How To Install Cobra Rear Brake Kit M-2300-M ***PICS***

[94GTCoupe]

M-2300-M Cobra Rear Brake Install.



Tools Needed.
1-Jack
2-Jack Stands
1-Brake Caliper piston Compressor
1-set Wheel Chocks or Wood Blocks
1-Foot pound torque Wrench (optional)
1-Inch Pound Torque Wrench (optional)
1-Lug wrench,or 1/2 Breaker bar w/proper Socket
1-3/8 Inch Ratchet
1-(of each) 15mm,9/16,and 1/2-3/8 Drive Socket
1-Short 3/8 Drive Extension
1-1/4 Ratchet
1-5/16-1/4 Drive Socket
1-E8-1/4 Drive Socket (external torx socket,for ABS Sensor)
1-1/2 Wrench
1-9/16 Wrench
1-5/16 Wrench
1-Large Plier
1-Needle Nose Plier
1-Magnet (to remove C-Clips)
1-Gasket Scraper
1-Rubber Mallet

Supplies Needed
1-M-2300-M Cobra Rear Brake Kit
- Ford Racing Rear Caliper Bracket Kit with Rotors (Rear Pair) at AmericanMuscle.com - Discontinued
1-Set Cobra Rear Brake Pads Of Your Choice
Duralast Gold Cmax/Brake Pads - Rear (DGC627) | Brake Pads - Reartrue | AutoZone.com
2-Quarts 80-90w Gear Oil Of Your Choice
1-Bottle Motorcraft Friction Modifier (if equipt with Traction Loc Diff)
1-Can Brake Cleaner
1-Rear End Cover Gasket,or RTV Sealant
1-Tube Anti-Seize
1-Tube or Pack Brake Lube
?-Supply Of Shop Rags,Or Paper Towels

Optional Supplies
-The stock GT/V6 Rear Caliper Brackets can be used.
But,i decided to use the proper Cobra Rear Caliper Brackets.
2-Cobra Rear Caliper Brackets (Cardone #14-1042,$20.00 each @ Autozone)
Cardone Reman/Brake Caliper Bracket - Rear (14-1042) | Brake Caliper Bracket - Reartrue | AutoZone.com
2-Sets Of Caliper Slider Pins (Duralast #H15009,$4.00 per set @ Autozone)
Duralast/Brake Caliper Bolt/Pin (H15009) | Brake Caliper Bolt/Pintrue | AutoZone.com
1-Brake Hardware Kit (Duralast #H5991,$10.00 @ Autozone)
Duralast/Brake Disc Hardware Kit - Rear (H5991) | Brake Disc Hardware Kit - Reartrue | AutoZone.com




REMOVAL

Left (Driver Side) Shown For All Pics.

1.Place blocks in front of Front Wheels.

2.With Lug Wrench,or Breaker bar w/proper Socket,loosen Lug Nuts.

3.With Jack,raise car and place on 2 Jack Stands.

4.Remove Wheels.

5.Release Parking Brake.

6.Under car,clean rear end cover.place Drain Pan under Rear End.
with 3/8 ratchet,short extension,and 1/2 socket,remove lower Bolts,
loosen top Bolts,drain Rear.

7.Remove Cover.

8.Rotate until Cross Pin Bolt is exposed.

9.Inside car,set Parking Brake.

10.With 1/4 Ratchet,and 5/16 Socket,loosen Cross Pin Bolt,dont remove yet.

11.Inside car,release Parking Brake.

12.With Large Plier,grab end of Parking Brake cable (red arrow)
Pull out,and away.

13.At Caliper,with Needle Nose Plier,grab Parking Brake Cable E-Clip.
(red arrow)
Pull off and set aside (we will be reusing this)

14.Pull Parking Brake Cable out of Caliper.

15.At Brake Caliper,with 1/2 Wrench,
Loosen and remove (2) Caliper to Caliper Bracket Bolts (red arrows)

16.Remove Brake Caliper from Caliper Bracket.
Zip Tie out of the way.

17.With 3/8 Ratchet,and 15mm Socket,
Loosen and remove (2) Caliper Bracket to Backing Plate Bolts (red arrows)
Set Bolts aside (we will be reusing these)

18.Pull Caliper Bracket w/Pads off,set aside.

19.Pull Rotor off Axle Shaft,set aside.
(if needed,use rubber mallet on back-side of rotor to knock it off)

20.Remove ABS Sensor Bolt,on back-side of Backing Plate.
With 1/4 Ratchet,and E8 Socket,remove ABS Sensor Bolt (red arrow)
Set aside (we will be reusing these)

21.Under car,with your hand or 5/16 Wrench,remove Cross Pin Bolt.
Set aside (we will be reusing this)

22.With 1 hand,from the back,push Cross Pin out.
Use your free hand to catch it while it slides out.
set aside (we will be reusing this)

23.Next,we will need to push Axle Shafts inward,to expose and remove C-Clips.
With Rubber Mallet,gently tap Axle Shafts in,
This will press the ABS Sensor out,and expose the C-Clips.
(I have done this many times,with no damage to the ABS Sensor or ABS Ring)

24.With Magnet,reach in and remove C-Clip (red arrow)
set aside (we will be reusing these)

25.With both hands,carefully remove Axle Shaft from Rear End.
Take care not to damage Seal or Bearing.
Set aside (we will be reusing these)

26.Remove Anti-Moan Brace.
With 3/8 Ratchet,Short Extension,and 1/2 Socket
Remove (2) 1/2 Nuts (red arrows)
set aside.

27.Push ABS Sensor out,and place out of the way.

28.Remove Backing Plate.
Remove (4) 9/16 Backing Plate to Rear End Housing Bolts/Nuts (red arrows)
With 3/8 Ratchet,9/16 Socket,and 9/16 Wrench.
Set Nuts/Bolts aside (we will be reusing these)

29.Remove Backing Plate from Rear End Housing,
Set aside.

30.Heres everything removed.

--Before we start the install,let go over what comes in the M-2300-M kit.

- (1) Left,(1) Right side Cobra Backing Plate.

- (1) Left,(1) Right side Anti-Moan Brace w/U-Bolts.

- (2) Dust Shields.

- (2) Rear Vented Cobra Rotors.

- (6) Dust Shield Bolts.(not pictures)

--Here are some comparison shots.

 

[94GTCoupe]

How To Install Cobra Rear Brake Kit M-2300-M PART 2

INSTALL

Left (Driver Side) Shown For All Pics.

31.Clean off end of Rear End Housing.

32.Place Cobra Backing Plate on Rear End Housing.

33.Install (4) Cobra Backing Plates to Rear End Housing Nuts/Bolts (red arrow)
Tighten to 45-50 ft.lbs.

34.Install Cobra Anti-Moan Brace.
Slip U-Bolt over Axle Housing Tube,place Anti-Moan brace over.
snug up (2) U-Bolt nuts (red arrows),do not tighten yet.

35.Place Dust Shield on Cobra Backing Plate.
Install (3) 5/16 bolts (red arrows,supplied in kit)
Tighten to 6-9 ft.lbs.

36.Slip ABS Sensor into Cobra Backing Plate.
Not all the way in,just half way.

37.With both hands,carefully slide Axle Shaft into Rear End Housing.

38.Under car,place C-Clips onto Axle Shaft Ends (red arrows)

39.Pull both Axle Shafts outward,to properly seat the C-Clips into side gears.

40.Reinstall Cross Pin into Differential.
Line hole in Cross Pin up with Bolt hole in the Differential.
Install Cross Pin Bolt (red arrow) finger tight.

41.Install E8 ABS Sensor Bolt (red arrow) into Cobra Backing Plate.
Tighten to 40-60 in.lbs.

**Cobra Caliper Bracket Assembly.NOT supplied in M-2300-M Kit!**
If you are reusing the GT/V6 Caliper Brackets,skip to step #42

--Instead of reusing the GT/V6 Caliper Brackets,I'm using a set of
remanufactured Cobra Caliper Brackets.
-(2) Cardone #14-1042
-(2) Sets Duralast Slide pins #H15009
-(1) Duralast Rear Brake Hardware kit #H5991

View attachment 201474

ASSEMBLY

--Take Slide Pin and Rubber Boot,assemble as shown.

--With supplied Lube,Lube up Slide Pin.

--Insert into Cobra Brake Caliper as shown.
Push down,slip Rubber Boot into place.
Ready for install.

42.Clean off Axle Hub,apply Anti-Seize.

43.Slide Cobra Rotor onto Axle.

44.Slip Cobra Caliper Bracket over Cobra Rotor.
Install (2) 15mm Caliper Bracket to Backing plate Bolts (red arrows)
Tighten to 64-88 ft.lbs.

45.Tighten (2) Cobra Anti-Moan Brace Nuts (red arrows) to 40-45 ft.lbs.

46.Compress Caliper Piston.
With Brake Caliper Tool,rotate Caliper Piston clock-wise until fully seated.
you cannot use a c-clamp for this!
make sure notch's in piston are in this position.
apply Caliper Lube to Face of Piston.

47.Install Anti-Rattle Clips on Pads as shown.

48.Apply Caliper Lube to Cobra Caliper Bracket at pioints shown (red arrows)
And on Spring ends (red arrows)

49.slide Caliper onto Cobra Caliper bracket.
Install (2) Caliper to Caliper Bracket Bolts (red arrows)
Tighten to 23-26 ft.lbs.

50.Take Parking Brake Cable (in hand),insert into Caliper (red arrow)

51.Grab Parking Brake Cable End (red arrow) with Large Plier.
Pull out,seat in Caliper Spring,as shown.

52.Take Parking Brake E-Clip (in hand)
Push onto Parking Brake Cable.

53.Inside car,pump brakes a couple times.
pull up and down on Parking Brake.
take a look at both rear Brakes,if it looks good,pull Parking Brake up.

54.Under car,tighten Cross Pin Bolt (red arrow) to 15-30 in.lbs.
(there is not much room to fit a torque wrench in there,so just make sure
its nice and tight.not too tight though!)

55.Clean off all gasket material,wipe clean with a rag and Brake Cleaner.

56.Same goes for Housing Cover.

57.Lay out Cover Gasket on cover.
Place Cover on Housing.
Install (10) 1/2 Bolts.
Tighten in a criss-cross pattern to 28-38 ft.lbs.

58.On left side of Rear End,with 3/8 Ratchet,and short Extension.
Remove Fill Plug.

59.Fill Rear End with Proper amount of 80-90w Gear Oil.
8.8=3.75 pints
7.5=3.5 pints
With Traction Loc,add 1 bottle Motorcraft Friction Modifier.

60.Reinstall Fill Plug.
Tighten to 15-30 ft.lbs.

61.Here is the finished results.

62.Reinstall Wheel.
Snug up Lug nuts.

63.Raise car with Jack.
Remove (2) Jack Stands.
Lower car.
Tighten Lug Nuts to 85-105 ft.lbs.

64.DONE!

 

[SableSal]

Looking good Harvey! As always! I'll be needing a hand with this when I do it on my Stang. I'll be doing this with the 373s

 

[Zero Signal]

Wow that's a good writeup, well done. Hopefully this gets sticky'd.

 

[RIO5.0]

Wow that's a good writeup, well done. Hopefully this gets sticky'd.

What he said....

 

[jrp1588]

Sorry to dig up and old thread. Is there any advantage to using the cobra bracket vs reusing the stock gt?

 

[Chythar]

The bracket that the caliper bolts to is the same as the ones on the GT and V6. The backing plate and anti-moan bracket are taller to push the caliper out farther. On my Cobra clone project, I used the V6 rear calipers and brackets (they were new and painted already) without problems.

 

[94GTCoupe]

The rear caliper brackets ARE NOT the same for GT and Cobras as noted in the picture.

The reason I used the correct Cobra brackets are, prior to my install, research indicated some people needing to use washers to properly position the bracket over the rotor.
Without the washers, the rotors eventually wore into the caliper bracket.

I didn't want to mess around with washers, so I used the correct Cobra Caliper Bracket.

My buddy DID NOT use the cobra brackets, but instead re used his gt brackets.
While we were removing his exhaust a couple days ago, the problem is clearly visible.
The outer edge of his rotor has worn into the upper "ear, of the GT caliper bracket.
I'll snap a picture of it later.

In the mean time, when you upgrade to Cobra rears, do yourself a favor and get the CORRECT Cobra Rear Caliper Brackets.

 

[Chythar]

The rear caliper brackets ARE NOT the same for GT and Cobras as noted in the picture.

Not sure what to tell you. While I have no photos as proof, the rear caliper brackets on the 95 Cobra donor car I had did not have the brackets you're showing for the Cobra. It had the bracket on the right. It's always possible that the calipers on the Cobra donor aren't original, but the car only had 52K miles on it. Seems kinda low to have swapped out the rear calipers. What year Cobra did you get those calipers from? Maybe the bracket is a production change Ford introduced at some point.

 

[94GTCoupe]

The picture above is not mine.

As for your cobra donor, perhaps the previous owner had to replace the rear caliper BRACKETS due to seized slide pins, and used whatever was on hand?

I doubt it was a production change.

Maybe the original owner of a cobra will chime in.

For now, here are some part numbers for you.

 

[02 281 GT]

I always use a long ¼" extension whenever I remove the cross-pin bolt. This allows the use of a torque wrench to reinstall it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's possible to install the cross-pin backward? The hole in the right spot, but turned 180°. A time or two in the past I've had trouble installing the cross-pin bolt after installing the pin; remove the pin and turn it 180° and it works perfectly. The most recent time I removed it (couple months ago when I replaced axle bearings on the Cobra) I maintained the same orientation as when I removed it.

 

[94GTCoupe]

Not that I recall, but its possible.
The cross bolt has went in every time for me.

 

[MMIGT]

Nice forum.. I've been browsing for years and registered specifically to say thanks for posting this DIY. It made installing my kit EZ.

 

[94GTCoupe]

No problem, and welcome aboard!

 

[MustangChuck]

I realize this is old, but MANY, MANY thanks for this post! Awesome information!

 

[94GTCoupe]

I realize this is old, but MANY, MANY thanks for this post! Awesome information!

No problem.
Though I'm sans Mustang at the moment, I'm still around.

 

[MustangChuck]

No problem.
Though I'm sans Mustang at the moment, I'm still around.

My condolences. Hopefully, you'll be back in the saddle again soon!

 

[five-oh5SPD]

Excellent tutorial. I really enjoy the vast amount of accurate info on this forum. Hard to find that these days. There are a lot of misguided opinionated forums out there that mislead people. This forum is by far the best I have ran across yet. Thanks for letting me join.

 

[Lahliet]

This is awesome. Great job I think I will be gathering the parts I need to do this. Thank you for this!

Edit: I just read something interesting about the rear cobra calipers are the same as regular calipers. The big difference is the axle mounting bracket which accommodates the bigger rotor and that it can be modified instead of removing the whole axle. Anyone have any luck with this? Also if the calipers are the same could I upgrade my whole rear with cobra parts except the calipers and keep my gt ones and still have upgraded performance?

 

[Chythar]

This is awesome. Great job I think I will be gathering the parts I need to do this. Thank you for this!

Edit: I just read something interesting about the rear cobra calipers are the same as regular calipers. The big difference is the axle mounting bracket which accommodates the bigger rotor and that it can be modified instead of removing the whole axle. Anyone have any luck with this? Also if the calipers are the same could I upgrade my whole rear with cobra parts except the calipers and keep my gt ones and still have upgraded performance?

You read correctly. The brake calipers and brackets are the same on all 94-98 Mustangs, and I think the 99-04 one are the same as well. You'll need the axle mounting brackets, the anti-moan brackets and new brake rotors. The rest can be re-used. You'll have to remove the axles from the axle housing to get the new bracket on.