Fitting Rear Brake Pads

[Guest daddycool]

Hi all,

 

Brakes have been squeling for a little while now and have just inspected them and the rear pads are done in.

How complicated a job is it to change them or would it be better to take the car to a garage?

 

I'm not very experienced with cars but am willing to give it a go.

 

Also what parts do i need, just the pads or do i need to fit new ABS sensors?

 

Any help would be fantastic.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mark

[Guest neil_wiles]

Daddycool

 

The rear caliper on the Galaxy has a rotating piston which will nedd to be rotated to allow the piston to be retracted into the caliper before you can fit the new pads, a special tool is available for this purpose and if you are not familiar with the use of this type of tool then the best thing would be to have a local garage fit the pads as you can damage the piston and seals if you attempt to fit them incorrectly.

 

Safety is paramount when working on your car, if in doubt get a technician to do it.

 

Good luck.

[GaryM]

It is not a big job but as with everything can take a little while especially without the correct tools.

 

Funnily enough I just working on my brakes at the moment, replacing the front pads but checked the rear while I was there and found a ceased slide pin.

 

BTW anyone know where to get the rubber gators (dust covers) from that go over the pins? Ford want to sell me a whole caliper kit.

• Chock the car and release the handbrake.
  
• Take the rear wheel off, remove the two bolts holding the slide pins in and the caliper will slide off with a bit of force.
  
• Remove the old pads and insert the new ones. To stop potential sqeal use a little copper ease on the back of the pads where it contacts with the caliper and piston. Be careful not to get any grease on the braking surfaces!
  
• Using a special tool (costs around a tenner and Halfords have them) rotate the piston back into the housing slowly.
  
• Put the caliper back on.
  
• Bolt the slide pins back.
  
• Wheel on & drop the car.
  
• Press the brake slowly a few times to reset the pistion.
  
• Gentle test drive and test the handbrake
  

Job done.

 

Not hard, but dirty.

As the other posted said though it is saftey critical so if you do not feel confident don't do it!

[Guest daddycool]

Many thanks for your replys.

 

Going to do this at the weekend.

 

Will let you know how i got on.

 

Many thanks

 

Mark

[Guest nimrod]

when you retract the pistons back into the caliper undo the beed nipples and drain of the excess brake fluid, then after you have replaced the pads and bolted the caliper back into place bleed the brakes and top up the fluid as needed

if you have ABS its not advisable to backwash the fluid through the ABS pump or valve block!