After wondering a few days of wondering why the gas mileage was slipping on my 1999 E-350 SuperDuty, I've discovered that the right rear brake is dragging. I haven't torn it down yet, but I am assuming the the caliper is sticking. Since its been awhile since my last Ford vehicle, I need to know whether it would be worth the effort to pull it apart, clean up the sliding surfaces & mounting points, and slip another set of pads in OR should I just replace the caliper.
My past experience with Mopar discs dictates that replacing the caliper would make for a more permanent solution than just cleaning things up. Is this consistent with the Ford calipers? I know I'm comparing apples to oranges, but I can only go off what I've learned in the past...
Thanks!
__________________ Dave Pershing
1999 E-350 Super Duty (6.8L V-10 3.73 gears)
2005 Kodiak 23TT (Sleeps 10)
Is it a bad sign when the van holds more than the camper can sleep?
Project on hold until Wednesday. The parts store that claimed to have the calipers in stock had the wrong ones. When I took them back along with my caliper for comparison, they insisted that I do not have a E-350 because if I had one, the parts their computer says fit would fit. Someone must have swapped in a lesser axle/brake combo. I simply got my money back and walked away. Stopped at the other store in town, gave them my info (same as first place) and what do they find? The proper calipers. We even pulled an image and cross checked my casting number. The poor kid must have thought I was crazy because I was so paranoid.Unfortunately, they had to order them - they'll be in tomorrow. I've got Wednesday off so guess what I'm doing...
Gearloose - if the budget would have allowed me to, I would have. If I have problems with a soft pedal then I'm going after the hoses & new fluid. If not, then a flush and new hoses will be on the agenda come summer. The holiday budget is going to be tight this year and I need to save where I can.
__________________ Dave Pershing
1999 E-350 Super Duty (6.8L V-10 3.73 gears)
2005 Kodiak 23TT (Sleeps 10)
Is it a bad sign when the van holds more than the camper can sleep?
Not sure what gearloose1 had in mind with "would have replaced the lines as well"? When I think "lines" the image of the rigid steel tube brake "lines" comes to mind. Good idea to check those for rust on a '99. Guess he meant the flex "hoses"?
Be aware that failing flex hoses don't neccessarily give "problems with a soft pedal". Often its just the opposite & the hoses look fine. Old flex hoses can get restricted inside & actually make the pedal feel harder. Such restriction can also prevent the caliper's piston from retracting properly, producing a dragging brake.
Check to see that brake fluid flows freely out the bleeder. An internally restricted flex hose might not let you force fluid thru even w/your foot on the pedal.
Fluid is certainly getting through the lines and they are still very flexible without any visible surface cracks. I know that visible inspections are only part of the story on the lines, but they appear to be in good shape. The caliper, however, was a mess. I was able to press one cylinder back into the bore with ease, but the other was another story. I put quite a bit of pressure on it and it wouldn't budge. The lower mounting bolt was bent pretty good so who knows what it had been through with the previous owner.
I'll be putting it back together tomorrow - hopefully there will be no more surprises.
__________________ Dave Pershing
1999 E-350 Super Duty (6.8L V-10 3.73 gears)
2005 Kodiak 23TT (Sleeps 10)
Is it a bad sign when the van holds more than the camper can sleep?
Well YES, in some perfect world all flex hoses "should last 20 years or more" however we all know that in the real world lots of brake hoses need to be replaced much sooner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rebocardo
The hoses should last 20 years or more. Regular flushes will prevent calipers from failing.
While I'm an advocate for replacing brake fluid, IMO "regular flushes will" NOT always "prevent calipers from failing". Its common for calipers to fail b/c of corrosion from outside. Typically water and/or road salt gets past the outer sealing boot & corrodes the bore ahead of the piston, seizing it. Changing brake fluid will not lubricate stuck caliper yokes & make them free to slide either. Changing brake fluid "should" help brake master cylinders & antilock hydraulics last longer.
> IMO "regular flushes will" NOT always "prevent calipers from failing"
Did I use the word always?
Seat belts will prevent you from getting killed in accidents too. You are 17x more likely not to die then an unbuckled person. Though they will not always prevent you from dying.
> I put quite a bit of pressure on it and it wouldn't budge.
Do your calipers require a special tool to turn down the piston?
Does your piston's wall look like it has hair thin spiral grooves on it?
__________________ The Year 2009 Anno Domini - May it bring a great year of Revelations to you.
Nope - just a standard push-it-back down caliper. The other piston went right back down without any problem.
Its my understanding that you tend to find the spiral type piston on applications that utilize the caliper in the parking brake mechanism. Since the the parking brake is a small drum-type brake under the rotor, the pistons are the more likely to be the standard piston.
__________________ Dave Pershing
1999 E-350 Super Duty (6.8L V-10 3.73 gears)
2005 Kodiak 23TT (Sleeps 10)
Is it a bad sign when the van holds more than the camper can sleep?
Van's all fixed and working great again. Who ever designed Ford's ABS on these used some common sense. Every time I bled the Mopars that had ABS, the computer would throw a code and would need the ABS system reset to make it happy again.
While not a complete "flush" I did run through about 16-20 oz of brake fluid bleeding them. I figure getting some fresh fluid in there was certainly worth something.
Thanks for the info everyone!
__________________ Dave Pershing
1999 E-350 Super Duty (6.8L V-10 3.73 gears)
2005 Kodiak 23TT (Sleeps 10)
Is it a bad sign when the van holds more than the camper can sleep?
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The parts store that claimed to have the calipers in stock had the wrong ones. When I took them back along with my caliper for comparison, they insisted that I do not have a E-350 because if I had one, the parts their computer says fit would fit. Someone must have swapped in a lesser axle/brake combo. I simply got my money back and walked away. Stopped at the other store in town, gave them my info (same as first place) and what do they find? The proper calipers. We even pulled an image and cross checked my casting number. The poor kid must have thought I was crazy because I was so paranoid.Unfortunately, they had to order them - they'll be in tomorrow. I've got Wednesday off so guess what I'm doing...
