How to Replace Brake Pads on a Ford Explorer

The Ford Explorer brake pads, along with the calipers and rotors, ride behind the wheels, mounted to the axle hubs. When you push on the brake pedal, hydraulic fluid forces the caliper to push the brake pads onto the rotor from both sides. This action stops the Explorer but also wears down the pads. While the front pads wear out roughly twice as often as the rear pads, sooner or later the Explorer will need a rear brake job. Replacing the rear brake pads is a task anyone with basic auto repair skills can accomplish in about two hours.

Instructions

1

Place the wheel chocks tightly up against the front tires so the Explorer cannot roll forward. Loosen the rear lug nuts with the lug wrench, however, do not remove them yet.

2

Lift the rear of the Explorer with the jack and then lower it onto the jack stands, which you should place under the rear axle, out near the springs.

3

Remove the rear lug nuts and wheels from the Explorer. Set them off to the side, making sure to keep all the lug nuts together.

4

Put the catch pan on the ground below the left-rear brake rotor. Spray the brakes with the brake cleaner to remove the brake dust.

5

Remove the caliper mounting bolts with the socket set and then pull the caliper off the rotor. Slide the old pads out of the caliper and discard them.

6

Clean the inside of the caliper with brake cleaner and then lubricate the caliper slides with white lithium grease. Insert the new brake pads by hand and then slide the caliper back over the rotor. Bolt it back on with the socket set.

7

Repeat steps 4 through 6 on the right-rear brake assembly.

8

Put both rear wheels back on the Explorer and then install the lug nuts on both sides by hand. Lower the Explorer off the jack stands with the jack and then tighten the lug nuts to 100 ft-lbs with the torque wrench.