Replacing Expedition Brake Backing Plate

caretaker · 09-02-2008, 10:16 PM

Well, I got all set to do a full brake job on my 1998 Expedition. I got my new rotors, new pads and parking brake hardware. Due to the age and corrosion, I was looking for a fight, but was surprised how smooth and easy everything came off. That's when I realized that the backing plate was way too far gone in places. I was surprised to find that it was a dealer item. (always LOVE hearing those words!) My question is how do I go about pulling the axle/hub to replace the backing plate? I would have thought there would be a notch cut out of it to slide it in behind, but NOOOOO, you have to pull the hub off to get at it. Any help would be appreciated.

TBIRD430 · 09-03-2008, 02:25 PM

Block the front tires and set rear end up on jack stands. Remove the rear diff cover and drain all the old fluid out. Turn a tire until u see a small 7-8MM bolt head on the main ring gear carrier. This single bolts holds the larger (approx 1") pin between the axle shafts. Then slide the axle in until the C-clips falls out or you might have to take a small screws driver and remove it. Now you can remove the entire axle. I would also recommend you replace the axle seal at this time. Reinstall everything in reverse order, reseal the diff cover with silicon & add new 75W140 gear oil (approx 2.5 qrts). If your SUV is a limited slip you will also need to add a single bottle of friction modifier for the clutches in the rear carrier.

99Expy · 09-03-2008, 09:47 PM

TBird, well done. :-)

TBIRD430 · 09-04-2008, 10:05 AM

Thanks. And as you probably know "99Epoxy" it sounds a lot harder than it actually is to do.

caretaker · 09-05-2008, 09:20 AM

Thanks guys! Actually TBIRD, your explanation made it sound very easy... the problem was in the execution and you guys will probably love this one.

Got the cover off, put it in neutral and turned the hub to align the pin just so, to get at lock bolt and push the pin past the rear sway bar. I pushed the axles in and saw the c-clip. However, I couldn't for love nor money get the clip to drop out. I tried prying, pushing, tapping and more than a little cussing for well over an hour on both axles. To me it seemed that even though the axles pushed in there wasn't enough clearance to fully get the C-clip out of the pinion gear recess, just by a C-hair!

Well, after a break I went back and discovered that my "perfect" alignment to get the gear pin out placed the backside of a wheel stud directly over the parking brake mounting block (I have rear disks with parking brake drum) keeping the axle from going in enough... on both axles no less! A little turn clockwise and both C-clips dropped out almost on their own. Needless to say, I was chagrined about wasting a whole mornings work. Doh!

Thanks again

TBIRD430 · 09-05-2008, 10:16 AM

Hahaha!!! That is how 98% of my "easy" projects usually go. I'm glad you figured it out in the end though.