Hey All
I have a 97 F-250 4x4 Heavy Duty Diesel

Anyhow I was driving yesterday and I noticed out of the blue a really nasty bump coming from the front tire, almost as if the front right tire was out of balance.

Anyhow the brake pedal start feeling soft and when I got home I noticed the front right rotor was glowing red.

I got up this morning and took off the tire and everything looks okay to me, it spins freely and everything.

Alot of brake dust came out but overall I dont see anything obvious.

What do you guys suggest I look for?

The pads look like they have some life in them still.

Should I assume the caliper needs to be replaced/rebuilt?

Thanks guys

Rich

 

Sounds like a piston in the caliper got stuck. If the rotor got that hot, it's probably warped, and the boots & seals in the caliper are toast...

 

also check for a damaged brake line , kinked or bent , but probably a caliper

 

Thanks guys, would that cause the bump in the front like I mentioned? It really felt like a out of balance tire but it would go away at times.

 

The caliper could be defective or it could be the brake hose. Make sure that the caliper machined ways are clean and not marked or pitted.
About four years ago my SILs old chevy van would pull to one side and after replacing the calipers and checking the front end components it still did it. When we bled the brakes after the caliper install I had noticed that the flow was slightly different between sides so we decided to replace the brake hoses and found that one had started to come apart. It had a loose piece of rubber on the inside that was acting as a check valve and not allowing the caliper to release. The guy at Napa said its not uncommon but it was a first for me.
Spin the wheel and have some one hit the brake and release and see if it turns freely.
YMMV
rikard

 

Also guys, any good trick to removing the caliper without all the oil coming out? I want to take the caliper to the parts store with me because this truck is a basterd year and the parts people suck.. would rather not have to bleed all the brakes if I could get away with it.

 

Now that you mention it, I forgot that it was pulling really hard to the right.

 

You will have to bleed the front brakes but its easy with new calipers. Since that year had two completely different F250s I can understand the confusion so its best to be an informed consumer. Know what engine, trans, rear axle, and what optional packages were installed at the factory.
Fortunately many of the parts suppliers have online info systems so that you can look up your own information including part numbers, application, quality, and if its in stock at your local store. Since I do most of my own repairs I have a good relationship with the local Napa and Auto Zone. When replacing parts I always go up to the counter armed with the part numbers.
regards
rikard

 

If you remove the caliper, there WILL be a need to bleed the front brakes again...Sorry...

As for the caliper....Maybe allowing it to drain into a jug or something?

 

Yep, sounds like a bad caliper or hose to me, too. Probably a caliper. You will, as others stated, have to bleed your brakes when you do this...but it's easy...you can even gravity bleed it. All you have to do to gravity bleed it is to top off the master cylinder, leave the cap off, start at the wheel farthest from the master cylinder (back right normally, but since you just wanna do the front, front right) and loosen the bleeder screw.

Keep a watch on the bleeder screws, after a little bit you'll see brake fluid come out of it. Keep a close eye on the M/C fluid level...if it runs out, start over. Once you see fluid draining from the loose bleeder screw, tighten it. Top off the M/C again and move to the next one. When you're done you should have no air in the system at all.

Good luck bud!

 

I dont know why I bother with the part stores anymore... none of them had the parts and all 3 of them tried to give me the "under 8500 lbs" parts even though I told them over multiple times.

 

It does sound like a stuck piston or possibly a pinched brake line holding pressure or possibly because the brake line has had an internal failure not visible from the outside..check for soft spots on the line. Also...have you done any brake work to it recently??..Trapped air in the brake lines can act as an accumilator and hold pressure in the line even though the pedal is released.

 

I hear ya Rich...I got "lucky" when I had my F350...it was a '96...so no confusion...

 

I'll put my money on a separated brake hose causing the problem to start with..

But if the rotor was glowing red for any length of time the caliper is toast if it was OK to start with, and I would venture a guess the brake pads are cooked as well, as well as a rotor ruined.

So my parts list would be, caliper, rotor, brake hose, and brake pads on BOTH sides.

Mine is a 97 F-250 HD also.. When I get a dumb *** parts person I just tell them it's a 96 F-250 over 8500lbs and they can find the parts then, since the 97's are exactly the same as 96's in the HD version.. Like it was said earlier I don't have that problem, I just give them the part numbers of what I want.. When they ask what it's for I just repeat the part number, it takes a little longer for some of them to get the hint!!! If they insist just hand them the VIN number!!!!! That really gets them!.

 

I'm pretty lucky with my parts store. My NAPA sucks, but there's a Carquest around the corner with no employees under ~45. And if they cant get it fore me, I have a pretty good Advance that really surprised me. And IIRC, the D60 calipers are the same as the ones on the 50 (at least mine are). No LD 350 to worry about. Actually (again, IIRC) the HD 250 and 350 should only differ in the front axle/drive components, as well as some badges.
-Mike