On the 14th-gen F-150 the rear brake job itself is easy — open slide caliper, two guide pins, two bracket bolts, no rotor retaining screw. What trips people up is the electric parking brake: every 2021-2024 truck has a small motor bolted to the back of each rear caliper, and the piston will not retract until you command service mode with FORScan or a bidirectional scanner. There is no dash menu shortcut and pulling the battery does nothing.
Sizes are the same across 2.7 EcoBoost, 3.5 EcoBoost, 5.0 V8 and PowerBoost: 22 mm lug nuts at 150 ft-lb, 13 mm guide pin bolts, 21 mm caliper bracket bolts. The other common mistake is skipping the hub cleanup — salt-belt trucks build a rust ridge around the studs, and a new rotor clamped onto that will give you runout and a pulsing pedal within a few thousand miles.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| OBD-II scan tool / FORScan Bidirectional, Ford EPB service mode; FORScan with OBDLink EX/MX+ works Retracts and re-calibrates the electric parking brake motors; without it you cannot compress the rear pistons safely. | Required | shop |
| Floor jack 3 ton minimum, low profile Lifts the rear axle at the differential or axle tube. | Required | shop |
| Jack stands 3 ton pair Supports the truck under the frame rails or axle while wheels are off. | Safety | shop |
| Wheel chocks Blocks the front wheels since the parking brake will be released. | Safety | shop |
| Impact wrench or breaker bar 1/2 in drive Lug nuts are torqued to 150 ft-lb and caliper bracket bolts are very tight. | Required | shop |
| Lug nut socket 22 mm, 1/2 in drive, 6-point thin wall Removes the rear wheels on all 14th-gen F-150 steel and alloy wheels. | Required | shop |
| Socket set 13 mm and 21 mm 6-point, 3/8 and 1/2 in drive, plus 10 mm 13 mm for the caliper guide pin bolts, 21 mm for the caliper bracket/anchor bolts, 10 mm for the EPB motor if you remove it. | Required | shop |
| Ratchet and extensions 3/8 in drive, 3 in and 6 in extensions Reaches the inboard caliper bracket bolts behind the rotor. | Required | shop |
| Combination wrench 13 mm Holds the guide pin from turning if the rubber boot binds. | Recommended | shop |
| Brake caliper piston compressor C-clamp or spreader, 4 in Pushes the piston fully home after the EPB motor has been retracted. | Required | shop |
| Bungee cord or wire hook Hangs the caliper so the flexible hose and EPB harness are not strained. | Required | shop |
| Dead-blow or ball-peen hammer 2-3 lb Breaks the rust-bonded rotor off the hub face. | Required | shop |
| Wire brush and small scraper Cleans rust off the hub mating face so the new rotor sits flat. | Required | shop |
| Torque wrench 1/2 in drive, 30-250 ft-lb Sets lug nuts to 150 ft-lb and caliper bracket bolts to spec. | Required | shop |
| Torque wrench 3/8 in drive, 10-80 ft-lb Accurate torque on the 13 mm guide pin bolts. | Recommended | shop |
| Wire brush on drill / hub cleaning disc Fast cleanup of a heavily rusted hub flange, common on salt-belt trucks. | Recommended | shop |
| Turkey baster or syringe Removes excess fluid from the master cylinder if the reservoir is at max before pushing pistons back. | Recommended | shop |
| Brake cleaner Chlorine-free aerosol, 2 cans Removes the protective oil coating from new rotors and cleans the hub. | Consumables | shop |
| Caliper slide pin grease High-temp silicone brake grease Lubricates guide pins and pad abutment clips. | Consumables | shop |
| Anti-seize or brake lube Nickel anti-seize, thin coat Thin film on the hub face only, to make the next rotor removal easier. | Consumables | shop |
| Rear brake pad set Motorcraft BR-1514 / equivalent for 2021-2024 F-150 (verify by VIN; Raptor differs) The wear item being replaced. | Parts | shop |
| Rear rotors Pair; 2021-2024 F-150 standard 13.7 in vented (Raptor/heavy payload differ — order by VIN) Replaced with the pads for even bedding. | Parts | shop |
| Brake fluid DOT 4 LV (Motorcraft spec WSS-M6C65-A3) Top off the reservoir after the job; do not mix in DOT 3. | Consumables | shop |
| Nitrile gloves and safety glasses Brake dust and cleaner spray. | Safety | shop |
Bolt and socket sizes do not change between the 2.7 EcoBoost, 3.5 EcoBoost, 5.0 V8 and 3.5 PowerBoost — all use 22 mm lug nuts, 13 mm rear caliper guide pin bolts and 21 mm bracket bolts. What changes is rotor size and pad part number: heavy-payload and trailer-tow-max packages get larger rear rotors, and the Raptor uses its own larger rear brake hardware. PowerBoost trucks share the same brakes but often show far less rear pad wear thanks to regenerative braking, and you must keep clear of the orange high-voltage cabling when jacking.
| Wheel lug nuts | 150 ft-lb (204 Nm) |
| Rear caliper guide pin (slide) bolts, 13 mm head | verify in the service manual (commonly around 25-30 ft-lb / 34-40 Nm) |
| Rear caliper bracket/anchor bolts, 21 mm head | verify in the service manual (typically 100+ ft-lb / 140+ Nm) |
| EPB motor-to-caliper bolts | verify in the service manual |
| Brake hose banjo bolt (if disturbed) | verify in the service manual |
Lug nut size (22 mm) and torque (150 ft-lb) are solid for this generation, and the 13 mm guide pin / 21 mm bracket bolt combination matches the F-150 rear caliper design, but bolt head sizes can vary slightly by caliper supplier and Raptor uses different hardware — check your own fasteners with a socket before buying, and verify all caliper torque values against the Ford workshop manual for your VIN.
Yes. The rear calipers have integrated electric parking brake motors that must be retracted with a bidirectional scan tool or FORScan before you can compress the piston. Forcing it with a C-clamp will damage the actuator.
The rear caliper guide pin (slide) bolts take a 13 mm socket and the caliper bracket/anchor bolts take 21 mm. Lug nuts are 22 mm. Confirm with a socket on your own truck, since caliper suppliers vary.
150 ft-lb (204 Nm) in a star pattern, and re-check after about 100 miles. Use a 22 mm 6-point socket; an impact gun alone will over- or under-torque them.
Use the same scan tool to exit service mode and run the parking brake calibration, then cycle the dash EPB switch a few times with the truck stationary. If you skip this you will get an EPB warning and the brake may not hold.