How to Replace Front Brake Rotors on a 2007 Ford F150

Despite the F-250 and F-350 having a 22-year head start, the F-150 has quickly become the best-selling Ford pickup, as of this publication. The 2007 F-150 has a wide array of options, so buyers may customize it to fit their lifestyles. One of these options four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive has a direct impact on the process of changing the 2007 F-150's rotors. While replacing the rotors, it is best to put on a fresh set of pads to ensure the rotors last as long as possible.

Instructions

Four-Wheel-Drive F-150

1

Unscrew the cap from the brake master cylinder reservoir and siphon out the brake fluid with a turkey baster until the reservoir is only about half full. Transfer this fluid to a small container.

2

Loosen the trucks front lug nuts with a ratchet and socket. Raise the front of the F-150 with a floor jack and slide jack stands under the trucks frame rails. Lower the Ford onto the jack stands. Remove the lug nuts and pull the front wheels off the vehicle.

3

Remove the two caliper guide pin bolts with a ratchet and socket notice the guide pin bolts have a smooth part and a threaded part. Pull the caliper off the caliper bracket and hang it from a nearby suspension component with a bungee strap. Pull the pad slippers the thin metal shims above and below the pads off the caliper bracket.

4

Place the old inner brake pad inside the brake caliper, so it contacts the caliper piston. Position an 8-inch C-clamp over the caliper so its fixed part contacts the rear of the caliper and its screw part touches the brake pad. Tighten the C-clamp until the caliper piston presses all the way into the caliper. Loosen the C-clamp and remove it and the old brake pad.

5

Remove the two bolts securing the caliper bracket to the front hub, and pull the caliper bracket off the front hub.

6

Pull the rotor off the front hub. If the rotor sticks to the hub, lightly tap the rear of it with a rubber mallet to free it. Set a new rotor on the F-150s front hub.

7

Reinstall the caliper bracket and hand-tighten its retaining bolts. Torque the caliper bracket bolts to 148 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

8

Press new pad slippers included with the brake pads into the caliper bracket. The slippers are asymmetrical, so you can only install them one way. Slide the new brake pads into the caliper bracket.

9

Wipe the old grease off the smooth part of each caliper guide pin bolt with a clean, lint-free cloth. Apply a generous coat of disc brake grease onto the smooth part of each caliper guide pin bolt do not get grease on the threaded part.

10

Remove the caliper from the bungee strap and set it on the caliper bracket. Insert the caliper guide pin bolts into the caliper and hand-tighten them. Tighten the guide pin bolts to 55 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

11

Repeat Steps 3 through 10 to replace the brake pads and rotors on the other side of the F-150.

12

Reinstall the front wheels on the F-150s front hubs and hand-tighten the lug nuts. Raise the pickup off the jack stands with a floor jack and remove the jack stands. Lower the truck to the ground. Tighten the lug nuts, in a crisscrossing pattern, to 150 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

13

Press and release the brake pedal repeatedly until it feels firm, then check the level of the brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir. Add more DOT 3 fluid, as needed, to raise the brake fluid level to the Max line on the master cylinder reservoir.

14

Take the old brake fluid in the small container to a local used-automotive-fluid recycling center for disposal. Some auto part stores take old fluid free of charge.

Two-Wheel-Drive F-150

15

Follow Steps 1 through 5 in the section titled Four-Wheel-Drive F-150 to prepare the truck, remove the brake caliper, brake pads and caliper bracket.

16

Pull the cotter pin from the spindle shaft the shaft going through the center of the rotor with needle-nose pliers. Remove the spindle nut retainer the thin metal cover over the spindle nut off the spindle shaft, exposing the spindle nut.

17

Loosen the spindle nut with a 2-foot-long breaker bar and socket, then remove the spindle nut with a ratchet and socket. Discard the spindle nut. Pull the rotor-and-hub assembly off the F-150s spindle.

18

Set the new rotor-and-hub assembly onto the F-150s spindle and hand-tighten a new spindle nut onto the spindle shaft. Tighten the spindle nut to 295 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

19

Mark the top of any wheel stud with white marking paint, as a reference. Spin the rotor counterclockwise five rotations and check that the spindle nuts torque is still 295 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

20

Set the spindle nut retainer in place on the spindle nut, lining up one of the valleys in its castled top with the hole through the spindle shaft. Insert a new cotter pin through the hole in the spindle shaft and bend its legs in opposite directions with needle-nose pliers.

21

Reinstall the caliper bracket and hand-tighten its retaining bolts. Tighten the retaining bolts to 200 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and socket.

22

Use Steps 8 through 10 in the section titled Four-Wheel-Drive F-150 to reinstall the brake pads and caliper.

23

Repeat Steps 1 through 8 to replace the brake pads on the other side of the F-150.

24

Complete the process using Steps 12 through 14 in the section titled "Four-Wheel-Drive F-150."