I need new pads and rotors for the 2004.......I will be buying them from rockauto......anyone had good luck with some average priced stuff there?

 

dont know about the place, if I need stuff buy localy unless its going to be a project and time is not an issue. I use the autozone stuff and have had good luck with them and their warranties. Duralast seems to be just a little better then most of the crap from china that seems to be dominant in the parts houses anymore.

seems you want decent then you pay for it hawk pads and rotors have been recommended for the medium duty trucks that tow, but they are a premium cost type of item. With autozone I also found if you have their little card you will overtime 'earn' back some credits to apply to purchases. So I get a double wammy, I use their card get their bonus and then get a bonus from the CC I use for shopping.

 

For rotors, get only made in the USA. I bought some cheap rotors and I have regretted it every time I use the brakes. (Out of round.)

 

On what planet is Autozone local? Autozone is a national chain with nation policies.

You can try the average priced stuff, but you get what you pay for. Rotors in particular can be made from different alloys, can be treated in different ways, and do in fact come with different vane patters, different thicknesses, etc. But some high end stuff is terrible for durability. How long have your original Motorcraft pads lasted? Might want to consider sticking with OEM for durability.

 

there is more to locally even if its a national chain. People work there that live in the community, taxes are paid by the consumer, by the employee, by the company it goes on and on. Think what ya want about your politics but as I said if I am doing a project I want to get it done and not wait for ups/fedex or whoever to deliver. The company has stood behind its products and I know I can go anywhere in the US and if there are issues the warranty is good. I have over 300000 on my truck and most of the repair items are from autozone and they have have proven to be reliable. Yes autozone has lower end products, but I buy their pricier ones, and most have 'lifetime' warranty and have proven at least to me to be of pretty good quality. You can use OEM but I have found they have been no better in reality just pricier in general.

 

I've used Advance Auto's Wearever Gold pads on three vehicles now, two front & one front & rear, with stellar results & less bake dust, so the wheels are staying Much cleaner than the OEM Ford & Chrysler pad recipe. So far they are giving Much smoother braking than the OEM pads. Pads fit right, wear is excellent & they aren't eating the rotors, so I don't have any negatives to report on the Wearever Gold pads so far.

The OEM pads were easy on the rotors, but made a lot of dust, so the wheels stayed dirty & they wore fast. My Chrysler & Ford OEM pads over time developed pulsation, that has so far been eliminated by the Wearever Gold recipe pads on all three of those vehicles.

Haven't had to replace rotors yet on those 3 vehicles, so can't speak to Wearever rotor quality.

More pad thoughts for consideration, let us know what you use & how they perform.

 

thanks for the reply's.....I have not decided what to do yet but I will come back and close the thread out when I do!......rockauto wants $245(each rotor is $88) for MC pads and rotors......and they have 2 different MC parts?....one is for "extra heavy duty suspension", not sure what that is?......I am thinking about trying to get the rotors turned if they are MC(I beleive they are)......not many people aroung the Northeast turn rotors anymore........I know O'Reillys does it for about $12-$15 but the closest store I think is 1000 miles away........I have had pretty good luck with pads and rotors from Autoparts International.....I am pretty sure some Toyota dealerships use their rotors if you don't want to pay for OEM ones........Rockauto has a "heart" next to the raybestos rotors for $40 and the Wagner pads for $30........hmmmmmm

 

I would be tempted to at least get the MC rotors from Rock depending on what the shipping charges would ammount to. Found out that NAPA does the chinese build stuff even on their premium. Not going back that route any time in the future. Not worth the savings using my discount to overcome the quality /workmanship issues.

 

I replaced the cheap asian crap that a "mechanic" installed on mine maybe 6 weeks ago. The asian crap lasted around 10k miles is all, and dusted the snot out of my polished aluminum wheels. We don't need to go there, except my wheels are near ruined.
I replaced the junk pads with some Wagner Theroquiet ceramics. Zero dust, and brakes feel every bit as good as OEM. Luckily my rotors were still good, I caught it in time before those got bad as well.
Oh, and IIRC, the Wagners are made here.

 

Just remembered something I should have mentioned when I first posted. When you replace the pads/rotors take the old ones with you to size them up with the replacements. Much as I like the Rock Auto MC idea this may be another reason to buy local. On my 03 there were different size rotors and pads listed . Also you should have 4 wheel abs and the replacements must have the slotted ring on the back of rotor for the abs sensor to read.

 

^+1, attaboy, dang good thinking about the details that mean so much, but are often lost or forgotten about until they pop up right when they'll cause the most aggravation!!!!

 

And be sure to replace your wheel bearings( assuming you don't have 4 wheel drive) get grease to repack them and be sure to torque everything to spec.

 

Resurrecting this thread as I am in the same boat and also looking at Rock Auto. My current brakes have only a few thousand miles on them but are incredibly noisy and drive me bonkers. So, something that stops well and is quiet would be nice! Would you just go with a Motorcraft setup or something else? This is for a 1998 4x4 XLT with Off-Road Package, if that matters.