then you can compress it with a large C-clamp. The rotor slides right off and right back on. Then you put the metal channel for the brake pads back on, put the brake pads in place, and place the caliper back over. Then do the same for the other side.

Parts should run you less than a hundred bucks even if you replace the rotors, because they are dirt cheap. It's about a 90 minute job. And only takes three tools - two wrenches and a C-clamp.



<< As for Pads go to AutoZone and get the Carbon Metallic ones. >>



I disagree, the carbon metalllics are very noisy, and they're so hard that they will eat up your rotor. My dad stopped using them in his shop for that very reason.