Hey guys. I don't think I've ever posted over here on the new truck forum. Just wanted to say Hi and ask a stupid question. I walked into a local garage the other day and the poor kid who works there was cussing about a rear brake job on a 2010 F150. I walked over and he was wrestling with this thing. He finally just picked up a pair of vice grips and screwed it out, finished the job and put it back. What is the deal with this thing? He tried to get the brake pads out with it in place and just pulling the caliper up and over. That didn't work out too well.

 

Its kind of a "noise supressor".

 

I was under my truck today and noticed those too, I dont have a clue what they are.

 

Well it definitely is strange. Thanks for the replies.

 

I'll have to look at the next '10 that comes in to the shop.
However if the **** end is rubber I would say that it is a vibration damper.

 

According to my 2011 Service Manual, it's a Brake Noise Dampener.

 

Looks like some engineer really soaked ford on that one

 

Why's that?

 

Well, in the past 10 or so vehicles i've owned ,I dont ever remember having any problem with rear brake noise, unless the pads needed replacement. It just doesnt seem to make much sense to me. Maybe someone could explain the need for it?

 

" I don't understand it, therefore it must be bad!" .....
It is a vibration damper as stated in the replies above. Perhaps Ford changed compound in their pads, or maybe they just got tired of spending warranty money on "my brakes make noise, something must be done!.

I will say that the brakes on my 2010 F-150 are MUCH quieter than the brakes on my 2010 BMW 535xi where. That car actually hurt your ears when you stopped on a cold wet day and BMW said about the squeal? "Nothing we can do".

I'd say the damper works great on my truck...

Rifboy

 

I never said "I dont understand it so it must be bad" What i said was I never had an issue on the my past 10 or so vehicles(trucks) ,with noise and or vibration on my rear brakes, unless i needed pads. If you have, then it makes perfect sense to you and I'm happy for you.

 

OK I "paraphrased" your comments. Sure seemed to me that

1. You didn't understand something about it....
2. You thought it a waste of money or engineering time or something...

I was just pointing out that it works and that if you look at the whole picture of all F-150's made and look at warranty claims for the trucks you would see a fair number of dollars spent (by Ford and that means by us as consumers who buy the product) trying to "fix" this issue for the people who do have noise. I'd bet that the pennies this part costs to produce and install eliminates a huge chunk of warranty expenditure. This means that Ford can spend that money making the truck better! I wish that American car manufacturers got this message years ago! They are on a roll now and the trucks (and cars) are just getting better and better. Sometimes change is good even if we don't see the "big picture". I've spent my life as a mechanic and I have seen really innovative changes along with some real flops. I don't see the down side to this one, perhaps in time I'll find something about it I dont like but for now I do like the fact that my brakes work well and that they are quiet.
Rifboy

 

thank you for clearing that up for me.

 

Use a better pad that doesn't soil the wheels with brake dust every hundred miles and a compound that doesn't make noise like they did back in 2001. It didn't do either and didn't need a turkey baster to keep them quiet.

 

Maybe ford should spend a little more time solving transmission issues.....The following post is on another forum, pretty scarey stuff ....


Urgent....malfunction caused wreck!
I need some advice from the experts on this site on how to proceed, PLEASE?! I will try to make this brief, and if anyone has questions I will be happy to answer them.
I have a 2010 F150 Platinum with 18k miles, I do not drive it hard...I keep it spotless inside and out.
Yesterday, I took my daughter to the lake, approximately 60 miles away. I was towing a Sea-Doo RXT iS 255 on a Triton Elite Trailer. Sea-Doo has 30 hrs on it and the Trailer has maybe 1,000 miles. 30 minutes into the drive the tire pressure sensor came on. We pulled over and checked each tire and they were fine. I told my daughter I would have it checked out at Ford the next day. The tire pressure light stayed on. On our return home we were 30 minutes into the trip on a straight away on the interstate, I was going 65 in a 70, no one in front of me and 1 car behind me. All of a sudden the truck down shifts, it felt like it had shifted to 2nd gear. The Tachometer was at 7,000RPM. It was so violent that it woke my daughter up. I looked down at the gear shifter to make sure I hadn't accidentally shifted, and I hadn't. The truck then shifts back and the Rpm go back to normal and then it shifts like that 3 more times. On the final downshift at 65 mph, the truck all of a sudden TOTALLY TAKES OVER, and the Brakes Lock Up, I have no control at this point. I can't turn the steering wheel at all, the truck slides around and off the road and flips. Adding to the evidence of a malfunction, The Air Bags DID NOT DEPLOY! The witness behind me reported that all of a sudden, he saw the tires lock up and that it looked as if I tried to make a U Turn all of a sudden! Once the truck finally came to a rest on its side I couldn't roll down the Windows or open the moon roof to exit. It was if, all power had suddenly shut down, brakes locked up. I have never ever experienced anything like this. I know there was a malfunction from the truck, and I really need someone's help before I move forward! I know with the Black Boxes in cars now, they can find out what malfunctions occurred! I don't want to take the chance on someone checking it and possibly clearing the data, and then telling me, "We couldn't find Any problems with it!" I KNOW I WAS NOT AT FAULT! The truck can be repaired but I think I would be to frightened to get back in it. I hope Ford will take care of this and replace it. If anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it

P.S. "I dont understand this, so it must be bad" But hey, at least his brakes didnt make any noise when they locked up and almost killed him and his daughter !!