Ford uses very soft metal for their rotors. That makes them real quiet under normal conditions, but by the time you hear grinding, it has been going on for a while. Be sure that rotor got replaced. There is not much material left to work with to begin with, and there definitely is not enough left to allow them to be trued up on the brake lathe once they have been grinding.
First, fill the reservoir, then open the bleeder screws on the calipers that could have air in their lines. Loosen the cap on the reservoir so no vacuum builds up in it that would impede bleeding. Let the lines gravity-bleed until you see no more air bubbles, or until nice fresh, clean brake fluid is dribbling out. If you have to speed it up with a helper, be sure they never push the pedal over half way to the floor.
By the way, there is a special pliers, in two sizes, made for grabbing and expanding the dust boot on the calipers so the pistons can be easily dropped in. I taught my students to blow the boots up with an air nozzle, but the caliper has to be on the workbench for that. That is not a procedure we are likely to do today, but it was a common part of every brake job in the 1980's. I had to do it three times in my ten years at a new-car dealership in the 1990's, and I was the only person there who knew how to do it. It is a skill I wanted my students to have in case a caliper rebuild kit was the only thing available to get a customer back on the road.
If the car has anti-lock brakes, do not panic if you never get a good, solid brake pedal. You will likely need to find a mechanic with a scanner that can access the ABS computer so those two valves can be opened while bleeding.
When working with brake fluid, always be extremely careful to not get any hint of petroleum product mixed in with the fluid. That will lead to a very expensive repair. Professionals even wash their hands with soap and water before handling parts that will contact brake fluid to prevent contaminating them with fingerprint grease.
Once the air is out of the system, if the brake pedal sinks slowly to the floor when you hold moderate pressure on it, expect to have to replace the master cylinder. I have a trick to make that job easier so you do not have to bleed at the wheels. It works real well on all other car brands that have two steel lines leaving the master cylinder. The engineers at Ford complicated the procedure by using four lines on most of their vehicles, but the trick can still be used. I am about to lose my wireless internet connection. I will post that procedure later if it becomes necessary.
Wednesday, March 14th, 2018 AT 7:58 PM