How to Replace the Front Brake Pads of a 1999 Contour

The brake pads on a 1999 Contour use a friction material that "grabs" onto the brake disc. The front brake pads sit inside a caliper. The caliper has a piston that pushes against the back of the brake pad, which then pushes against the brake disc. When the front brake pad is roughly 1/8" thick on your Contour, a metal tab will scrape against the brake rotor causing a metallic scraping sound when you press on the brake pedal. This will indicate that the front brake pads need to be replaced.

Instructions

1

Raise the front of the Contour up onto jack stands. Jack up on the front jack point of the Contour. On the 1999 Contour, use the jack point which is an extension of the frame just behind the radiator. Place jack stands under the front pinch welds and lower the Contour onto the stands.

2

Unbolt the lug nuts with an impact wrench and slide the wheel off the wheel hub assembly.

3

Slide the c-clamp over the caliper so that the screw end of the clamp will push against the outboard brake pad on the Contour (the brake pad closest to you).

4

Tighten the c-clamp until the caliper piston bottoms out. You will create a gap that is approximately 1/2 an inch between the brake caliper and the brake pad.

5

Unbolt the caliper pin bolt on the bottom of the caliper using a socket wrench. The pin bolt is on the backside of the caliper and is the bottom-most bolt on the caliper.

6

Swing the caliper up from the bottom and pull the brake pads out of the caliper.

7

Spray the caliper with brake parts cleaner to remove any brake dust.

8

Insert the new brake pads and close the caliper. Then, tighten the pin bolt to 29 foot-pounds using a torque wrench.

9

Spray the brake assembly down with brake parts cleaner.

10

Mount the wheel back onto the wheel hub assembly and tighten the lug nuts using the impact wrench. Only tighten the lug nuts just enough to keep the wheel in place. Do not fully torque the lug nuts onto the wheel or you may damage them.

11

Lower the Contour to the ground and torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds using a torque wrench.