Owners of other Ford or Lincoln vehicles such as the Explorer, F-150, Escape, EcoSport, Transit, F-350, F-250, Edge, Flex, Ranger, Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang, Bronco, Super Duty, Navigator, Continental, MKZ, MKX, MKC, MKT, Aviator, Corsair and Nautilus may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible sets of new rear brake pads with their part numbers include the following: Power Stop 17-1790, Centric 301.17900, Bendix CFC1790 and R1 Concepts # 2310-1790-00.

The tools and other items needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 10mm socket and a 1/4" or 3/8" ratchet or a 10mm wrench, an 18mm wrench, a Lisle 28600 disc brake piston tool and a tube of brake caliper grease.

The first few steps are to drive the SUV on to a level surface, shift the transmission into "Park" and turn off the ignition.

Make sure that the emergency / parking brake is NOT engaged. If the parking brake is on, you will not be able to pull the rear caliper off the old pads and out of the bracket.

Attention - If your Expedition is equipped with an electronic parking brake or "EPB", you must first disable the EPB by placing it in "service" or "maintenance" mode by following these steps. Proceed with caution and at your own risk!

1. Turn the ignition switch to the "ON" position but do not start the engine.
(If you have a push button "START" system, just tap the "START" button once, without pushing the brake pedal. This will turn the ignition to "ON" without starting the engine.)
2. Press and hold the accelerator (gas) pedal all the way down.
3. Press and hold the EPB switch down in the "RELEASE" (downward) position.
4. Continue to hold both the accelerator pedal and EPB switch.
5. Switch the ignition to the "OFF" position and then back to "ON" within 5 seconds but do not start the engine.
6. Continue to hold both the accelerator pedal down and the EPB switch in the "Release" position.
7. You may hear the parking brakes deactivating. You will see a yellow EPB indicator light illuminated on the gauge cluster and "Park Brake Maintenance Mode" will be displayed on the LCD screen in between the tachometer and speedometer gauges. To exit brake maintenance mode, see the instructions near the bottom of this page.

If you can not place your electronic parking brake into "maintenance mode" do not continue with this procedure and consult your dealership.

Place wheel chocks on both sides of the front tires to prevent the vehicle from moving.

The floor jack and lug nut wrench are located in the cargo area under the floor board in the right (passenger) side storage compartment.

Slightly loosen the six lug nuts on the rear wheel by turning them about 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction with the tire iron.

Carefully raise the rear of the SUV with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Please do not solely rely on the floor jack to support the vehicle.

Spin off the six lug nuts and set them aside in a safe place.

Carefully remove the rear wheel to reveal the caliper, bracket, rotor and suspension.

Some home mechanics choose to place the wheel and tire under the frame rail as an extra backup support device just in case the floor jack and both jack stands fail.

The bolt heads face in towards the cargo area.

There is a wire loom attached to the threads on the top of the lower caliper bolt.

Attach the 10mm socket to a 1/4" or 3/8" drive ratchet.

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the vehicle) with the 10mm socket and a ratchet.

If the caliper slider pin turns as you are attempting to loosen the caliper bolt, hold it in place with an 18mm wrench.

Carefully lift the rear caliper out of the bracket and off the old pads.

Try to avoid bending, kinking, twisting or stressing the rubber brake fluid hose.

Pull the old inner and outer brake pads out of the bracket.

Proceed with caution and at your own risk!

The Ford service manual specifies that the rear brake caliper does not need to be turned back, so you may find that just carefully pushing in may work to retract the piston.

The service manual states "When replacing rear brake pads in maintenance mode, the brake caliper piston must be compressed into the caliper housing. The brake caliper piston does not have to be rotated while compressing the piston."

So you may be able to use an "F" clamp and the back of an old pad to evenly push the piston back into the caliper. If you have trouble retracting the piston, stop and consult your dealership or a Ford certified mechanic.

At the time of performing this rear brake job, I thought that in order for the caliper to fit over the thicker new brake pads, the "screw-in" type caliper piston would need to be retracted by turning it back into the caliper. It sounds like the Ford service manual contradicts this procedure.

I test fit the various sides of the Lisle 28600 disc brake piston tool to find the side that has the best fit on the caliper piston.

I attached the tool to a short extension bar and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

I slowly turned the "screw-in" type piston in the clockwise direction to retract it back into the caliper.

If you encounter some resistance, move to the right rear area of the engine bay and twist off the round black plastic cap on the brake fluid reservoir.

You may also need to push in a bit as you turn back the caliper piston.

Removing the cap on the reservoir bottle will allow the brake fluid to more easily travel back through the lines.

Continue turning or compressing back the piston until it is just about flush with the rubber dust boot that surrounds it.

So I may have gotten lucky since turning and pushing the caliper piston seemed to work. But keep in mind that the service manual says that it does not have to be rotated.

As soon as you are done retracting the piston, replace the reservoir cap. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it readily absorbs moisture from the air.

If the brake fluid absorbs too much water from the air, it may lead to reduced braking performance.

If your new set of rear pads includes a bag of replacement brake hardware, pull the old pad abutment or "anti-rattle" clips out of the top and bottom of the bracket.

Clean off the rotor, lug studs, caliper and bracket with some CRC brake cleaner spray.

Avoid breathing in the cleaning spray or the brake dust since they may be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Apply a thin layer of brake caliper grease to the top and bottom of the pad abutment clips where they will come in contact with the bracket or the new pads.

Push the new pad abutment clips into the top and bottom of the bracket.

Make sure the clips are fully seated in the bracket.

If you've been experiencing shuddering, vibrating or shaking in the rear end while braking, the OEM rear rotors might be warped and should be replaced.

A few compatible replacement rear rotors with their part numbers are as follows: Raybestos 682263FZN, Power Stop AR85195EVC and DuraGo BR901652.

To replace the rear rotors, remove the two bracket bolts and take off the bracket. Slide the old rotor off the lug studs and wheel hub. Slide the new rotor into place and re-attach the bracket with the two bolts. The torque specification for the rear bracket bolts on the new Expedition should be similar to the Ford Flex which is 76 lb-ft. Please use your best judgment and make sure the bracket bolts are snug. If you often drive off-road, consider using some Loctite Blue (medium - removable with hand tools) or Loctite Red (heavy duty - requires heat for removal) threadlocker adhesive fluid on the bracket bolts to help prevent them from vibrating loose.

Do not mix up the top and bottom caliper slider pins. On some Ford models, the two pins are slightly different and should be not be swapped.

Remove one caliper slider pin at a time from its rubber dust boot attached to the bracket.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the smooth parts of the pin before pushing it back into the accordion style rubber dust boot.

Turn the pins a few times to help spread the grease.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

Carefully lower the caliper over the new pads and into the bracket.

If the caliper won't fit over the thicker new brake pads, you may need to turn back the piston a bit more.

The caliper bolt with the extra threads attached to the bolt head should be situated at the bottom of the caliper.

Spin in the two caliper bolts a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the SUV) to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

The torque specification for the rear caliper bolts in the service manual for the previous generation Expedition is 22 lb-ft which sounds about right for these small 10mm bolts on the new Expedition.

If you often drive off-road consider applying a small amount of Loctite Blue (medium - removable with hand tools) to the two caliper bolts to help prevent them from vibrating loose.

Double check that the two caliper bolts are tight before moving on to the next steps.

Push the mounting bracket for the wire loom on to the exposed threads on the lower bolt head.

I highly recommend using the Allstar Performance Bleeder Bottle since it makes bleeding the brake lines an easy one person job.

Check out my Acura MDX Brake Line Bleeding Guide for more information on this topic and how to use the bleeder bottle.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located on the back side of the caliper just below the top caliper bolt.

Spin on the six lug nuts a few turns by hand in the clockwise direction to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the six lug nuts in a criss-cross or "star" pattern with the lug nut wrench.

Continue tightening the lug nuts in the "star" or "criss-cross" pattern to about 1/8th to 1/4th of a turn past hand tight.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to the 150 lb-ft (204 Nm) specification in the owner's manual.

Attention - To exit the EPB (electronic parking brake) "service" or "maintenance" mode, follow these steps.
1. Switch the ignition to the "ON" position but do not start the engine.
(If you have a push button "START" system, just tap the "START" button once, without pushing the brake pedal. This will turn the ignition to "ON" without starting the engine.)
2. Push down the accelerator (gas) pedal all the way down.
3. Pull the EPB switch to the "APPLY" position.
4. Hold both the accelerator pedal down while continuing to hold the EPB switch to the "APPLY" position.
5. Turn the ignition switch to "OFF" and then back to "ON" again within 5 second second (do not start the engine).
6. You should hear the EPB apply itself. The yellow warning light and "Park Brake Maintenance Mode" message should disappear.
7. Let go of the accelerator and the EPB switch. To test the EPB, apply and release it for another cycle.

Sit in the driver's seat and firmly push the brake pedal a few times to help restore the brake line pressure.

I also recommend re-checking the lug nuts after your next trip and to look for drops of fresh brake fluid on your driveway, parking spot or garage floor which might indicate a leak from the bleeder valve or the reservoir.

Check the brake fluid level in the reservoir. If necessary, pour in some new DOT 4 brake fluid until it reaches the "MAX" (maximum) line.

Be sure to write down the brake pad change in your SUV's service records.

Please check out all of my 2018-2020 Ford Expedition DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.