I was sick and tired of the brake dust put out by the stock pads. I needed something that gave me better braking performance as well as cut down on the dust. I went with Hawk's ceramic compound brake pads.

First thing is to break the lug nuts loose (stock lugs take a 21mm socket) and then jack up your truck at the specified mounting point that your owners manual states to use. Make sure you put a jack stand underneath for added safety. Never leave the vehicle supported from the jack alone.

Next is to take your wheels off. The stock lugs take a 21mm socket, but I have aftermarket wheels and lugs that have a spline lug nut that use a special "key".

This is what you should be looking at now.


Next will be to remove the two (2) 13mm caliper bolts. There is one on the top and one on the bottom. You may need to spray some brake cleaner on to lubricate everything.


After you get the caliper off you'll need to grab you some wire and hang it from the coil spring or another place so it's not hanging from the brake hoses.

Take off the old pads and compare to the new pads and make sure the back plate designs are the same.


The Hawk pads came with a package of high temperature grease. You'll need to put some grease on the back of the pads to keep the squealing down. It is a good idea to check the sliding bolts that are in the dust boots and re-grease them if necessary.

***Special Note***
The caliper bolt circled in white above goes on the top and the caliper bolt circled in red goes on the bottom.

Next you will need to press the caliper piston back into the caliper. Take off your master cylinder cap and lay a rag over it in case the fluid level goes up while you are pressing the piston back in. Grab you a big C-clamp and one of the old pads and start twisting the clamp.


After that is done you are ready to put everything back together. The installation is reverse of removal. When you get everything back together go out for a test drive and in a safe area get up to 30-40mph and do a few sudden stops to break in the pads.

I hope this helps anyone out that needs to do this. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

That's how I would do it. I'd suggest checking the rotors for grooves or warpage while the pads are off.

 

Yeah I actually bought some new rotors, but there were no deep grooves at all and they were pretty smooth so I just did the pads for now. These Hawk pads made such a big difference and I love them already.

 

great write up....saving this for when i get back from deployment bc im changing to hawk pads and dependin on how the rotors look i might be changing those too

 

break the lugnuts loose before you jack the truck up
(unless you are using air tools)

 

Haha yeah that.

 

just tryin to help :o

 

Made some changes

 

Nice writeup on how do change the pads for the do-it your selfer ! My friend and me just got done today changing out my factory pads and rotors with powerslots & hawk pads all the way around today. I couldn't believe how easy it was and how the dealership quoted me $300.00+. With both of us it only took about 2 hours.

 

I noticed you put your c-clamp over one of the pistons instead of the middle of the pad. Wouldn't you be taking a chance on getting uneven pressure and possibly bending one of the caliper sleeves? I usually apply pressure on the middle of the pad to try and getting even pressure. Just a thought

 

Yeah I was going back and forth between both sides. The caliper has a piece that extends straight up that won't allow the clamp to go right in the middle. I didn't feel anything wrong after test driving it. Good eye though.

 

Well I haven't changed mine on this truck, paid someone else to do it. I know, I’m lazy in my old age. On my past vehicles, that is the way I did it, but instead of a c-clamp, I use an old steering wheel puller. It is basically a threaded rod with a hex head, and a bar that the rod runs through. It works perfect for this, it fits right in the spot of the caliper. Looking at your pics I think it might not work on my truck though, I see your point, looks like there is an obstruction in the middle.

 

I had a few questions for whoever can answer. I have never changed brakes before on my own. I understnad all of the above instructions, but how hard is it to change the rotor out also? Is there any other special instructions that I would absolutely need to know? I need to do this when I get back home in 6 weeks.

If anyone has a full write up for an 04-08 I would like to see. I looked at Patmans write up for the older gen and it looks more complex once you remove the rotor. I remember him packing some bearings and such. Also do you need to add anymore dot3 brake fluid when you change?

Can anyone ease my nerves so I have enough confidence to do this myself.

jrbhc8

 

I've done plenty of brake jobs on lots of Ford vehicles, but with that being said, I HAVE NOT done one on my 07 F150 yet.

So if some of my specifics are off, I'm sure someone will jump in and correct me. Consider this general brake-job knowledge.


I BELIEVE that 04-08 trucks use a sealed hub/bearing assembly. Not meant to be serviced, just replaced if necessary (generally not required unless your truck is subjected to extreme duty). The rotor just slides onto the hub assembly. Yours may or may not be held in place by a couple of small metal cir-clip style retainers on the lugs. If so, just cut them off and discard them (in first pic of OP they are not present).

In pic 2 of the OP, the caliper and caliper bolts are being removed. However, the caliper bracket is still in place. The bracket has to be removed to free the rotor, and is usually attached to the spindle with two bolts. The bracket to spindle bolts are usually loc-tited and torqued pretty well, so a breaker bar is definitely your friend here. Remember to loc-tite again when reassembling.

If you're going through the trouble/expense of changing rotors and pads, then you might as well bleed the entire system while you're down there. Pick up a couple of quarts of good fluid and gravity bleed the whole system. Start with the wheel farthest from the master cyclinder and work back (generally RR, LR, RF, LF).




Good procedure for bedding in new pads and rotors:

- Find yourself a good stretch of empty road.
- Do a series of ten 25mph to 5mph decels (don't come to a complete stop)to put a little heat into the system.
- Follow that with a series of ten HARD 40mph-5mph decels (again, no complete stops).
- By the time you get to your 7th or 8th 40mph decel, you should start to notice some pretty significant brake fade. You might even smell the pads off-gassing. All perfectly normal and good, as you are building up the transfer layer between your pads and rotors.
- Now, finally, try to drive for 10 minutes or so using your brakes as little as possible so that they can cool evenly.
- Park it and let them cool to ambient. DO NOT engage the parking brake.

 

Once the caliper is off the rotor comes right off.