The 1994 Ford Ranger has disc brakes installed on the front wheels; each brake consists of a brake caliper, brake pads and brake rotors. The caliper compresses the pads against the rotor, which mounts to the axle hub. This action slows the pickup to a halt, but has the side effect of wearing out the brake pads over time. How long the pads will last varies greatly, depending on your driving style, environment and the brand of the pads used. With that in mind, it’s best not to skimp on brake pads when purchasing replacement parts.
Slide the wheel chocks behind the rear wheels to prevent the Ranger from rolling backwards. Set the parking brake and put on your safety glasses.
Loosen the lug nuts on both front wheels with the lug wrench. Don’t remove them yet, but rather loosen them to the point where you can remove them by hand later.
Position the floor jack under the front of the Ranger and lift the pickup with the jack. Place the jack stands under the front frame on both sides and set the truck down on the stands, using the floor jack.
Remove the lug nuts from both front wheels, then take the wheels off by hand. Put the drain pan under the right-front brake and clean the caliper and rotor surfaces with the brake cleaner to remove the brake dust buildup.
Unbolt the caliper with the socket set. Pull the caliper off the rotor, by hand, then pull the brake pads out of the caliper.
Clean the inside of the caliper by spraying it thoroughly with brake cleaner. Lubricate the caliper slides with white lithium grease. Retract the caliper pistons with the caliper piston tool.
Insert the new brake pads, slip the caliper back over the rotor and then bolt it back down.
Move to the left-front and perform steps 5 through 7 on that side.
Reinstall both front wheels and all the front lug nuts, by hand. Lift the Ranger off the jack stands with the floor jack, move the stands out of the way and lower the Ranger to the ground.
Tighten the front lug nuts to 100 ft-lbs with the torque wrench and then move the wheel chocks out from behind the rear wheels.
