Fiesta Mk8 brakes advice for a newbie

[Buxty]

Hello folks,

 

My partners car has gone in for an MOT and been advised on discs and pads (not bad for six years). Call me stubborn but £600 for the work is a bit high and I reckon with a few hours work I could give it a go. 
 

Does anyone have any recommendations on which tools I’d be wise getting, from your experience? Also if you’d bother with genuine Ford parts at a £40 overall premium, or just get whatever ECP/SCC have in stock?

It’s a 2018 1.0L Ecoboost Mk8

Cheers!

Edited April 3 by Buxty

[TomsFocus]

If it's just an advisory they may not need replacing yet.

Personally, if there's only a £40 premium for the full set of genuine pads & discs, I'd go with them.  Otherwise I'm a fan of Pagid.

Only basic tools required.  If you've got a set of spanners that's pretty much it.

You will need some way to push the piston back in.  You can buy proper tools for that, but I generally just put a small pry bar between the old inner pad & disc to lever the piston back in.  May crack out the G clamp if that doesn't work...  (For rear calipers, they must be wound back in due to handbrake mech, but fronts just push straight back)

[unofix]

14 minutes ago, Buxty said:

Also if you’d bother with genuine Ford parts at a £40 overall premium

Personally if I could get the genuine Ford disks and pads for only £40 more than Motor Factor parts then I'd pay the extra.

No special tools needed, just a regular socket set and perhaps a 7mm Allen key, but that might not be something that is needed on your brake calipers.

[unofix]

I really do need to start typing faster.

Once again Tom you beat me to the punch line 🤣

[Buxty]

Awesome, appreciate that gents! I'll go for the genuine article in that case when the time comes and will double check how much they are worn in case it was the tester being attentive. 

[orangecurry]

5 hours ago, Buxty said:

Does anyone have any recommendations on which tools I’d be wise getting, from your experience? Also if you’d bother with genuine Ford parts at a £40 overall premium, or just get whatever ECP/SCC have in stock?

600 GBP just for the labour?  Don't ever take your car to that garage again.

As above, if the rear calipers need the pistons winding back in, (rather than simply pushing back in, as the fronts do), you do need a special tool for that, but it's a few 10s of pounds. BE AWARE that the two sides probably wind-in in opposite directions!!

Don't forget to push the calipers back in immediately after removing the old pads, with the calipers and old discs still bolted on the car, just in case you damage the disc if using a pry bar etc etc.

Be very careful not to damage the rubber 'boot' or sleeve that sits around the piston - this needs to fold back on itself again as it goes back in.... you'll see what I mean when you take the old pads out.

To replace the brake discs, you need to remove the calipers, which isn't difficult, but because of this you will need a torque wrench, so that you retighten the caliper bolts to the correct value.  Very important.

As you push the pistons back in, you will need to suck out the excess brake fluid that will flow back into the master cylinder, so don't forget to buy a syringe etc for that.

As to 'Ford' parts, I don't think they make brake consumables.... they don't usually make any of the brake system - so it'll be someone else's rebranded product.  I would put my registration number into Autodoc, and see what manufacturer names are offered.  Autodoc is usually cheaper than ECP/cp4l/GSF.  If you get Brembo come up, I would choose them - they are almost certainly significantly better quality and probably be cheaper than anything with a Ford label on the box.

[Buxty]

17 hours ago, orangecurry said:

600 GBP just for the labour?  Don't ever take your car to that garage again.

As above, if the rear calipers need the pistons winding back in, (rather than simply pushing back in, as the fronts do), you do need a special tool for that, but it's a few 10s of pounds. BE AWARE that the two sides probably wind-in in opposite directions!!

Don't forget to push the calipers back in immediately after removing the old pads, with the calipers and old discs still bolted on the car, just in case you damage the disc if using a pry bar etc etc.

Be very careful not to damage the rubber 'boot' or sleeve that sits around the piston - this needs to fold back on itself again as it goes back in.... you'll see what I mean when you take the old pads out.

To replace the brake discs, you need to remove the calipers, which isn't difficult, but because of this you will need a torque wrench, so that you retighten the caliper bolts to the correct value.  Very important.

As you push the pistons back in, you will need to suck out the excess brake fluid that will flow back into the master cylinder, so don't forget to buy a syringe etc for that.

As to 'Ford' parts, I don't think they make brake consumables.... they don't usually make any of the brake system - so it'll be someone else's rebranded product.  I would put my registration number into Autodoc, and see what manufacturer names are offered.  Autodoc is usually cheaper than ECP/cp4l/GSF.  If you get Brembo come up, I would choose them - they are almost certainly significantly better quality and probably be cheaper than anything with a Ford label on the box.

Thanks for the advice! £600 was parts and labour but checking some YouTube vids it seems like something to keep my honest on a Sunday! 

[orangecurry]

....you are welcome - and I'm only replying here just to correct something I wrote above:

Don't forget to push the pistons back in immediately after removing the old pads, with the calipers and old discs still bolted on the car, just in case you damage the disc if using a pry bar etc etc.

[steveg19]

If your car has rear brake drums instead of disks, they can be a little  more difficult,  not necessarily harder to do , just tricky (fiddly) with retaining springs etc.

Apologies I've just noticed it is a ST-3 , no brake drums , ignore my post 🤣

[deandeandean]

Remove the brake master cylinder cap because when you push the pistons back in you are pushing the hydraulic fluid back up the system and it needs more room. The pistons will push in easier if you loosen the nipples .

[TomsFocus]

The drum shoes won't need changing yet if it is a drum model.  They should do 10 years easily.

Regarding brake fluid, you will get differing opinions on this part.  Personally I don't like to open the nipples for a pad change, as they're so easy to snap off, especially in cold weather and on the older cars that I was generally working on.  It is up to you whether you loosen them or not.

If you don't loosen them, then do remove the brake fluid cap, however, there shouldn't be any excess fluid in there unless you've topped it up at any point.  The brake fluid level drops as the pads wear down.  So as long as it hasn't been topped up in the meantime, shouldn't overflow the container when you push the piston back.

[Jim H]

On 4/3/2024 at 6:04 PM, orangecurry said:

As above, if the rear calipers need the pistons winding back in, (rather than simply pushing back in, as the fronts do), you do need a special tool for that, but it's a few 10s of pounds. BE AWARE that the two sides probably wind-in in opposite directions!!

As to 'Ford' parts, I don't think they make brake consumables.... they don't usually make any of the brake system - so it'll be someone else's rebranded product.  I would put my registration number into Autodoc, and see what manufacturer names are offered.  Autodoc is usually cheaper than ECP/cp4l/GSF.  If you get Brembo come up, I would choose them - they are almost certainly significantly better quality and probably be cheaper than anything with a Ford label on the box.

I had to buy a brake rewind kit as the tool I used on my previous cars wouldn't fit. It's made by 'Hilka' and was about £30 from a local car factor. They are normally double the price for other makes (even more if you go to Halfrauds!)  The only other tool which is needed is a 7mm allen/hex key or even better a socket. I've got on, but can't remember where I bought/acquired it from. You can torque it up with a socket. 

I always say never skimp on brakes, it what stops you! So always buy a well known make. The same advice for tyre choice too. I've used Mintex and Ferrodo in the past and currently use EBC stuff on all our cars. I'd certainly consider Pagid and Brembo too.