replacing front rotors and pads

I'm changing the rotors and pads on my 98 sable. I have never worked on a sable before, only ford trucks. What tools will i need to remove the rotors, and how are the calipars attached? (torx head, allen head, compression pins?)

I just did a front calipar and rotor job on a 96 cougar....is the sable similar?

Thanks for any tips or advice.

-hooD :worshippy

chances are you are going to need a special tool to get the caliper back in! if you have an autozone near you, they will have the tool for 35 dollars on loan and will refund your money when you give it back unbroken. the reason for this tool is to twist the caliper back in. if you use a C clamp you will break the caliper. i know is true of the older sables perhaps not the new models though. also you may not be able to remove the rotor without removing the caliper to reveal the last bolt on the back of the plate/rotor what a pain the butt. i recently did my car, i had no idea my ford would be so much fun! :banghead: i did my friends mitsubishi eclipse first.... what a breeze and then my piece..... good luck

The front disk caliper is held on by two metric hex bolts. Remove the bolts, pull the caliper out of the way, take out the pads and remove the rotor. Now put the caliper back on and snug up the bolts. I got one of the generic multi-vehicle brake tools that connects to a socket extension from Sears for around 12 dollars US. Bolting the caliper back on with the rotor and pads removed keeps it in place while you use that tool to screw the piston back into the caliper. The rest is simple. Remove the caliper again, put on the new rotor and pads, bolt on the caliper. I have never gotten air into the lines, but I bleed them anyway to get as much of the old fluid out as I can, watching that the reserviour stays full. Brake fluid, when it gets older, attracts water that can rust out your brake lines.

you do not need a special tool to retract the FRONT caliper pistons, a regular old C-clamp works fine. The back calipers on cars so equipped require a special tool as they need to be spun and compressed at the same time to retract them.