How to Change Ford Windstar Rear Brakes
by Allen Moore
Ford offered the Windstar minivan from the 1995 through the 2003 model years. Before undertaking the rear brake repair on your Windstar, pick up some OEM quality brake pads and rotors--avoid buying economy priced parts, as their wear life and performance are significantly less than professional grade parts. Save some money by doing the repair yourself, not by skimping on the parts; you cannot put a price on the ability to stop safely.
Step 1
Put your safety glasses on, depress the parking brake and chock the front wheels.
Step 2
Use the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts on both rear wheels.
Step 3
Slide the floor jack under the rear end and jack it up until you can slide the jack stands under the rear frame. Carefully lower the rear end down onto the jack stands.
Step 4
Remove the lug nuts and wheel from the right side by hand.
Step 5
Place the drip pan under the brake assembly and spray the brakes thoroughly with brake clean to remove as much brake dust as possible.
Step 6
Use the socket set to unbolt the caliper. Slide the caliper off the rotor and prop it up on the rear suspension, being careful not to let it hang from the brake line.
Step 7
Slip the rotor off and slip on the new one. Hold the new rotor in place by threading a lug nut on until hand tight.
Step 8
Pull the retaining clip off the brake caliper, slide the old brake pads out and spray down the caliper slides with brake clean. Once the slides are clean, lubricate them with a healthy dose of white lithium grease.
Step 9
Use the caliper piston tool to push the caliper pistons back in so you can insert the new brake pads. Reinstall the retaining clip, slide the brake caliper back into place and bolt it back on.
Step 10
Repeat Steps 4 through 9 on the left side.
Step 11
Put the wheels and lug nuts back on, then jack the Windstar back up so you can remove the jack stands. Lower the Windstar back to the ground and re-torque the lug nuts to 75 ft.-lbs. with the torque wrench.
References
Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- 2 wheel chocks
- Lug wrench
- Floor jack
- 2 jack stands
- Drip pan
- Brake clean
- Socket set
- Replacement rotors
- White lithium grease
- Caliper piston tool
- Replacement pads
- Torque wrench
Warnings
- Do not undertake automotive repairs if you do not possess the basic mechanical inclination and skills necessary to complete the work with confidence. While brake jobs are one of the easier automotive repairs, failure to perform any automotive repair properly can result in injury or death.
Writer Bio
Allen Moore's career includes awards in poetry and creative fiction, published lyrics, fiction books and nonfiction articles as well as a master certification in automotive service from the Ford Motor Company. Moore is a contributing writer for RF365.com and various other websites, a ghostwriter for Rainbow Writing and has over a dozen works of fiction currently in print.
