brake question

[1lowf150]

my grandpa has a 98 ford superduty, and he is having problems with the rear disk brakes. the truck was pulsing when you hit the brakes. he replaced the rear rotors and brake pads. he does not drive the truck very much and the last time he drove it it still did the same thing. has anyone ever had this problem? he has spent alot of money on the brakes and is very upset that the problems still remains any ideas or would be great. thanks

[tybob81]

Could be air in the abs module or the abs has something wrong. Possibly a abs sensor on the rear axle going out also.

[390F100]

Or the front rotors are warped

[19FORD67]

If it's the front rotors your going to feel a wobble at lower speeds. No brakes being applied. I have a warped rotor on my cougar passenger side (freaking walmart did it i think).

[thebannister8]

Or the front rotors are warped

[1lowf150]

thanks for all the ideas everyone.

[fitzwell]

when you mount wheels, use a torque wrench & tighten the lug nuts in the factory specified order. Belive it or not..it DOES make a difference.

[Rusty67]

If it's the front rotors your going to feel a wobble at lower speeds. No brakes being applied. I have a warped rotor on my cougar passenger side (freaking walmart did it i think).

Not always, it depends on how warped they are. I would definately yank the front rotors and take them to a shop. Just ask them to put it on the lathe and check to see if they are true or not. They will be able to tell you if they are warped.

Another thing to check is the slide pins on the caliper or caliper bracket. If the slide pins are sticking it can cause wierd problems with the pedal.

I think the parking brake on those is an internal drum ? Check that to make sure it is adjusted properly.

[My427stang]

You rarely feel a rear rotor in the pedal, especially ina heavy truck.

However, front on Superduties are known to warp.

The #1 problem with these and all the way up to present, is that the caliper sliders dry out, and then the caliper cant move, it causes only one pad to do all the work and generate heat.

He probably needs to turn the fronts, put a good pad on it (Ford pads are absolutely the best for an SD, unless you chase some expensive aftermarket) and lube/clean the caliper sliders.

[Alvin in AZ]

On my '75 disk brake calipers I've tried different things for lube and found the best to be
the red wheel bearing grease.

I always figured the high moly content wheel bearing grease would be better but it wasn't.
And the worst stuff I ever tried was anti-seize. :)

YMMV

Use one thing on one side and something else on the other and in a couple weeks you'll
know which is better. :)

Alvin in AZ (has had his pickup too dangged long;)

[19FORD67]

One way to check for a warped rotor is jack it up, remove the tire, spin the rotor and look for uneven drag. You can usually
see even "mildly" warped rotors. And you can feel it in the steering wheel when your driving.

[Alvin in AZ]

One way to check for a warped rotor is jack it up, remove the tire,
spin the rotor and look for uneven drag.
You can usually see even "mildly" warped rotors.
And you can feel it in the steering wheel when your driving.

Yeah but. ;)
What about just feeling and listening for uneven drag with the tire on? :)
Mine did that after stopping like I meant business when I was over-loaded.
Lucky, I was able to buy brand new "made in Canada" rotors just like the originals.

Didn't know sticky bearing surfaces could cause it too.
Might have been a double-whammy;) in my case?

Alvin in AZ

[19FORD67]

One way to check for a warped rotor is jack it up, remove the tire,
spin the rotor and look for uneven drag.
You can usually see even "mildly" warped rotors.
And you can feel it in the steering wheel when your driving.

Yeah but.
What about just feeling and listening for uneven drag with the tire on?
Mine did that after stopping like I meant business when I was over-loaded.
Lucky, I was able to buy brand new "made in Canada" rotors just like the originals.

Didn't know sticky bearing surfaces could cause it too.
Might have been a double-whammy;) in my case?

Alvin in AZ

Sure, why not , I guess I just like to see what I'm working on, not sure if I would trust my assesments with the tire on in a "mildly warped" situation, but then again at that point it prolly wouldnt matter....

[1lowf150]

thanks for all the great ideas. i will check them all out.

[Banjo]

my daily driver is 00 F150 w/regular front disc rear drum and every person I've known has had warpage issues on front rotors, no matter driving or braking style. By 100K my stock rotors couldn't be turned anymore and I bought new rotors and now at 53K more, haven't even had those turned yet. I also put new drums, as those had been turned enough too. At 53K, those have yet to be lathed either. I usually pay extra to get factory parts, as I feel they are clearly superior, but the aftermarket ones installed w/53K on them and not needing any turning compared to the stock ones that needed constant relathing seems telling to me. I'm the same driver, have the same tires mounted at the same place in all this time and still drive the exact same way. By the way, I would only feel my warped rotors when applying brake pedal (especially lightly). my truck doesn't have ABS.