How Do you change the Back Brakes on a Ford Focus?

Answer 1

I would recommend getting a shop manual to see the procedure and to get all the varoious torque values for the bolts, etc.. They are about $20 and can be found in autoparts stores or online.

For the 2004 Focus you jack up the rear end, parking brake OFF, remove the wheels. There are then four bolts that need to be removed. These bolts hold the spindle/bearing and drum assembly to the cars rear wheel mount area (no axles anymore). It is NOT like cars used to be, where you had to remove the axle nut to get at the bearings and remove the drum. These 4 bolts are on the backside of the wheel/brake. Be careful not to damage the brake fluid line when removing and don't get mad at the shock, just work around it. Once the 4 bolts are removed, the drum can be slid off the shoes. The brake shoes, springs, pins, linkages etc. will all be visible, Take a picture if you are not sure you can remember how it all goes together. Get some non-chlorniaited brake parts cleaner and spray to remove all the dust from inside the drum and off the shoes, etc. Disassemble the springs, emergency brake link, pins, parts ... Lightly grease the six shoe contact points on the back wheel plate and install new shoes, put the pins springs back to where they need to be, etc. etc. Basically, reverse from the initial disassembly. Make sure the cam adjusting mechanism is retracted and reassemble the drum assy with the four bolts. I Torqued each to 60 ft-lbs. Prior to putting the wheel/tire on, pump the brakes to set the shoes (cams) to their proper position. Spin each drum to make sure they rotate without inding. Put your wheels on and go for a test run.