NOTE: I recommend you run a monitor resolution of 1024 x 768
minimum to read this article. The photos are fairly large, and will not work as intended at 800 x 600 or less. I reccommend a resolution of 1280 x 768 or more, to prevent you from having to scroll the photos over to see them fully.
Hello. You need new front brake pads and / or rotors on your Mustang, but don’t want to pay a shop 500+ dollars to do it for you? Do it yourself! I will cover all necessary things that need to be done, as well as a few things that don’t, but are a good idea. This article specifically covers 1987-1993 Mustangs, but can also be used for 1979-86 Mustangs.
First off, you will need a number of basic tools and greases/cleaning agents. I will name them when you will need them in this process. You will also need four (4) bearings, two inner, two outer (the inners are larger than the outers), as well as two (2) grease seals. The cost for the bearings and seals cost me $46.50. I got new pads and rotors as well, which are slightly better than stock (slotted rotors, metal-impregnated pads), and they cost me $250. Stock parts will cost less, but not by too much.
First, you will need a basic floor jack (2 ton rating or more preferred), and a set of jack stands, similar to these:
Choose a side to do first, either driver’s side or passenger’s side. Doing them one at a time simplifies matters.
Now, before you jack the car up, remove the lug nut cover on the rim. The size and type varies, depending on what type rim your car has. All ’87-’93 Mustangs used one of the following rim types: Aluminum ten-hole 15” (shown here), Turbine 15”, “Pony” 16”, and for I-4 powered Mustangs, base stamped steel black rims, covered by a wire-wheel cover. All are 4-lug, save for 1993 1/2 Cobras, which are 5 lug. Disassembly is for those vehicles is somewhat similar to the one seen here, but is different enough that I do not say that this covers those cars as well. Also, although I have strived to make sure the information presented here is accurate, I will not be held responsible if any of the information contained herein causes some sort of damage to occur to your vehicle from the use of this article.
Loosen the lug nuts with a lug wrench, but don’t remove them just yet. Place the jack in a good position, and jack the car up. I put it directly under the lower A-arm, compressing the front spring slightly, and raising that side of the car. After that, place a jackstand in a good spot as well, as a backup. I placed one under the fraimerail of the car, which is strong enough to hold the front end up, in case the jack itself fails. The jackstand is not mandatory, but it is for safety. You can see my placement of the jack and jackstand in the following photo.
Once you have the tire in the air, finish removal of the lug nuts, and remove the tire. Take care to protect your back, as it is somewhat heavy. Once it is off, you will see the caliper and rotor:
The first thing you must remove is the caliper. It is secured to the spindle assembly with two fairly long Star bolts. Remove them with a ratchet (both 3/8” and ½” variants will work), and a T-50 Star socket. If they are stubborn, try squirting some WD-40 on them to loosen them a bit. Once the two bolts are off, get a large flat-bladed screwdriver, and a hammer. Use the screwdriver to loosen the caliper, and tap it off with the hammer if it is stubborn. Be careful to not damage the caliper, you don’t need to apply too much power to remove it. Once it is off, place it on something handy, in such a way that it does not place excess pressure upon the brake line.
Ignore this if you are going to disconnect the brake line. Note that if you do disconnect the brake line, you will have to bleed the brakes later on, to remove any air pockets from the lines. I myself did not touch them, and didn’t even need to open the hood during the whole job.
To remove the rotor from the spindle, you will need to do a few things. First, remove the grease cap with a small flat-bladed screwdriver and hammer. You will need to tap the screwdriver in between the cap and rotor, and pry it loose. It comes off with ease.
Next, straighten the cotter pin, and remove it from the spindle with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
Next is the castellated nut retainer. You can remove it easily with your hands. Then loosen and remove the wheel bearing and hub retaining nut. I tried to use a 1” socket, but the nut was too big. I used an adjustable wrench instead. You need to remove the flat keyed washer next, and the outer bearing usually is easy to remove at that point (it sometimes pops right out). Don’t bother fiddling with the outer bearing if you don’t need/want to. You can pull the rotor off at this point, and the inner bearing comes off with it. If you are going to be re-using the old rotors, keep reading. If you are replacing them altogether, skip the next paragraph.
Once you have removed the old rotors, you also need to remove the old grease seal and inner bearing, and clean all old grease off of it. Inspect the inner and outer bearing cups (these would usually be replaced), and if you have a 1” micrometer, you can measure it to see if it has enough metal on it to be turned (when I say “turned”, I mean machined flat, bringing it back to like-new condition). Most rotors have a stamping somewhere on them stating “MIN. THICKNESS xxx”, where “x” is a number, usually slightly less than an inch. If it is close to or under specification, you need new rotors. If it is well above, get them turned. Take them to a machine shop if you don’t have a 1” micrometer, but still want them turned if possible, and need an expert’s opinion.
Toss the old rotors aside, and clean the spindle off, as it is still full of old, nasty grease. Make sure to clean the dust seal in the back as well.
