Rear disc brake pads

jdhunt3 · 07-18-2006, 05:18 PM

After only 20,000 miles, my rear disc pads are paper thin and need to be replaced ASAP. I've got plenty of experience replacing pads in other cars, so I felt confident I could tackle this job. I removed the calipers, but once they are removed I cannot get the piston to move back in using the tried and true C-clamp method. Does anyone know the trick to get the piston to seat back in the rear caliper?

dbikers · 07-24-2006, 08:34 PM

i've seen on some rear calipers that you need to turn the piston (with some non-marring pliers or something) rather than just using a C-clamp like the front ones

...rear pads shouldn't be gone at 20k should they?

praxmail · 07-26-2006, 10:37 PM

I have 30k miles on mine and the rear pads are gone and the rotors are too thin to be turned. I am beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with the design. The dealer was no help and said that brakes arent covered under the "bumper to bumper" warranty. So I got the new rotors and pads but I cannot get the piston to compress at all . I have tried turning it with a special tool, compressing it with a c clamp but it will not compress enough to put the new pads on. I even tried bleeding it a little bit to relieve some of the pressure but nothing worked.

I am searching everywhere on the net and trying to talk to different people to figure it out but this one has got me stumped. If anyone has the secret please let me know. I will post the answer here if I figure it out.

Thanks,

Robert

rjtanguay · 07-30-2006, 02:55 PM

If you are changing the pads or rotors on your free star, the only way to compress the calipers is with a tool, I found this out the hard way too,

After 2 hrs of triyng to compress them, screw them in, etc.etc.etc, I called auto zone, theylent me the tool for free, it applies significant pressure to the caliper while screwing it back down. It took me 14 minutes to change the second set of pads, from start to finish, good luck.

Colorado Mountain Driver · 08-14-2006, 01:07 PM

Changed my pads, needed to use compression tool which spins piston. Worked great on drivers side, but on passenger side did not. Believe that passeger side compresses counter clockwise base upon arrows on caliper but it froze up. Ended up replacing caliper. Good luck. My brakes only lasted 20K.

dwat2005 · 08-25-2006, 12:12 PM

I have the same problem as others here. brakes wearing too quickly and I got stranded last sunday calling roadside assistance when my rear caliper locked up. my dealership says they wont get a part for 30 days. so I called ford usa and told them they can pull the same part off a car on the assembly line and ship it to me....the guys in service told me it was a bad design of the calipers that even chevy used to use the design but they scrapped it....hmm makes you wonder..

Redbird · 10-22-2006, 03:04 PM

I had a 1989 Volvo that I dearly loved, but it seemed that changing the brake pads was a two times a year event. The first week I had my 2006 Freestyle, I noticed the heavy brake dust on the wheels and said to myself: “Well, I see something else you inherited from your little Swedish cousin.” I found that the pads were very soft on the Volvo, but if you put on harder pads, although they lasted longer, they SQUEALED and would drive you crazy

.

janekusen · 11-22-2006, 07:06 PM

Wish I had the same dealer that R-West has...seems to be that you always got at least 80,000 miles on disk brakes, but to have to replace them at 20, 25 or 30K seems like a poor design in the pad density or stability controls.
Ford does not appear to care and does not cover these items at most places...why do they offer a bumper to bumper warranty? No wonder Toyota is taking over the world!

Nelson · 12-01-2006, 09:14 PM

My 2005 Limited AWD with just under 18,000 miles had to have a set of tires today to replace those sorry Pirellis. I replaced them with the Goodyear Assure Confortread.

As if that wasn't bad enough, now it appears I have only about 10-20% brake pad life left on the rear brakes. Even the rear rotors are thinning rapidly. This just plain sucks!

Before I go visit my local dealer, has anyone had any success with getting the dealer to help out with this issue? I have no idea what this is going to cost, otherwise. Also, are there after market rotors and pads that may be better than OEM?

Thanks!

Nelson · 12-17-2006, 10:55 AM

Had to replace my brake pads as the dealer was absolutely no help. In fact, they recognize the issue as a problem, but Ford will not cover it if they have more than 12,000 miles or it has been over a year. Therefore, I have decided that since Ford doesn't want to help, they won't get my business (outside of true warranty work.)

I would STRONGLY suggest that before any Freestyle reaches this mark that you have the rear brakes checked.