Ford Focus 2004 Estate Rear Brake disc and shock replacement

[1niko1]

Hi there
i'm new to this DIY. Hope someone can help. I've bought new Discs and shocks for my car above. i'm hoping i can fit them myself as on tight budget and the Ford garage here is a little to expensive. Has any body got tips to help me?
Thank You
Nick

 

[Burnerman]

Neither job is a good one without some quality sockets....the shocks particularly can be tight at the bottom mounting.
As for the top mount, inside the boot space, you have to undo a nyloc nut and this involves holding the shocker rod with either an allen key or smaller spanner (this stops the shocker rod rotating). This task does put some people off in itself!
As for the rear discs (plus pads) the caliper and then the caliper holding bracket has to be removed before the discs will come off......
Please realise that these aren't the easiest jobs for a diy novice....why not get a quote from an independant garage? Even the larger tyre fitting firms offer disc and shock replacement so you needn't go to a Ford dealer.
John

 

[jonnyfishing]

If you obtain a "Haynes Manual" you can read up and judge for yourself if you have the tools and the confidence to tackle it yourself, or you need to ask someone else to do it.

 

[wotan]

If you do decide to do it yourself please remember the safety aspects, make sure the car is properly supported if you take the wheels off, don't just rely on the jack, as when you are tugging and pulling on spanners, it's easy to topple the car off the jack, with dangerous results.
large baulks of timber (sawn up railway sleepers) are ideal, placed under the sills.

Wotan