Replacing Front Brake Pads On GT?

mooch · 10-30-2006

Has anyone replaced the front brake pads on their GT yet? I want to know if there are springs holding the inboard pad to the caliper pistons. The service advisor at the dealership said there is one there. I know some cars have them but the shop manual states there is special adhesive backing on the pads to keep them secured to the pistons. It also states "CAUTION: When the brake pads are separated from the brake caliper, new brake pads must be installed. The brake pads are one-time use only." NOTE: The brake pads must be separated from the brake caliper before the brake caliper can be removed from the anchor plate. I wanted to take apart the brakes to clean and lube everything but according to the manual I will have to replace the pads.

twgonder · 10-31-2006

Never trust a service adviser. Never! Not to say that at some time they might not have been a good mechanic (double negative used on purpose with poetic license). I have heard so much BS from advisers over the years that I could fill a small dump.

Whose manual are you reading and what year are you working on? I wish manuals gave a reason for cautions like that! I always wonder if it is a real concern, a one-in-ten-thousand concern, a money making scheme or the technical writer was too lazy to write out a proper remedy.

stangcrosser · 10-31-2006

The factory service manual says that the pads have an adhesive on the piston side and should not be reused if removed, but rather replaced. The service manual also advises to throw away nuts & bolts which are removed, and to replace them with new ones. I imagine that the manual is being extra cautious about reusing items that may be stressed when taken off.

With that said, I removed and replaced the pads on the front calipers of my car. There has been no problem for me. However, I am not advising others to do the same. I don't know what the safety factor is.

69stang · 11-02-2006

I removed then from my previous mustang. the 06 v-6, to upgrade to the GT take offs from saleen. the car only had 500 miles on it. there was no spray adhesive or anything else on them. the takes off we brand new looking nothing on them either. saleen claims less than 10 miles on them. No issues but I only had the car another 3.5k miles gefore trading it for a manual GT.

mot250 · 11-02-2006

Hawk plus and Hawk Blue pads do not come with any adhesive so if an adhesive is present on the stock pads, it is not a nessessary to braking performance (but it might help in keeping them quite from random vibration).

That said, I did notice a spray-on type of adhesive on the backs of the factory stock pads but there is also an anti-vibration mat on the back of the stock pad. I used some solvent to remove the adhesive goo when I reinstalled the stock pads after the track events for which I used the racing pads.

I have not had any problems with re-using the used but not worn down stock pads after putting them back on the car after each of two seperate track events. I went back to the stock pads because I did not like the greater amount of brake dust from the race pads for everyday driving. I did not want to clean my wheels every day. The track pads were also a little more noisy (squeel).

mooch · 11-05-2006

Ford recommends that a brake service be done on the vehicle every year or 20,000km (appr. 12427 miles). Meaning, checking the brakes and taking apart everything to be cleaned and lubed. Ford shop manual also states that the pads are one time use only. So with this in mind, Ford wants the owners of the GT Mustangs, Fivehundreds and Freestyles to get a brake service done and doing that would mean replacing the brake pads to not void the warranty. Ford technicians should be following what the Ford manual procedures state. The technicians probably don't know that they are one time use only pads because they don't look at the manual. They don't have time to when they are getting paid flat rate.