26 Oct How To Change Rear Brakes on a Mustang
Looks like a piece of cake eh? Nah, really, looks like tough stuff to lots of people, but it’s VERY easy.
It actually is, and if you follow these instructions, replacing the pads/rotors should take 10-15 minutes for each side. Yes, you can do your rear brakes in 1/2 an hour!! See that handbrake cable? You shall NOT be messing with it or taking up hours trying to put it back with it’s Godforsaken spring, plus it is in the way of the bottom 15mm bolt. If you attempt to take it off, it will not come off. Why? Because the cable is in the way. We shall not be going that nutty route, we shall do it the east and fast way. Ready?
1. Jack said car up.
2. Take respective wheel off
3. Take the two 12mm bolts off. They are located next to the accordion boots that house the caliper sliders. In this pic below, I have the 12mm wrench on the bolt, and I’m using a larger deep socket over the smaller wrench for leverage and to prevent discomfort from my palm.
4. Then it’s onto the 2nd 12mm bolt..(Steps # 3 and #4 should take 1-2 minutes at the most)
5. Caliper comes off very easily…just lifts up…and also moves that dreaded handbrake cable out of the way of the two 15mm bolts that you’ll be heading for next. (Notice that the pads are still in place?..pretty cool huh?)
6. At this point, you can use a rear caliper piston screw-in tool ($5-10 at any local auto parts store), or just rent a much better kit such as this or buy one for yourself. www.Harborfreight.com sells the kit for $39.00
Step # 6 takes about 2 minutes of grunting…still very easy!!
7. Now, grab a breaker bar, a 15mm socket and a nice large socket wrench, and take those 2 (totally exposed/unobstructed) 15mm bolts off.
Another angle: (see? no handbrake cable in the way) Yay!
Step # 7 is necessary IF you’re going to take the rotors off and either replace them with new ones, or going to take them down to your local parts store to have them resurfaced with a lathe. (takes a very fine layer off and makes them nice and flat surfaced).
8. When that process is complete, replace the bracket and resinstall the two 15mm bolts (Use some thread locker/locktite on the bolt’s threads first). Then place the new pads as shown with the anti-rattle clips at both ends.
9. Slide caliper back onto the bracket and install the two 12mm bolts back onto the sliders with the accordion boots.
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Write-up by: 006
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Tom
Posted at 23:34h, 1 May 201096 mustang rear brakes
You save me! I was trying to put the caliper back on and teh E brake cable forbid it. I was kicking and cussing and jumped online. This way is so much easier. Still I had to press my foot on the E brake cable to get everything into position to insert the 12 mm bolts (Which were actually 13mm)
Thanks so much!
Tom
Steve
Posted at 10:57h, 19 July 2010Great!!!
Thank you…Saved me alot of money. Just to let everyone know you can get a loaner for the tools to screw back the caliper at Advance Auto Parts
…..Don’t cost a thing. Thanks for this tutorial.
Chris
Posted at 13:28h, 25 September 2010You also might want to add that it is very important to check the caliper sliders for freedom of movement 7 regreasing if necessary. My drivers side were frozen. If I were to put the caliper back in with them being frozen I would be compromising my braking performance on that side.
Good write up!
PS—I was cheap & lazy & just used a Channel Loc pliers to screw the piston back in. Not the best way but it can be done….
cali
Posted at 17:53h, 20 April 2014caliper
On my passenger side the caliper is damaged. I can’t figure out hpw to remove the brake line off of caliper to replace it.
doug
Posted at 20:09h, 1 June 2014rear brake caliper write up
Your write up was the only one I have found that has an image with the top anti rattle clip.
Not the ones on the pads but the one that you can see through the hole in the top of the caliper.
This helped me greatly just seeing the orientation since my car did not originally have them.
Do you know how they are installed? I slid the long flat part of mine through the hole and had to push up hard to get the back side to pop up through the top and over the hump. I almost thought I was going to poke a hole in the piston boot.
Is that the right way?
I know my car no longer makes any noise and I am grateful, thanks.
Mike
Posted at 14:05h, 22 August 2016Caliper piston wrench
The tool used to change the disks in most angle grinders is perfect to turn the piston in on a Ford Mustang
Tommy
Posted at 21:35h, 10 April 2019Anti rattle clips on break
Does the anti rattle clips go trough the hole on the caliper? Or do you just push it tight up to it?