🔧 Focus - Rear Brake Pad Replacement

Your Focus’s rear brake pads clamp the rear rotors to slow the car. Replacing worn pads restores braking power and prevents rotor damage and noise.

Difficulty Level: Intermediate | Estimated Time: 1.5-3 hours

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⚠️ Safety & Precautions

• ⚠️ Work on a flat, solid surface; chock the front wheels.
• ⚠️ Let brakes cool fully; hot parts can burn you.
• ⚠️ Support the car on jack stands; never rely on a floor jack alone.
• ⚠️ Keep the brake fluid reservoir cap on loosely and don’t spill fluid on paint.
• ⚠️ Release the parking brake before starting (rear calipers can’t retract with it engaged).
• ⚠️ Avoid inhaling brake dust; use brake cleaner, not compressed air.

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🔧 Required Tools

You'll need the following tools for this repair:

• Floor jack (rated 2-ton minimum)
• Jack stands (rated 2-ton minimum)
• Wheel chocks
• 19mm socket
• 1/2" drive breaker bar
• 1/2" drive torque wrench (20–200 Nm range)
• Ratchet
• 7mm hex bit socket
• 15mm socket
• Flat trim/pry tool
• Brake caliper wind-back tool (specialty)
• Wire hook or bungee cord
• Wire brush
• Brake parts cleaner
• Nitrile gloves
• Safety glasses

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🔩 Required Parts

HowToo sells all the parts you need for this repair:

• Rear brake pad set - Qty: 1
• Rear pad hardware/abutment clip kit - Qty: 1
• Brake caliper grease (silicone) - Qty: 1
• Brake cleaner - Qty: 1

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📋 Before You Begin

• 🅿️ Park on level ground, put the transmission in 1st gear, and chock both front wheels.
• 🧯 Confirm you have rear disc brakes (you’ll see a caliper squeezing a rotor). If you see a closed “drum” with no caliper, tell me and I’ll give the rear drum shoe procedure instead.
• 🧴 Open the hood and check brake fluid level; retracting pistons can raise the level. Remove a little fluid if it’s already at MAX.
• 🧰 A “wind-back tool” rotates and pushes the piston at the same time (needed on many rear calipers with parking-brake mechanisms).

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🔨 Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these steps in order:

Step 1: Loosen lug nuts (rear wheel)

• Use a 19mm socket and breaker bar to crack the lug nuts loose 1/2 turn while the tire is still on the ground.

Step 2: Lift and support the rear

• Use a floor jack to lift the rear at the proper jacking point.
• Set the car down onto jack stands and gently shake the car to confirm it’s stable.

Step 3: Remove the wheel

• Remove the lug nuts with a 19mm socket and take the wheel off.

Step 4: Remove the caliper from the bracket

• Locate the two caliper slide-pin bolts on the back of the caliper.
• Use a 7mm hex bit socket and ratchet to remove both slide-pin bolts.
• Lift the caliper off the bracket. Support it with a wire hook or bungee cord (do not let it hang by the brake hose).

Step 5: Remove old pads and hardware

• Pull the inner and outer pads out of the bracket by hand. If stuck, use a flat trim/pry tool gently.
• Remove the pad abutment clips from the bracket using a flat trim/pry tool.
• Clean the bracket pad “rails” with a wire brush, then spray with brake parts cleaner.
• Clean metal-to-metal contact points only.

Step 6: Retract the rear caliper piston

• Check the piston face: if it has notches/slots, it typically needs to be rotated while pushing.
• Use a brake caliper wind-back tool (specialty) to rotate and compress the piston slowly until it bottoms out.
• Watch the brake fluid reservoir so it doesn’t overflow.

Step 7: Install new hardware and pads

• Install the new abutment clips onto the bracket by hand (they should “snap” into place).
• Apply a thin film of brake caliper grease (silicone) where the pad ears slide on the clips (do not get grease on pad friction material or rotor).
• Install the new inner and outer pads into the bracket.

Step 8: Reinstall the caliper

• Lower the caliper over the new pads.
• Reinstall the slide-pin bolts using a 7mm hex bit socket.
• Torque to 28 Nm (21 ft-lbs).

Step 9: If you removed the caliper bracket (only if needed)

• If you removed the bracket for any reason, reinstall the bracket bolts using a 15mm socket.
• Torque to 70 Nm (52 ft-lbs).

Step 10: Reinstall wheel and torque lug nuts

• Put the wheel back on and hand-thread the lug nuts.
• Lower the car off the jack stands using the floor jack.
• Torque lug nuts in a star pattern using a torque wrench: Torque to 135 Nm (100 ft-lbs).

Step 11: Repeat on the other rear side

• Replace pads on the opposite rear wheel the same way.
• Always replace pads on both rear wheels.

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✅ After Repair

• 🦶 Before driving, pump the brake pedal 10–15 times until it feels firm (this seats the pistons to the new pads).
• 🧴 Recheck brake fluid level and top up only if needed.
• 🔍 Test at low speed first; confirm no pulling, grinding, or warning lights.
• 🛑 Pad bedding (break-in): make 8–10 gentle stops from ~30 mph to ~5 mph, allowing short cool-down between stops.

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💰 DIY vs Shop Cost

Shop Cost: ₹6,000-₹12,000 (parts + labor)

DIY Cost: ₹2,000-₹6,000 (parts only)

You Save: ₹4,000-₹6,000 by doing it yourself!

Shop labor rates vary but typically run ₹1,500-₹3,000/hour. This repair takes a shop approximately 1.0-1.5 hours.

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🎯 Ready to get started?

HowToo makes it easy: same-day/2-day shipping on every part, plus all the tools and specialty tools you need! Check out the parts and tools sections below to add everything to your cart.