Ford Expedition Rear Brakes - Removing Stuff

This is the easy part, get some gloves as brake dust and dirt is messy. Start with jacking up your car with jack stands. Do it safely as you will be under the fender and you don't want to get crushed and end up with you on a YouTube Video. Be safe! If you do NOT have an impact wrench it's a good time to crack loose the lug nuts before the wheel is off the ground.

Get the lug cover off and remove the lugs, then take the tire off, and then begine to start taking things apart. Steps outlined below and in the next couple of pages.

Pull the Lug Cover Off the Wheel

Carefully with a screwdriver pry up the lug cover on one side. When it gets lifted enough to hold it with your fingers pull it out. If you have trouble you can go to the opposite side of the cover where their is another slot to pry. Don't be bashful, just rip it off. If you are worried about scratching your rim use a rag under the screwdriver.

Remove Lug Nuts

If you don't have an impact wrench, you should have cracked the lug nuts before jacking the tire off the ground. In any case, get them lug nuts off and get the tire out of the way. Note I had no Metric impact sockets at home, but a 13/16" fit perfect, better then the 21mm that is normally used.

Expedition Rear Caliper and Rotor Exposed

This is what you see when you pull the wheel off. Don't get nervous, it's pretty simple except for that spring clip on the front of the caliper. Take a good look at it and remember how it fits or you will have to run back in to look at the picture again.

Remove Dust Caps on Rear Caliper Bolts

Remove the pushed in dust caps on the back of the caliper. Their are 2 of these, one on the top, one on the bottom. Under the dust cap is a 7mm Hex (allen) bolt. These are the bolts that the floating caliper slides on. Pull these out with a small socket. If rusty, get a bigger socket...

Removed Caliper Slider Bolts

From the back of the caliper inside the rubber booties (covers, or what ever they are called) you can use the 7mm Hex wrench on a socket to remove both of them. These are sliding pins the caliper rides on.

Compressing the Calipers Piston

Their are 2 ways of doing this. One can be done by using a large screwdriver or small pry bay to push the piston back into the caliper. The piston is on the INSIDE direction of the car. NOTE: if using the pry bar technique it's best to leave the piston on the car. ALSO if you are not replacing the rotor be careful not to damage the rotor when doing it.

The second way is AFTER removing the rotor from the sliders is to use a piston compressor. See Brake Tools Page for one that will work.

Since I'm replacing the rotors I just wedged the pry bar between the inside of the rotor and the inside brake pad. It will slowly squish in. At this point it's a good idea to see if your fluid in the master cylinder is overflowing. Get rags before doing the next one. Usually their is room and no spills happen, but better safe then sorry as brake fluid can mess with paint.

Expedition Rear Caliper Prior to Removal

Before taking the caliper off the rotor it's a good idea to have a picture of how things go. One thing to notice is how the anti-rattle clip looks before removing it. The other is the wear sensor which you can just see in the upper left corner of under the caliper (rusty looking rivet thing). The wear indicator will need to be put in the same way (facing up!). Overall here is a good reference picture you might need.