Full brake replacement on '02 Ford ZX2?

Question

My girlfriend was notified by her mechanic that it is time to do a full brake job. I have done my brakes on my car, and it wasn't to difficult. I want to know if anyone has fallen into problems when doing pads, rotors and such on there ZX2.

Answer 1

Although I shouldn't be posting this, I will tell you that replacing front brake pads and rotors on a Focus are extremely simple to carry out, to someone who is EXPERIENCED. The only tools needed are a 7mm allen head tool and a flatblade screwdriver. The catch is, you won't find a 7mm allen head if you purchase it from any type of allen key set. Almost all the allen key sets will skip the size from 6mm to 8mm, so you are better off either borrowing it, or buying it from a tool store.

To replace the front brakes on a Focus, simply pry the outboard steel retainer free of the steering knuckle with your flatblade screwdriver. Pry the caliper piston back into its fully retracted position, again using your flatblade screwdriver from the top side of the caliper, where you can see the inboard pad. Next, remove the two caliper slider plastic caps from the back side of the caliper to expose the two 7mm allen head slider pins. At this point, removal and replacement should be very self-evident. The only thing I will caution though, is to take care NOT to strip the two sliders into the steering knuckle during reinstallation. Also be sure to lubricate the brake pad contact areas on the steering knuckle with anti-seize, and the caliper slider pins with caliper slider grease. Start one slider at a time, and then the other BEFORE you tighten them. Once all is done, torque all four wheel nuts to 80 ft.-lbs.

I highly recommend you purchase the replacement brake parts from Ford though. If you don't, they will likely be noisy when they are used. The part numbers from Ford are 3S4Z-2001-AA for the front brake pads and 3S4Z-1125-AA for the front brake rotors. Hope this helps.