I'm not stranger to brake jobs, having done probably a hundred over the years. I am wondering a few things however on the Super Duty, since I have never done one.
Fronts are all new parts, nothing to do there. Backs need some TLC however, yesterday started to grind, and sure enough the right rear is metal on metal.
I'm still a bit old school and would like to see if I can have them both turned, and reuse the calipers, just replacing the pads.
That said, I have read of quite a few folks just doing the whole works, since the parts are not really that bad. I can get new rotors and pads, and reman calipers with the bracket for around $250. I am guessing to get them turned would be around $50 for the pair and another $50 tops for pads.
Pros and cons to both..........any advice would be good. Right now I am leaning towards new everything since we plan to keep her around for some time, and I have all the parts on hand when I start, versus needing something after the fact and having to wait an extra day with the shop at work tied up with a truck in the way.
Pretty sure the rear calipers like to hang up on these trucks?

 

If there are not huge grooves in them, I would have them turned.

 

Generally if the pads are worn out or you have anything metal on metal there is not enough disk there once turned to have proper minimum thickness of the rotor. Then what happens is they warp easier because they don't take the heat anymore. You can try to just bleed them well and remove all old fluid, properly lube the caliper pins and only replace rotors and pads. But the issue is ussually debatable if you have to take it all apart again later to replace a warped rotor. When I did mine, I just did new calipers, new disks, new pads, a big tube of capper pin lube, all new pad clips. I did all the way round, got to 172,000 Km before touching the brakes, but then I did have a failure of one rear caliper as down to metal on metal and cracked on piston.

 

Not to be a curmudgeon, but the tale of rotors warping out there is way overdone and mostly incorrect. There are other reasons that have been documented.

Getting rotors turned is more problematic then most realize. For me if there is no indication of pulsation and the surfaces are more rough then smooth then I would resurface them but only with an on-car lathe. We did enough studies, at dealerships, garages and worst of all at auto parts stores to see that the guys running the bench lathes don't achieve the quality we expect from a machinist with tool room lathe. In fact, a machinist has a good laugh at how rotors are bench turned. The on-car lathe is the best chance of achieving the runout tolerances that are necessary on long term brake life applications. If your going to only get 20-25k life out of pads, go for it.

If there is any indication of brake pulsation the rotors typically already have developed carbides which a lathe will not turn out and I just replace the rotors. And if the have the hard regions within 5-15k miles you will develop more robust pulsation, which if your not measuring and analyzing the rotors surface the easiest explanation will be the rotors warped from overly heated, thin rotors which is not the case. I also replace rotors if there is excessive rust within the vane channels that prevent proper cooling, which in NJ is about 100k miles or 12+ years.

 

Great information Jack - thank you!

 

Thanks for that input Jack, I think I will just go for new parts all around, good info there much appreciated. There is a good amount of rust in the vane channels, yes....I think with the prices I can get on new, it's no brainer. Have not turned a lathe since school, and have never turned them on the vehicle although I have seen it done. I don't think many if any dealerships in my area even have one?

 

Mike,
Consider using Advance Auto... the coupon code TRT30 is good for 30% off, up to $50 off in a $150 purchase. I get the cart near $150 and check-out to save the most. Then just use the code again on the next check-out to maximize the savings... you can hit that code again and again. Buy on-line, do in-store pick-up and SAVE $$$$. That should put the entire job around $175 using all new parts.

 

Thanks Randy, I might try that........if I can get to the store. AA is an hour either direction from me, there is one opening up here in town, but it's just a shell right now

That would be about $70 less than what I priced at NAPA
AA is going to give the local parts stores here some competition though, that is for sure.

 

I personally never liked turning rotors. With all the available coupons and sales always going on you can get new rotors for pretty cheap. As for calipers, if the seals look in good shape, and there isn't excessive rust I almost never have had to replace them. Bleed the system real good with new fluid and lube up the slide pins.

One thing I would take a good hard look at is your dust shields while you have it all apart. They have a tendency to rust and release the e-brake shoe retaining hardware and then this happens.....

 

Ouch, that is ugly.

 

That's the weakest part of the Superduty brake system, especially if you are in a corrosive environment. Why they went with a two layer composite rather then just a thicker, one piece plate in the first place defies logic for long term sustainability. The thicker plates have held up on drum brakes vehicles very well over the decades, not rusting out but only requiring replacement when the shoe landing platforms wear out. Or at least galvanize the damn things.

What I did when I replaced mine was to squirt Bel-Ray thickening chain lube between the layers to try to minimize rust formation between the layers, and put a light coating of molykote on the inner and outer surfaces. And after everything was reassembled put a gob of molykote over the hold down nail heads, the point where nail movement wears away the paint coating and let's then pulls through.

Moisture just wicks between those layers and hardly ever dries out. Actually I do know why they went this way. Pennies. And what a PITA it is to save pennies on the overall cost of this truck.

There is one more think you can do to keep those plates a little longer, and that is to install stainless washers, preferably fender washers, under the nail heads when putting it back together. It spreads the load out so you might get another 25k miles before the entire plate falls apart.

For me, this was more of a dumb a** move then placing the fuel module in front of rather then behind the transfer case. I would have liked to have either of those engineers/accountants that approved those designs work for me. All they would have been doing for a year was draining the fuel pump on their back or replacing those plates every day. And if your wondering, along with me the engineers that reported to me worked on and tested the vehicles just like the driver/mechanics did at our facilities. Sitting behind the desk doesn't develope intimate product knowledge.

Well, this post got me going this am.

 

Don't forget... the slide pins also have a rubber boot and most often, not included when you buy the pins.

 

What is the preferred method of lube here for slide pins? Never seize?
I have not done a brake job for a few years and was not sure if that was what always comes in that little tube or if it's something comparable or better.

 

there is brake lube designed for pins, its a green color and what i've been using. I think either would work.

 

That's right, I do remember using the green stuff now that you mention it. I went ahead and pulled the plug on new calipers too, so I would assume they come pre lubed, guess I had better double check.

Advance Auto also has a 30% off cyber Monday deal.