Mondeo - Rear Brakes

[leef78]

Hi Guys/Glas,

Been a little while since i've been on, so a very late happy new year.
I've finally got rid of my clio and bought a new shape mondeo (x-reg)
Its in mint condition only 38,000 miles on the clock but needs its rear brake pads renewing, I've bought the good old Haynes manual and the pads (£23!!! for pads.. oh well thats ford i guess!) Im going to do them tonight with my mate, just wondered if anybody has done them on a newish Mondeo before and is there anything I should look out for!?

Cheers everyone

Lee

hiya, if I was you I would take the opportunity to replace the brake fluid, while you are there.

Although the mileage is low, it is still an oldish car & brake fluid absorbs water & deteriorates, over time.

Originally Posted by leef78

I've bought the good old Haynes manual and the pads (£23!!! for pads.. oh well thats ford i guess!) Im going to do them tonight with my mate, just wondered if anybody has done them on a newish Mondeo before and is there anything I should look out for!?

The Haynes, despite it's varied reputation, usually covers a job like this quite well.

Have you checked that the car does indeed have rear disks and not drums? Otheriwse you'll have the wrong components.

If they're pads, your only difficult is going to be getting the caliper piston to go back into the caliper body. There is a tool available for that which makes the job easy - otherwise a suitably sized G-clamp might be useful. Pushing and shoving with screwdrivers and other implements is laborious and doesn't always work.

Drums are usually much plainer sailing, howeve watch out for the springs that hold the shoes against the backplate (I'm assuming it has those - haven't looked inside mine yet )
But if you follow the directions, it's relatively easy.

As for changing the brake fluid? That can be done another time - don't make the job harder than it is. If the car has a good service record you may be able to check if/when it was last done. I have no idea how hard the job is on a Mondeo, but on other cars I've known it to be akward, messy and not always successful. Once that bleed nipple breaks off you're well up the creek without a paddle.

[leef78]

Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior

Have you checked that the car does indeed have rear disks and not drums? Otheriwse you'll have the wrong components.


If the car has a good service record you may be able to check if/when it was last done.

It does indeed have rear discs and not drums, I've had the wheel off to check the pads, one of them is very close to metal on metal and the others are VERY worn.

It has Full Ford service history, the dealer actually said to me the only thing it needs is its rear brakes doing, its last service was 6,000 miles ago. I've already had the oil changed at ATS. Thanks for reminding me about the G clamp!! I'll pick one up tonight if I cant find mine, made the job easy on my clio

Thanks

[marky]

Ive never done them on a mondeo, but on the late granada's the hand brake was a pain to back off so the new pads will go in.
Other than that it was plain sailing,

And remember to press the brake pedal a few times before you drive, to pump the piston out.

[sharpygreen]

i think from memory u need a 7 mm allen key for the caliper so you can unbolt it to remove the pads

[monkey2468]

Originally Posted by sharpygreen

i think from memory u need a 7 mm allen key for the caliper so you can unbolt it to remove the pads

Not on the rear you won't. There are normally just pins that hold them in.

[iain_herts]

also check to see if the old pads have worn uneven if so then the old disk and new pads will not fully touch.

[simon9975]

There a pain in the **** to do,believe me i work in ford,firstly you need to release the handbrake,then undo the caliper,
You will then need to buy a tool or good grips to wind the pistons back whilst doing this you need to push very hard as well dont ask me why but thats the way they are,or buy the hexagon shaped tool thats fits in the groove and do it that way.
Also one side the piston goes back clocwise the otherside goes back anti-clockwise.
Also make sure the pads are seated properly on the ridges on the piston when re-fitting.
Apart from that and not a five minute job good luck

[leef78]

Originally Posted by simon9975

There a pain in the **** to do,believe me i work in ford,firstly you need to release the handbrake,then undo the caliper,
You will then need to buy a tool or good grips to wind the pistons back whilst doing this you need to push very hard as well dont ask me why but thats the way they are,or buy the hexagon shaped tool thats fits in the groove and do it that way.
Also one side the piston goes back clocwise the otherside goes back anti-clockwise.
Also make sure the pads are seated properly on the ridges on the piston when re-fitting.
Apart from that and not a five minute job good luck

Simon,

You were 100% correct, we gave up after an hour, The bottom screw on the caliper was near impossible to get too! then we couldn't quiet release the handbrake from the self adjusting spring. It was a nightmare!

So im left with a set of brand new pads now does anybody know of any garages in manchester that will just fit the pads? Im presuming that kwik fit or ATS wouldn't do it?, they'd probably want me to buy theres!?

Thanks guys...
Lee

Originally Posted by leef78

You were 100% correct, we gave up after an hour, The bottom screw on the caliper was near impossible to get too! then we couldn't quiet release the handbrake from the self adjusting spring. It was a nightmare!

As with many of these jobs, there's probably a few tricks you need.

To release the handbrake, I expect you need to not only pull the cable free, but also push the lever in the opposite direction to give the required slack.

Not sure what type of 'screw' holds the caliper on, but on a Galaxy I've found that what I thought was the caliper retaining screw, wasn't - it turned out to be an easily accessible bolt. Are you sure you had the right one?

My Mondeo only has front discs, so I won't be able to compare directly - but I'll have a look at the Haynes this evening and see what it's all about.