So, there are numerous pages of "brake" threads on here, most revolve around a particular problem and therein lies the....problem...

You'll notice in my sig that I'm running 37s, my other obs cc lb auto I ran 35s. I've never been thoroughly impressed with the emergency stopping capability of these trucks. Normal driving with the rears adjusted correctly is totally acceptable but durring a real panic E stop not so great. Now those of you who run a stockish tire size, how are your brakes, hows your E stop ability? I believe theres nothing inherently wrong with my brakes but more of a trait of bigger tires, tho.. i'm not 100% convinved it cant be better.. Does anybody run sintered pads and or slotted/cross drilled rotors or SS brake lines? I feel like somethings just missing here without anything being necessarily "broken"...
Is the real answer "hydroboost"....?

 

I think my brakes must be broken cause if I stomp on the pedal it will start to skid and the rear abs thing dumps the pressure. I have 33s I think.

 

I run 33 on my obs and they are not as good as the super duty brakes, the pedal seems to start to bottom out on a quick emergency braking scenario as opposed to the super dutys part of it is because of the ABS on the super dutys are far more superb.

 

The brakes on my rc diesel are awesome. They are nice and tight with a firm pedal. There's nothing special with them as far as pads and rotors. I know I replaced the front rotors and pads with Napa stuff and also replaced the abs module with a rebuilt from Napa. The parking brakes are also right at the top and nice and tight. The brakes on my plow truck were not great at all and I think it's the abs module. That seems to be the biggest issue with these trucks. Just my $0.02.

Red

 

I have stock tires on mine, and I have to agree the emergency braking is god awful. They always lock up when i need to stop.

 

I've never had to make a super hard panic stop, but I think it wouldn't be an issue if I did. I am going to miss those brakes when I sell the truck.

Red

 

The brakes on these trucks suck.....plain and simple. The best brakes I have seen on an OBS are the F-Super Duty trucks with hydraboost and rear disc brakes.

 

Thanks guys!
I kinda thought that what I was gunna hear Bill; looks like the most popular
swap due to these brakes totally sucking is our body style f450 brake setup with pedal box. Sigh.....

 

For some odd reason out of the three OBS's I've had the one I use now, the OX, has good brakes. The other two suck and the Mule I did a disk brake conversion on the rear and its still not good.

 

Hi Glenn, man if I was a bettin man I woulda sworn that a 2wd dually crew for some reason would be much better.. Course I've never had one; we must have the same vacume setup hugh?

 

The Mare, the one that caught fire and Todd now has, was a CC and I don't think it stopped very good. My extended cab dually OX has the best brakes. Good solid pedal and the rear brakes are orginal (115K) and I've redone the front brakes. The 97 has a zero loss vacuum booster and I think that helps. On one day hauling my 5th wheel I noticed I didn't have much braking power but was still good enough to keep going. That night I discovered the fuse for the 5er brakes was blown and the next day my stopping power was much better. If I would have had either one of my first two trucks I would have pulled over and started investigating right away.

 

I'm hearin ya. Could you elaborate on the zero loss booster?

 

I am probably going to be changing the brakes on my truck within a month or two as well. My pedal seems a little off, but I did have to already slam on the breaks when somebody swerved into my lane and cut me off. I thought for sure I was rear ending them and about to kill the people in that car because it was quite small and I am lifted and running 315's.

I have however run into the brake job from hell on my 88 camaro last year. I went through 7 brake calipers before I found a good one. I ended up getting all of them from o reilleys, then went to Napa and the quality and finish was night and day different, and it worked perfectly. I built a custom braided line from the prop valve down to the caliper from a local hot rod shop, which was super expensive, but it worked pretty well. Don't think it increased my brake capabilities, just ensured that line will probably never have to be replaced.

I have run drilled and slotted rotors before on a lifted 99 Dakota, and honestly I couldn't tell the difference before and after. The only reason I ran them was I was getting a price on tires from Big O and I knew the manager and somebody changed their mind on the brakes they were going to put on a durango, so he sold them to me for super cheap.

I don't know about the 450 conversion, or hydroboost stuff so I am going to look into that. I feel like doing a drilled/slotted brake set might help a little bit, but it would probably be barely noticeable or nothing at all. Maybe just last longer. For stopping power, I don't know how you improve that unless you do something with the hydraulics.

You could always try an emergency parachute...

 

I guess I'll be doing some more research on this topic.....

 

I haven't read these in years but its for your reading pleasure Corey!


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...mber-help.html


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ake-valve.html


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...onversion.html


Hydro-Boost Power Assist Systems: Operation Diagnosis and Repair


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...l#post10977822