How to Do the Front Brakes on a 1997 Ford F-150

Truck brakes are designed to stop the truck with little applied pressure and to do so quickly in case of emergency. Once the brakes on a Ford F-150 start to go out, they need to be diagnosed immediately. The easiest way to tell if your brakes need to be changed is through one of three tell-tale signs: there is a squealing sound when you drive or when you apply the brakes, the brakes "grab" or stop harshly with little pressure, or when the brakes are unresponsive. If any of these conditions occur it is time to change your brake pads.

Instructions

1

Loosen the lug nuts on the tires. The lug nuts need to be loosened before the F-150 is raised into the air. Do not remove the lugs, merely rotate them one complete turn counterclockwise. Place wood blocks securely behind the rear tires.

2

Jack up the F-150. Slide the floor jack beneath a support strut underneath the front section of the truck. Raise the truck high enough that one jack stand may be placed alongside the jack, under the support strut. Repeat this for the opposite side of the truck.

3

Remove the tires. Once the F-150's tires are off of the ground, continue to remove the lug nuts completely. Remove the tire when all of the lugs are removed.

4

Use a ratchet wrench set to remove the brake caliper mount. Completely remove the caliper mount from the rotor (the caliper mount is the half-moon shaped metal bracket attached to the wheel rotor). Once the mount is removed, use the rope to suspend the mount from the under side of the truck to prevent any strain on the brake line hose (the small black hose protruding from the mount).

5

Remove the brake pads. The brake pads will easily slip out of the caliper mount.

6

Compress the brake caliper mount. In the center of the brake caliper mount you will see a 3- to 5-inch wide cylinder; this is the caliper. To compress the caliper, place the C-clamp around the mount so that one end is pushed against that back of the mount and the other is pressing against the caliper. Continue to tighten the C-clamp until the caliper is flush with the mount.

7

Insert the new brake pads. The new brake pads should easily slip into the slots where the old brake pads were removed from.

8

Bolt the caliper mount back onto the rotor. Untie the mount and reattach it to the rotor. Once the rotor is attached, you can place the tire on the wheel and screw on the lug nuts. Make sure to tighten them evenly and only to finger-tightness. Once the vehicle is lowered, then use a tire iron to completely tighten the lugs.