Ford F150 11th Generation – Front Brake Pads And Rotor Replacement
Applies To:
2004 – 2008 Ford F150
Vehicle In This Guide:
2004 Ford F150 / 4.6L V8 engine / 165,000 miles
Introduction
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 lb-ft.
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 lb-ft.
5. Install the wheel and tighten the fasteners to 150 lb-ft.
25 Comments
Will those torque values apply to a 2011 F-150 ? Thanks
For the 2011 F-150 the anchor plate bolts are 184 lb-ft, the caliper guide pin bolts are 27 lb-ft, and wheels should be torqued to 150 lb-ft.
What is the thing on the rear brakes that is attached to the caliper bolt and what do I do with it to remove caliper? 2011 F-150
That is the brake noise damper. Do not twist it off as it may cause it to malfunction. Just remove the whole bolt stud with the noise damper on it using an open ended wrench. The rear caliper bolts should be torqued to 22 lb-ft. Obviously you won’t be able to use a torque wrench on the stud so use your own judgment on how much to tighten it.
will everything be the same if I’m working on a 98 F250 4×4?
what is the torque spec. for the nut that holds on the rotor?
I can not press the caliper piston back into the caliper with a c clamp any ideas for me?
Hey Dave –
A lot of times, when the piston will not compress, it’s time to replace the caliper. Had this happen on my 2002 Suburban. Replaced the caliper for about $50. A good indication of a caliper malfunction is if the brake pads on that side of the vehicle are worn down significantly more than the other side.
Maybe open up the brake fluid reservoir cap? Brake fluid isn’t compressible, so opening the cap may allow you to push the calipers open if you have too much fluid. But, be careful about brake fluid spilling out. That stuff isn’t friendly around other things. Annnddd, be careful about getting air into your system, since brake fluid isn’t compressible and air is, air inside your brake system would not be a good thing.
So I have a 2011 f- 150 4×4 I did front break pads as I always do same as everyone,
Did a test pedal to insure that I have breaks, and I have a soft pedal ! Do I need to bleed the caliper also?
Why are you saying the pads are defective?
Because they wore out in 20,000 miles ?
2000 miles a year on a truck is just as hard or harder then 20,000 miles a year on a truck.
Did you even read and look at the photos? I said one of the pads was defective and it tore up the rotor. The other side was fine. And while yes, pads can wear out in 20,000 miles or less if you are always hauling stuff with the truck that wasn’t the case here.
Can I replace the the entire setup from the spindle to brakes I replaced the spindle once but had to go to the junk yard to get it what I can do about buying all new spindle bearings brakes. Would I need to change A-arm and tires ect
I have a 2014 F-150. I’m told that Ford went to a rotor that contained the wheel bearing, thus making replacement very expensive. Is that type rotor on a 2014 F-150 or did they go back to a basic rotor like the one shown in your pictures?
Is there a good guide on getting those 18mm caliper bracket bolts off? I can’t get a breaker bar in there, and my socket will not move it no matter how hard I try.
I’ve also heard it needs to be torqued to like 200lbs. Would I have to get a small torque wrench to do that? Both my torque wrench and breaker bar are too big to fit in the wheel well.
Use a 1/2 rachet with a 18 mm hex, not pointed, socket. Let the ratchet handle go above the ground about 3 inches and find a water pipe 1 to 1 &1/2 fr long to fit over the ratchet handle. This gives you aover 15 inches of breaker bar. The direction is clockwise. Put preasure on it and they will give up the game
Air wrench will go on i just did on the bottom. the top I used another open ended wrench to act as a cheater bar
Tom Round, my 2015 Fi50 has the basic front rotor, the re and re was fairly easy except for the 18mm, fine thread caliper bracket bolts.
Dan, the factory torque value is 184 ft-lb and requires an air impact to remove these big bolts. There is also threadlocker on the threads making it even more difficult to remove. you will make the bolts easier to access if you turn the wheel so the caliper is pointing out of the wheel well.
One final note, the caliper retaining bolt only needs 27 ft-lb of torque, not 47.
You don’t have to have air ratchet . A 15 inch pipe over the ratchet with 18 mm hex socket will win the game. See my post above.
I have a 2002 F150 (4.2L, V6, XLT). Does that alter the caliper-rotor torque specs, and if so, to what?
The tip of turning the wheels ( front of tire toward inside) made a huge difference. An 18″ breaker bar made it fairly easy to remove the 18mm bolts that way.
A question… drivers front brakes. They ( outside pad) wore out VERY quickly while all the rest were still “like new” ( at maybe 20,000 miles). Dealership replaced, but apparently did nothing to fix the issue. Now, at 92,000 I am doing a brake job. All the other pads still actually have life to them (4-5mm) ( originals) but that one, the newest one, which is essentially gone. What is defective ? How should I go about fixing ? I noted no noise, no pulling etc during those years and miles.
My 2012 had similar issue with drivers pads ruined rotor while other pads were scored by the dealer as nines. Ford Dealer wanted $600 with my extra warranty. Seemed very greedy amount so I purchased $170 worth of pads and rotor. I discovered the factory (that is if this dealership never swapped parts off my warrantarized truck in the scams mentioned on internet) failed to fully tighten a caliper bolt resulting in extreme rust and ruined bolt. I freed up the frozen caliper which was failing to release the rotor since month one. (Squeaks and noises aren’t included in warr.) I greased the sleeves which you know the one which was the worst, and the sliders, replaced the ruined bolt (head was fine, threads not). Truck now has 30000miles with ruined passenger rotor although factory pads still had meat and drivers pads looked as thick as when I put them on year before last I think but the outer rotor has full face markings (vinyl record groves).
On 2009 F150 have two different caliper guide bolts on left and right front calipers. One has a rubber sleeve on inserted end the other has no sleeve. Which is installed on top and which on bottom and why are these different?
Also how do you hold pads in place when installing anti-rattle spring clips?
Trying to make my F150 brake great again.
Thanks
I drive a 2007 F150 XL, Do I need a replacement rotor with studs and spindle nut or can I just replace the rotor itself?
I have a 2010 Ford F150 will all of these steps apply to this car