Recommended:

Hawk LTS front and rear brake pads
Slotted/cryo treated rotors (any brand will do really)
Brake system flush with synthetic DOT 4 fluid (most brands work well)
Stainless braided brake lines (useful also for lifted trucks)
Inspect and adjust rear parking brake hardware

Optional:

Aftermarket front big brake kit (SSBC, AP Racing, Wilwood)
Aftermarket rear big brake kit (Wilwood)
Cross-drilled and slotted rotors (many different companies)
Hawk Super Duty front and rear brake pads
05-07 brake upgrade for 99-04 trucks (requires 17" or larger wheels)
F-450 and F-550 brake upgrade for 03-07 DRW trucks (?)
Paint brake system components

As far as brake pads are concerned the most pushed pad for our truck is the Hawk LTS pad. I myself use them and love them. For those people who are going to tow heavy loads a lot the Hawk Super Duty pad may be a better idea, but for most trucks out there, the LTS will be more than enough and will provide better rotor life, less noise, and less dust. Realistically any good rated pad works, but these are the two that stick out the most.

As far as rotors go many people like to upgrade to a slotted and cryo treated rotor, something along the lines of ART rotors or Power Slots. They provide are more linear pedal feel after periods of braking along with a greater resistance to warpage. Blank rotors technically provide the best stopping ability as they have the most pad area, but they do not dissipate heat as well as a cross-drilled and slotted rotor will. I myself use Hart gold zinc coated cross-drilled and slotted rotors not only for the performance, but the looks as well. There are a lot of manufacturers that offer rotors at different price points, so you have to do some shopping around.

With brake fluid any good synthetic DOT 4 fluid will usually work well, just pay attention to the boiling points. I myself use VW/Audi OEM DOT 4 fluid since I get it for free, but also because that boiling points are quite high for a non-race fluid. The only race fluid I would recommend is the ATE Super Blue or Super Gold as it's the only one I have experience with and it's fairly cost effective when compared to other brands. Stainless braided brake lines require inspecting them more often, but they provide a better pedal feel and look very nice. Also, for those of us who choose to lift the truck they can be made in a size to accommodate your lift. I went with the Crown Performance lines since they made them with yellow sheathing and they can be made to what size lift you have not to mention a good price point.

The rear parking brake components have a tendency to seize and fail when the parking brake is not used often enough. Generally the levers for the shoes will freeze solid requiring removal of the hardware and a vice to free the levers. Also, another common failure is for the cables themselves to seize and become detached from the levers. Thankfully the parking brake system components are priced fairly cheap and can easily be rebuilt.

Now, the big one - brake size upgrades. The 05-07 trucks utilize a bigger brake system than the 99-04 trucks do. The calipers, rotors, and pads can be swapped from what I have read. Also, it is possible to adapt the F-450 and F-550 front brake setup onto an F-250 and F-350. It requires replacing the front axle along with the hubs/bearings/pads/rotors/calipers. The issue with this is that it requires 19.5" or bigger wheels to clear them. Lastly, SSBC and AP Racing make a 6-piston front brake caliper upgrade to fit under 18" wheels, but they do not make a matching rear brake setup and it runs around 1,500 dollars just for the 2 calipers and pad set. Wilwood makes a front and rear 6-piston brake upgrade, but it requires 20" or larger wheels and is insanely pricey, somewhere around 7,000 dollars for the front and rear setup.

Lastly, you can paint the brake components to add a bit of style to the truck. I myself went with yellow. I simply used Duplicolor Engine Enamel Primer, Daytona Yellow, and Clear. These paints have the same temperature rating as the caliper paint and they are readily available and more colors, plus you can get them from your local parts store.

Here is my list currently:

Perform brake fluid flush using Audi OEM DOT 4 brake fluid
Crown Performance 3” extended front and rear stainless steel braided brake lines with yellow sheathing
Hawk Performance LTS front and rear brake pads
Hart front and rear gold zinc plated cross drilled and slotted brake rotors
A1 Cardone remanufactured right front brake caliper

 

Hmm,
I was told to NOT use the Dot 4 by the place where I
get brake parts at. Something to do with computability.


Sean

 

There's a lot of myth surrounding brake fluids. The only fluid you want to stay away from is DOT 5 as it is silicone based. DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 are almost identical in chemistry and makeup. The idea is that you don't want to use a DOT 3 fluid in a DOT 4 system because DOT 3's boiling points are not rated for what DOT 4 is. DOT 3 is compatible with DOT 4. The reason people say to not mix them is because mixing a DOT 3 fluid in a DOT 4 system will lower its boiling point. As far as using DOT 4 in a DOT 3 system there are no issues besides that DOT 4 is generally slightly more expensive.

 

While I generally agree with your post I would add that systems designed for a particular type of fluid (especially prior to the wide distribution and use of DOT 4 fluids) should continue to be filled with that fluid. For example, in a car that was delivered with DOT 3 fluid, the internal components of the system (seals, brake hoses, and fittings for example) were specifically designed and tested for compatibility with the chemical composition of DOT 3 fluid. Because the DOT 4 grade fluid typically contains a different chemical composition, compatibility of system components may be an issue.

 

I personally would have no problem using DOT 3 or 4 in my truck. I will also state that I've never had any problems with the factory pads and rotors towing a 31' 5er. The biggest problem is brake dust on my wheels. I've got over 60,000 miles on the factory originals and they still look and perform good.

 

Big fan of the Motorsport Super Duty Pads. My 2005 weighed 9900 pounds and towed a 7000 pound trailer nearly daily and I still got 100K from factory pads and the replacements still looked great when I sold it at 170+K.

I honestly do not know what pads are on my 2006, but I have put 35K on it since I got it and they still look new and brake fantastic.

Josh

 

Good write up. I went with Powerslot Cryo's and Hawk LTS in front. They work great. When I towed a 6k trailer and the trailer brakes were in and out on the controller my system performed as it should. For the rears I used O'Reilly rotors and the Hawk LTS pads again, mainly because most of the braking is in front.

Reps sent for the write up. May also post this in the Super duty section.

Any links on the conversions for 99-04 trucks or to F450 stuff?

 

Did you mean to say "Motorsport" or was that a phone auto-correct thing?

The OEM brakes were/are very good pads and, even though I agree that the Motorcraft replacement pads are very good, the Ford Premium pads (I believe that they are closest to OEM) are better than the Motorcraft brand replacements. From what I can research, we all got a set of Ford Premium brake pads w/ the original purchase. The Ford Premium pads are still available from the dealership.

Jack (TooManyToys or FMTRVT) is the most knowledgeable person on brakes that you will find (Former Vehicle Test Manager - Friction Products). Check out his post (#10) in the link attached.

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forum...ad.php?t=84567

and

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/...e-pads-276809/

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...rake-pads.html

EDIT - I want to compliment "the_auto_tech" for a great and well-written thread. Reps sent. Hopefully I haven't hijacked it too much w/ above post!!

 

Good catch. Yes Motorcraft.

Can't stand autocorrect...

All I remember were the Motorcraft Super Duty pads were the upper level premium brake pads. The backing plates are painted blue.

Josh

 

the_auto_tech -

What is your practice on the frequency of flushing the brake system? I know some people say yearly, but that is just too much for me.

 

As I stated above, DOT 3 and DOT 4 are nearly identical in composition. This is the reason that you rarely see a fluid that's rated for DOT 3 only and not DOT 3/4. I've used DOT 4 fluid in DOT 3 cars for years and have yet to see a single issue with it. No leaky hoses, seals, etc.

I will not dispute that the factory brakes are good. I simply wanted to try what has worked well on other vehicles for myself. Mine were worn out at 90,000 miles.

Thanks for the reps! I don't have the specific links, but doing a bit of searching should quickly turn up the info. Essentially from what I understand the 05-07 upgrade for the 99-04 simply involves changing the knuckles, calipers, rotors, and pads and going to a 17" or larger wheel. The F-450-up required an axle change from what I recall and needed at least a 19.5" wheel and was not recommended for the SRW trucks due to a tracking difference.

 

Yes, there are the Motorcraft "value" pads and then there are the Motorcraft "premium" pads as well. The premium pads are what our trucks came with from the factory. Thank you much for the reps!

Yes there's definitely a difference!

Yearly is way too much. My recommendation is every 2 years, especially in something that requires a lot of brake potential such as our trucks.

 

I always thought the motorcraft and OE pads were the same just different levels of quality/dust/noise. According to Jack they aren't. Also, he keeps making a reference to PF pads and my old brain isn't making a connection. Performance Friction, maybe?

I know that 69CJ Mike and I had this discussion about dust before, but I have a significantly LESS amount of dust with these OE pads than my original OE pads.

 

All I see are 3 grades of front pads from Ford:

Ford 5C3Z-2001-AA OEM Style
Motorcraft BR-1069 Standard Grade Pads
Motorcraft BRSD-1069 Super Duty Pads

I use the Super Duty pads.

Josh

 

Front brake pads: new Part # is BC3Z-2001-C (originally they were 5C3Z-2001-AA then 8C3Z-2001-C, then the BC3Z #). Also for the front pads is this part # BRF-1333.

Rear pads: 5C3Z-2200-AA
Also BRF-1068 (Motorcraft) and BRSD-1068

Looking at the prices I wonder if there are any differences in 5C3Z-2200-AA and BRF-1068 (they are the same price) ...... also the BC3Z-2001-C, the BRF-1069, and the BRF-1333 are all the same price.