Hi Guys, I was curious, are the brake pads on my 98 Taurus SE easy to change? do I have to worry about bleeding the brakes afterwards? this is going to be my first experience changing my pads. The car is giving my a nice vibration in the pedal when I brake, due to a nice rubbing vibration, and a increase in stopping time. all in all, if I have to replace the rotors too, are those fairly easy to change out too? thanks for the help!


-Thomas

I do my pads and rotors whenever necessary, as I am sure others on this forum do as well. I recommend a Haynes manual for guidance since this new to you.

Tools you will need include a C-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper, a Torx bit (medium size), wire to hang the caliper from the coil spring when it is freed from the wheel assembly, some special brake grease for the sliding surfaces.

If the rotors are rough or scored, they are simple enough to replace since you need to remove only 1 more piece after the pads and caliper to free them up. Additional tools you will need include sockets (18 mm and another, smaller one) and some pliers and a flat screwdriver for removing the special flat nuts that hold the rotor in place prior to mounting the tire. I am usually able to salvage the nuts but you may want to get a pack of them as replacements. A can of brake cleaning fluid is required since the rotor may have a coating to keep it from rusting during storage. You must clean this coating off prior to using it or you will damage the pads.

If you have a vibration in your pedal when you brake, then the rotors are warped and will need to be replaced. It is possible to get them machined but they will probably warp again. Overall the brakes are fairly easy to do. As said earlier get the Haynes manual for this car. Its $15 well spent. Make sure to get good quality brake pads and rotors, or you'll have a lot of noise when braking, and will probably have to do the brakes again sooner that usual. Also, you wont need to bleed the brakes as long as the caliper is not disconnnected from the brake line. The second that line comes off the brakes will need to be bled. Another little tidbit, put a pan under the mastercylinder, because when you push the caliper back with the C-clamp the fluid in the master cylinder will rise. Hope that helps. Good Luck. :biggrin:

thanks for all your help guys, I will get the manual next payday. what rotors and pads do you reccomend, keep in mind, I will more than likely be getting them from a store like Advanced Auto Parts, or O'Reilly's.

I have recently purchased a set of Raybestos Quiet Stop (QS) series for my Tribute that has nice wheels on it. They help (to be verified over time) reduce the brake dust common to most of the OEM semi-metallic pads.

My Taurus G has no such problem since I have hubcaps. However if you have a nicer set of wheels that are constantly dirty this may be something for you to consider. Otherwise Bendix has a less expensive OEM-style semi-metallic alternative that I normally use for my Taurus.