FYI- the caliper bolts if the same on the 2006, are non-reusable.

 

I know what you mean when Ford states that those caliper bracket bolts are unusable.
I just installed 4 new shocks on my 2007 Navigator and the dealer parts department told me that I must use all new bolts and nuts.


In my opinion the reason is that Ford must make sure that suspension fasteners never come loose and cause an accident. I'm all for that kind of safety. This strategy works too.
The nylock nuts don't lock as well the second time they are tightened up. Reinstalling the caliper bolts without locktite may allow them to loosen in service. I think new bolts (ones that just screw into metal without nuts) have locktite applied on the threads when they are made. (pretty sure of that).

That all being said I have my own strategy. I reuse the bolts & nuts. I power buff the threads with a wire wheel to clean the old locktite & rust off them and use blue locktite when assembling. I've never had any bolts break off or come loose.


For 35 years I was a machinist who worked on light and heavy machinery with some jet engines also. All that equipment had to be assembled so as not to fall apart. Some equipment required some very technical tightening procedures.


My point is that it can be ok to reuse nuts and bolts if precautions are taken. Saves wasting metal and money.
Richard

 

For Bolt removal, get your wrench or breaker bar in a position where you can use a jack from below to break the torque to the point where you can start using muscle power.

And yes, existing bolts can be reused if the proper thread locker is reapplied at reassembly

 

If the same holds true for this model year as for mine, no, thread locker does not suffice and this is specifically referenced in the oem manuals......IIRR the OEM spec, specific replacement bolts were $10 each.....

 

I was able to get my front brakes done, but not really what I would call easily. I have done probably 30 brake jobs on cars in my life, but this was my first truck brake job. Big difference. I was able to get the old rotors off, but they did have to be beaten pretty good after using WD40 on them. Caliper bolts were no real problem to remove or put back on and the pins were fairly easy too. The problem with the rotors was rust. They were rusted bad. 59K on the truck and the rotors I think were original. Ford did the brakes last but did not replace the rotors. They claimed to turn them but I can't confirm they did. They were in very poor shape and there was a big pile of rust chips on the floor when I got them off. There were also some good size grooves in the pads from bump outs on the rotors. Not sure what caused this but it was causing a big time shake in the wheel when applying the brakes. There was also a lot of rust on the calipers and I think the next time I do the fronts I will replace the calipers. I spent a lot of time removing rust and cleaning up the calipers. One thing I did do wrong was that I did not realize that the caliper took 2 different types of rubber boot sleeves where the pins go through. One was just basically a rubber boot while the other had a plastic center inside the boot. I did not realize this until I had the passenger side done and was doing the driver side. I had driven the car about a mile between doing the passenger side and the driver side so I was not going to take the passenger side back apart. At least on the driver side I left the old rubber boot on one so only the passenger side is wrong. Have over 1,000 miles on it and no problems so far. I realize that is not far so I will have to keep an eye on it. I went with Powerstop drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads. Got them for $211 shipped from Amazon. The rotors were the right size but seems much heavier duty than what was on their. Possibly because of all the rust on the stock rotors? Anyway so far the brakes are great but it's early yet. I plan to do the rears using the same type in the spring if these are still doing well.

 

Just did the rear brakes on my Expy, fronts are just as easy. Bolts are not TTY (torque to yield) so they are re-usable. Ford likely says discard due to liability reasons or so they can charge people $10 a bolt for one that likely costs them pennies to make. These are not titanium bolts... If you are paying $10/bolt instead of re-using them and you did all 4 corners, you just paid an $80 idiot tax, sorry.


If you can't get the bolts out, Harbor Freight sells big breaker bars for $10. If that isn't enough, go to home depot or lowes or wherever and get a piece of 1 and 3/8 chain link fence post and cut it to another 18" and slip it over the breaker to make it however long you need. I break loose the hub retaining nuts this way when I do the wheel bearings but I've found the regular breaker is more than enough for the caliper bracket bolts. As far as getting the rotors off... spray some liquid wrench onto the base of the studs and let it work for a bit. Then put a block of wood behind the rotor and let the mini-sledge do its thing.

As far as rotors and pads... I've had ridiculously good luck with Raybestos rotors from Rockauto and Centric Posi Quiet ceramic pads. The Raybestos rotors are real high quality, no runout issues at all and the Posi Quiet ceramics work great, really are quiet and produce no brake dust at all. Awesome if you have some nice wheels you don't want to look dirty all the time. A power bleed is always a good thing, I use a Motive power bleeder with the 3 prong Ford attachment (not the universal), get it up to 15 psi to get past the ABS controller and let it rip. Much better than doing the 2 person method, faster and no chance of air bubbles getting back up into the lines.

 

Sorry, not even close to accurate.

 

Ok then why? If they are not TTY bolts then why replace them unless they are rounded off or just so corroded they warrant it? If they are in good shape, you are wasting money replacing them.

 

To shorten the response......

If you will go to Helm's publications, pay the $10 for 1 day access, you can look up the requirements (with specification) for this in the OEM service manual...

If you look carefully at the bolts, they are not standard spec bolts (such as grade 5, 8, etc.)...........

 

I have the full service manual for my expy, I'll go read it but i know they are not tty so...

 

Brake Caliper Anchor Plate
Removal and Installation
1. Remove the brake pads. For additional information, refer to Brake Pads in this section.
2. Remove the brake caliper anchor plate.
1. Remove the brake caliper anchor plate bolts.
2. Remove the brake caliper anchor plate.
3. To install, reverse the removal procedure


That's what my shop manual says. If they changed it in later years... well I can't think of any other reason but to charge the person owning the truck more money if they are not TTY bolts and are in good shape.

 

I have the Ford factory manuals for my 2007 Navigator. I looked up the reassembly specs for the caliper anchor plate bolts and lower shock absorber bolts.
The front brake caliper anchor bolts are required to be torqued to 148 lb-ft.
The rear brake caliper anchor bolts are required to be torqued to 140 lb-ft


The lower shock absorber bolts are required to be torqued to 350 lb-ft.



The Ford dealer told me that there was a new requirement regarding the shock bolts. More than just the lower shock bolts were required to be replaced. I don't remember exactly which bolts today but I reused all of the fasteners but the top shock piston rod nuts.


Richard

 

Do you know what the torque spec are on these?

 

2007 Navigator service manual says:
Torque spec for disc brake caliper guide pins is 41 lb-ft

Richard

 

thanks for your help.gonna have to pick up a manual