Hi Mitch,
Thank you very much for the quick reply. I will certainly be buying that tool for future jobs, it looks very easy to use and could be useful on other vehicles. However, I did not need that tool for this job. I'll try to explain my reasoning and procedure below.
I'll cover my procedure here in hopes it will help anyone else searching the internet abyss on this topic since I found very little help out there.
After seeing the vehicle in person this afternoon, it did indeed have an electronic parking brake on the center console which looked identical to the Fusion set up I had seen in the video I attached in my previous post. I assume Ford used the same sort of system here so I just tried the maintenance mode sequence described in the Fusion write ups and it worked.
1) Place the calipers into "Brake Maintenance Mode" using the sequence shown in the video here. It goes something like this....
-Turn Ignition/Push button ON
-Press accelerator pedal AND pull UP on e-brake button on center console
-Continue to do this while turning the ignition OFF (ie press pushbutton)
-Turn ignition ON again while still holding both accelerator and pulling up on the e-brake button.
- You will hear the rear calipers working/whirring (presumably releasing pressure or simply unlocking them in preparation for pushing the pistons back in). Finally a message on the dash will appear. "Brake Maintenance Mode". You're ready to proceed.
2) Remove wheel
3) Remove caliper mounting dust caps. Remove caliper mounting bolts X2 (7mm Hex Key). Remove spring clip on the outboard side of the caliper with a flat blade screw driver. Remove the caliper and tie up and out of the way.
4) Remove caliper mounting bracket bolts X2 (15mm socket)
5) Remove caliper mounting bracket along with both pads.
6) Bang the crap out of the rotor if you live in the rust belt like me, and remove it.
7) As stated in the Fusion writeups/videos. The caliper piston "appears" to be the screw in type because it has the dimples that would normally indicate this. However, you do not need to screw these in to retract the piston. My hint here, was that the dimples did not line up with any "nibs" on the back of the old pads. No nibs were present on the pads AND the dimples on the piston were not oriented vertically as seen on previous Edge setups. See photo of piston below. Also, I applied very little pressure with a c-clamp and the piston began to retract easily. This was my sign to proceed as "normal" rather than use the twisting method. I just gently drove the piston home with a c-clamp and began reassembly.
8 ) Assembly is just the reverse (Yes, I hate when manuals say this too...) It was very straight forward so, no point in covering reassembly in detail here. Liberally clean with brake-clean, wire brush, lubricate slide pins. Etc...
9) Did the other side the same way.
10) Now onto taking the calipers OUT of "Brake Maintenance Mode"
- Turn the ignition ON
- Press and hold both the accelerator pedal AND push DOWN on the e-brake button on the center console
- Hold for approximately 5 seconds and you'll hear a chime from the dash and the "maintenance mode" message will appear on the dash.
- Once the chime is heard, turn the ignition OFF (ie press pushbutton) while continuing to hold the accelerator AND e-brake button.
- Turn the ignition ON while continuing to hold the accelerator and button. You'll hear a familar whirring noise from the rear calipers as they seat themselves.
- The "maintenance mode" message will disappear and you can release the accelerator pedal and button
11) As always, pump the brakes to ensure no air bubbles have entered the system. Go for a test drive and break in your new pads.
Once complete, the car drove just fine. No sticking calipers, had firm pedal feel, e-brake worked as it should etc...Everything normal. If I've done something wrong here, let me know, but it appears all is well here. Now onto the fronts. Have to reorder the right size rotors since Ford isn't exactly clear on the diameter required by trim level.