The Ford F150 heavy-duty pickup truck avails itself to many do-it-yourself repair projects. Whether in the engine bay, the drive train, electrical systems or suspension, there are many repairs not requiring an expensive trip to a mechanic. Whether replacing a rubber belt or hose or having to overhaul the brakes, make sure you have the correct size wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and pliers to do the job quickly and correctly.
The Ford F150’s disc brakes will occasionally need new pads and maybe even new rotors (pads are actuated by a caliper and grip the metal rotor disc behind the wheel.) Replacing pads is as simple as changing an oil or air filter. Remove the wheel as if you were changing a tire. The caliper is secured to a bracket with a retaining bolt. Remove the bolt and the caliper and pads will slide off the rotor.
The brake rotor is not fastened to the wheel hub. Slide off the old rotor and install a new one. Clips hold the pads in the caliper. Remove the pads and clip in the new replacements. Slide the pads around the rotor and position the caliper over the bracket. Install the retaining bolt.
All the rubber parts under the hood will eventually need replacement if you keep your F150 long enough. Removing water hoses, oil lines and the serpentine belt only takes a screwdriver, pliers and a socket wrench. Before you remove the hose, drain the fluid in the hose. Coolant in the water hoses is drained from a plug in the bottom of the radiation. Oil is drained from a plug in the oil pan under the engine.
Once the fluid is drained, remove the clamps holding the hoses in place and install new hoses. When the new hoses are installed, add the fluid back to the F-150. Never put old fluid back in the truck. Use new coolant and fresh oil.
The serpentine belt on the front of the F-150’s engine drives all the accessory pumps. Loosening a spring-loaded tension pulley at the bottom will provide the slack to slip off the belt. On the engine is a diagram for the new belt to follow. Put the belt around the pulleys in the proper direction, loosen the tension pulley, wrap around the belt and release.
Any time an electrical system fails (lights, radio, gauges, security, and so on), begin by checking the appropriate fuse controlling the system. The fuse box is located under the dashboard and contains several fuses with different colors. A fuse diagram is in the F-150’s owner’s manual. Find the fuse for the failed system, remove it and check the wire in the clear plastic. If it’s broken, then replace the fuse with an identically colored fuse.
