How to Change the Front Brakes on a 1993 Ford Bronco

The Ford Bronco debuted in the 1966 model year as a compact SUV and did not become a full-size SUV until Ford completely overhauled it in 1978. The 1993 Ford Bronco came standard with a 185-horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8 engine and four-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive is great on this rugged SUV, but it adds to the labor time to remove and install the brake pads. Replacing the front brakes pads and rotors on a manual locking hub-equipped 1993 Bronco requires removing the locking hub body in order to remove the brake rotor-and-wheel hub assembly.

Instructions

Brake Pad Removal

1

Loosen the lug nuts on the front wheels with a breaker bar and socket. Lift the front of the Bronco with a floor jack and sit jack stands under the SUVs frame rails. Lower the Bronco onto the jack stands, remove the lug nuts and remove the front wheels.

2

Sit a drain pan under the front caliper and place a box-end wrench on the bleeder valve, the 1/4-inch valve on the top, rear of the caliper. Tighten a C-clamp onto the caliper until the screw side contacts the rear of the outer brake pad and the fixed side contacts the rear of the caliper. Open the bleeder valve by turning the box-end wrench counterclockwise, then immediately tighten the C-clamp until it stops moving.

3

Tighten the bleeder valve immediately and remove the C-clamp. Clean around the caliper-retaining pins with a wire brush to eliminate any rust or mud.

4

Tap the outermost end of the upper caliper-retaining pin with a hammer until its tabs contact the caliper bracket. Insert a flat-head screwdriver between the caliper bracket and the innermost tabs on the upper caliper-retaining pin.

5

Squeeze the outermost end of the caliper-retaining pin with needle-nose pliers and pry the innermost edge of the caliper-retaining pin away from the caliper with the flat-head screwdriver until the outermost tabs on the caliper-retaining pin are between the caliper and its bracket.

6

Insert a 7/16-inch drift punch into outer side of the hole between the caliper and bracket until it contacts the caliper-retaining pin, then tab the drift punch with a hammer until the pin falls out of the inner part of the caliper.

7

Repeat steps 4 through 6 on the lower caliper pin to remove it.

8

Pull the caliper-and-brake pad assembly upward and off of the caliper bracket. Hang it from the front coil spring, using a bungee strap.

9

Pull the outer brake pad from the caliper. Press the inner brake pad downward in the caliper bracket to compress its anti-rattle clip and pull the inner brake pad from the abutment in the caliper bracket. Remove the inner brake pad. Pull the anti-rattle clips from the lower abutment on the inner brake pad and save it for reuse.

10

Repeat steps 2 through 9 to remove the brake pads on the other side of the Bronco.

Rotor Removal

11

Remove the six screws from the locking hub cap with a Torx screwdriver and remove the locking hub cap. Open the snap ring securing the axle in the inner hub, using snap-ring pliers, and remove the snap ring.

12

Pull the locking ring, which seats in the groove in the outer hub, using an O-ring puller or similar hooked tool.

13

Thread two of the locking hub cap-retaining screws into the inner hubs body and pull outward on the screws to slide the inner hub body from the outer hub. Set the hub body on a clean, lint-free cloth in a clean area to prevent contamination.

14

Pull the rotor-and-outer wheel hub assembly from the front axle.

15

Repeat steps 1 through 4 to remove the rotor from the other side of the Bronco.

Rotor Installation

16

Guide the new rotor-and-outer wheel hub assembly onto the front axle until it seats into place.

17

Align the inner hub body with the grooves in the axle shaft and guide the inner hub body into the outer hub. Remove the cap-retaining screws from the inner hub.

18

Press the locking ring into the rotor until it seats into its groove in the outer hub. Slide the snap ring onto the end of the axle shaft until it aligns with its groove in the axle shaft, using snap-ring pliers, then release the pliers to seat the snap ring in the groove.

19

Install the locking hub cap and hand-thread its retaining screws. Tighten the screws to between 35 and 50 inch-pounds, using an inch-pound torque wrench and Torx-bit socket.

20

Install the rotor on the other side of the Bronco.

Brake Pad Installation

21

Press the anti-rattle clip on to the lower abutment on the new inner brake pad. Guide the inner brake pads lower abutment into the lower abutment on the caliper bracket. Press downward on the pad to compress the anti-rattle clip, then slide the top of the pad into the upper caliper bracket abutment.

22

Place the outer brake pad in the caliper body and bend its ears around the calipers body with slip-joint pliers to secure it in place. Apply a coating of multipurpose grease onto the grooves in the top and bottom of the caliper and caliper bracket where the retaining pins slide in. Remove the caliper-and-brake pad assembly from the bungee strap and lower it onto the caliper bracket.

23

Position the new upper caliper-retaining pin so it aligns with the upper hole between the caliper and its bracket. Tap the caliper-retaining pin inward with a hammer until the outermost retaining tabs on the retaining pin seat on the face of the caliper bracket. Repeat this step to install the new lower caliper-retaining pin into the lower hole between the caliper and bracket.

24

Install the new brake pads on the other side of the Bronco.

25

Reinstall the front wheels on the Broncos front hubs and hand-tighten the lug nuts. Raise the SUV off of the jack stands and remove the jack stands. Lower the vehicle to the ground and tighten the lug nuts, in a crisscross pattern, to 100 foot-pounds on a five-lug nut setup or 140 foot-pounds on an eight-lug nut setup using a torque wrench and socket.

26

Press and release the brake pedal until it is firm, then refill the brake master cylinder to its Max level with new DOT 3 brake fluid. Take any old brake fluid to a used automotive fluid recycler for disposal. Some auto parts stores take old fluids for free.