How to Change the Brake Pads on a Taurus

The Ford Taurus has a four-wheel disc brake system that consists of a brake master cylinder, brake lines, brake calipers, brake rotors and brake pads. When you hit the brakes, you send a mechanical force into the master cylinder, which in turn sends hydraulic fluid down the brake lines to the brake calipers. The hydraulic pressure contracts the caliper, forcing the pads against the rotors and stopping the Taurus. A byproduct of this action is brake pad wear, which eventually leads to the need to replace the brake pads. People with basic auto-repair skills can change a Taurus' brake pads in about two hours.
Shove the wheel chocks against the front and back of the left-rear tire. 1. Loosen all the Taurus' front lug nuts with the lug wrench.
2. Lift the front of the Taurus with the floor jack and support it on jack stands. Remove the car's front lug nuts and wheels manually.
3. Position the drop pan under the left-front brake assembly. Wash the brake dust off the rotor and caliper with brake cleaner.
4. Remove the Taurus' left-front caliper bolts with the socket set. Lift the caliper from the caliper bracket by hand. Pull the old pads out by hand and throw them away.
5. Wash the inside of the caliper with brake cleaner to remove the brake dust, road dirt and old grease. Lubricate the caliper slides with white lithium grease.
6. Position the Taurus' new brake pads in the caliper by hand. Lower the caliper into the left-front caliper bracket. Bolt it into place using the socket set.
7. Move to the Taurus' right-front brake assembly and repeat steps 3 through 6. Reinstall the wheels and lug nuts by hand.
8. Lower the front end off the jack stands. Tighten the front lug nuts to 85 foot-pounds with your torque wrench. Move the wheel chocks before driving the Taurus.