Hello all! In October of 05 I upgraded to an 05 F150 4.6. Love it!

However now after 37k miles, I noticed some grinding in the rear on the brakes. So I took it in for brakes. The rear was about 97% worn and luckily just can get the pads replaces.

The front they said that the left rotor had enought to machine but the right was below the spec. And that I would need a new rotor which is an additional 197 bucks since its an entire unit.

I am not up to speed on brakes and am going to get more opinions on the front. The back is ok since I know I need that done.

Does anything sound fishy about what they said regarding the front. I think he mentioned the left was 1.176 and the right was 1.146 and he needed a certain amount to be able to machine off.

I heard that the factory brakes arent the best in the world and considering most of my driving was freeway stop and go driving I can see them going down faster.

Additionally, how often should I flush the brake system?

Thanks for all your support gang. Without this board I wouldnt have gotten the life out of my old truck like I did.

 

Is this a 2 wheel drive or a 4 wheel drive? Thats a pretty expensive rotor, i'd check around.

 

Its a 2 wheel drive.

I can shop around on the rotor but was curious if what he told me about the measurments and the need to replace the rotor was true?

Could I get by just changing the pads in the front?

 

I doubt if he made up the measurements, and it's good practice to mic the rotors before resurfacing and replacing pads. The only thing I question is replacing one rotor - it's also good practice to always replace pads/rotors/shoes/drums by the axle, in pairs. Replacing pads or a rotor on only one end of an axle can produce uneven braking and is generally not recommended.

 

Thanks!

Yeah if I do it, I will do both. Is the amount of wear they are saying normal with factory brakes and 37k miles?

 

Well I got a 2nd opinion and the same thing. Rotors and pads in the front. Darn ford rotors are one unit and costly.

Ok now the big question. How easy is replacing the front rotor and pads on an 05? Is this something that can be done in the garage with normal tools or does this have to go to the shop. How complicated is it?

Just curious? Thanks!

 

I haven't done it on that particular model, but on most 2wd trucks, front rotors are fully within the ability of most home mechanics.
Grab yourself a shop manual and read the steps thorough while you are looking at the rotor (with truck on jack stands and the wheel removed) if you don't understand and of the steps, ask your question on here BEFORE you tear everything apart.

Also, when you do decide to tackle this, dissassemble and reassemble on side at a time, so you will not get the parts mixed up side-to side. Plus then you always have a reference if you needed.
Use good quality parts, take your time and Good luck!

 

Thanks! The documentation has gotten better and better over the years and I think it may help that the rotor and hub is one unit.

Just changing pads and rotors I wont have to deal with the fluid in the lines will I?

 

If you are up to it you can pull the wheels and check the rotors, generaly on the back of the rotors they have the minumim resruface thickness stamped on them. I cannot gaurantee that they are on this truck but my wifes escape and other vehicles I have owned have had this.

 

Well I went to the local store and found the rotors for 68 and ceramic shoes for 39. Much better that what the shops were quoting.

Now just going to read up. The tricky part is the removal of the calipers so I can get to the rotor.

I wish there was an online how to for rotors and pads. Paying almost 20 bucks for a manual I wish it was in color.

 

Here's some more info that might help.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...questions.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ml#post3987170
(post #5)


Feel free to ask here or PM me if you need help. It's not too bad - be glad to try and help if you have any questions.

 

Used to do my 86 Bronco Rotors. It was a 4x4 with one piece rotor/hub. Much more PITA then a 2WD unit. But, can be done if you are mechanically inclined. If you aren't, take the thing to a friend who is or to a shop and suck up the cost.

Also, since you need new rotors, now's a good time to upgrade to drilled/slotted rotors. I checked on my 4x4 rotors for my 05 and they were $115 @ NAPA. Not outrageous compared to non-drilled/slotted rotors.

 

Ok. After reviewing the instructions, I feel this is something I can accomplish in my garage and save on the labor costs.

Now, the next question is regarding the rotor. Both places I took it to said it is the rotor/hub combo and is expensive. (197.99 at one place and 223.99 at another) Looking online at NAPA, I see a few different ones. They vary from 68-200 dollars.

There are a couple on the NAPA page that do not fit my vin #. But there are a few that they have that are 200+... Then there are some at Autozone that are 68. However I am unsure what the difference is between "With base payload package" and "Without base payload package".

NAPA 200+ - http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...+Ultra+Premium

Auto Zone 68.00 - http://www.autozone.com/R,APP944338/...ductDetail.htm

Ford dealer - 280 each... OUCH.

Any advice?

 

Make sure you are being quoted rotors for a 4x2. The bearing is built into the rotor on the 4x2, and not on the 4x4, thus the rotors for the 4x2 are almost twice as much. That is why to machine the 4x2, they must be done on the truck.

Now for replacement, it is very easy and simple to do, but you have to have one humongous deep socket to get the hub nut off. I think it was either a 57mm or 59 mm. I bought the Raybestos rotors, did both fronts, for about $150 each at a local parts store. I had a bearing go out at 45,000 miles, thus, the reason for replacing them.

 

I replaced both sets of rotors and pads on the front of my 2004 4X2 over the Christmas break and it was very easy to do, although I'm chasing an ABS light problem at the moment, but the brakes work great and no more pulsating/vibrating. I used Brembo plain rotors and Carquest Blue pads.

Here's some things that I found helpful:

(1) Definitely do one side at a time
(2) If you don't already have one, get yourself a 2 ft long, 1/2 inch drive breaker bar, and maybe another 2 ft length of 1-inch diameter steel pipe just in case you may need additional leverage.
(3) Remove the caliper bolts, pull it away from the rotor, and hang it out of the way with zip ties. Hang it up high in the wheel well because you'll need the room to get at the caliper bracket. And be sure it's secure - you don't want the caliper falling and yanking on the brake lines or sensor harnesses.
(4) The caliper bolts are 13 mm and need to be torqued to 47 ft-lb once you re-install them. You can put a little blue loctite on the threads but not much.
(5) The caliper bracket bolts are 18 mm and need to be torqued to 148 ft-lb. Ditto about loctite.
(6) The cotter pin in front of the big spindle nut can be a pain to remove, but just keep at it. Mine was all rusted and on one side I needed a friend to hammer it from the bottom while I pulled from the top with pliers. As a result, I couldn't really reuse it. The cotter pin size that I used was stainless, 5/32" dia X 1.5" long, and I got a package of 3 from Home Depot for about $.50.
(7) There's a little castle nut-looking thing on the outside of the spindle nut, it's thin sheet metal or something. When I first saw it, I thought that my 36 mm socket wouldn't work, but I pulled it away from the spindle nut to reveal the six flats on the nut. There was some sticky black goo in a couple of spots on the castle nut thing, not sure what it's for, but i just put the castle nut back on when I reinstalled everything.
(8) The big honkin' nut requires a 36 mm deep socket. I originally bought an impact socket but it turns out that I could get it off without impact tools, and I just used it with my regular ratchet. That's where the 2-3 ft of additional leverage with the breaker bar and pipe came in handy! And they came off pretty easily - I had to struggle some but not as much as I had anticipated.
(9) Get some brake slide lube (green stuff at Pep Boys) and lubricate the slide pins in the caliper. There is a little rubber boot that goes over the pin that you just pop off and pull the pin out.
(10) Get some brake parts cleaner and spray the crap out of the new rotors to get all the crud off, and wipe them down with something lint-free. Do this a few times to make sure they're nice and clean.
(11) Be careful with those new rotors and gently place them down on the toothed ring on the back side.
(12) I put some blue brake disc quiet on the back side of the pads before I reinstalled them. It has to dry, so I put that stuff on early so it would be ready when I got to it.

I got a ton of useful information from the folks on this forum, so look for posts from me where I asked a bunch of stupid questions and you'll see how helpful people were to me!

The whole job took me about 2 hours per side. I'm not a great mechanic, so if you have skills you might be able to do it faster.

Hope this helps.