I have a '91 F-150. Now that its been getting a little colder where I live, the brakes are getting touchy when they are not warmed up. But for some reason it is worse than ever this year. I have pushed my brake about halfway in to make a stop from about 10 mph and I skidded to a stop on dry pavement because my brakes locked up. Has this happened to anyone else? Are there any tricks I should know about the brakes on this model truck?

 

Prodigy,

I too, have noticed that the rear drums on my '88 F150 tend to do the same thing in the early morning when I back out of my driveway and as I slow for speedbump 50 feet from my drive. After that, they are fine. They are even more prone to lock (left wheel only most times) if it has been really damp prior to driving it. AFter the speedbump tho, they are normally fine.

Which brings to mind, how difficult, moreover, how costly, is it to do a rear upgrade from drum to disc?

 

Try this. Remove the rear drums and bevel the leading and trailing edges of the brake shoes then spray the drums and shoes with copius amounts of brake cleaner to remove any grunge. I did this to my brakes 2 years ago and haven't had a problem since. This can be done without removing the shoes, I used a dremel. Just be sure to wear a mask to protect your lungs from the dust. It could probably be done with a file too if you don't have acess to a dremel tool.

 

There was a previous post on this topic which may be helpful .. it was posted on 8/24/03. Do a search on "Brakes Lock Up" in this forum. I've had the same problem.

-rlp

 

from my knowledge it depends on the brakes being used, on my truck i have rear abs, if it is malfunctioning it will cause lock up, but in this case some brake linings are more sensitive to temperature and humidity if i were you i would go out and invest in some nice quality brake linings and not some cheap reman linings.

 

Anyone thought about the possiblity of the axle seals leaking? Try checking that first then go the beveling/cleaning route. Wet shoes with diff fluid on them lock up really well.

 

Well I looked at my front brakes and the brake pads are next to nothing. So I found my problem. I was just kind of surprised to see drums instead of disc. When did they start putting disc brakes on F-150s?