I neglected to knock on wood after voting in that thread yesterday that I didn't have problems with my truck. Whoops.

So I was driving and noted a burning smell, but then the 'Cleaning Exhaust Filter' message came on the display so I chalked it up to a regen... but then it was smelling a bit stronger in the cab than a normal regen does and the steering was pulling over to the right so I stopped and walked around to find that the front passenger side wheel was quite hot, and the glue binder stuff was bubbling and oozing out of the brake pad.

I figured I got a rock stuck in there or something, so I drove forward and stomped on the brakes hard a few times which usually gets rid of whatever is stuck there.

That seemed to solve the issue since the vehicle was no longer pulling to the right, but now I'm home and I have the wheel pulled off to check for any other damage or other debris that got stuck in there. I also checked for kinked brake lines and couldn't find any.

Do you guys think I should pull off the caliper assembly and inspect further, or just blast copious amounts of brake cleaner in there? I'm not exactly sure that would do much except evaporate since the brake/rotor is still quite warm at this point. I don't see any deep scoring on the rotor, but the colour did change due to the high temperatures it experienced.

 

I know brakes are a fine line since they are also a wear item, but would this be warrantable? I think the rotor is a bit cooked from this incident but the first priority is preventing it from getting further damaged so I can drive the vehicle, and then to replace parts as required.

 

Check the caliper slides. I would loosen the bolts holding the caliper to the slides and make sure you can easily move both slide pins with ease by hand.

 

I took everything apart, cleaned off the glue mess and the metal scale with a wire brush and a lot of brake cleaner in a can. Then I went out for a drive on a freshly paved road, shifted to neutral, shut off the engine and coasted the rest of the way to see if it was still dragging or making weird noises or burning up again, which it didn't, so good enough for now.





Those caliper pistons are not looking too healthy though...


Brake pads still have material so I didn't burn it all up.

 

did you grease the slide pins as well? that is what is sounds like. both pads seems to have (in the pic to me) about even wear so that is a good thing.

 

Nice job on the brake but I do hope you greased the pins. The grease in there got real hot and may have moved around.

You can pull the rubber boot away on both ends and work grease in there Without removing the caliper but its not as good a result as removing the caliper, or have the dealer do it. To remove the caliper I'm real glad I have a 3/4" drive socket set. It's a 21mm socket and the bolts are very tight with thread lock applied to boot!

 

I hope that resolves the issue. Keep us posted.

 

I went to a few dealers in Edmonton but they were either booked up or didn't care. One guy touched the brake dust on my wheel and told me he couldn't duplicate the problem... some kind of diagnosis eh? He must be related to that guy who can tell lug nut torque by looking at the wheel. What I did get out of that adventure is that they recommended that I have this issue looked at before I roll past 20,000km... and I'm at 19,200 right now.

I can't give up my truck this week or weekend because I need it, but next week I'm back in Whitecourt so I can leave it at a dealer (well, the only dealer, Spuceland Ford) and let them figure it out, or leave it sitting on the lot, and hopefully also do the software updates and check my FX4 shocks while they're at it.

I last greased the slide pins at around 12,000km but not the pistons themselves. I'd probably lose some brake fluid doing that. The rubber boots on both caliper pistons are all messed up because of the high temperatures. The boot doesn't hold the brake fluid in but the seal behind it does, and apparently the seal is made out of the same material as the boot/dust cover.
If the boot melted due to high temps, then there's a chance the seal could also be compromised, but I'm not noticing losing any fluid loss yet.

Hopefully one of the dealers will do those steps when they check it, I feel the caliper assembly should be a warrantable item because it's not a wear item, while the brake pads and rotors are. I'd be fine for paying for the brake pads if it comes down to that, but those aren't really worn down either (and if it was normal wear it would be on all wheels, not just one).

That side is still running a slight bit hotter than the other side on the front axle though. Not as hot as it did that time, but by about 10-15 degrees.
I checked as I got home today: driver's side is 60°C, passenger side 75°C (using IR thermometer, my contact 'K' thermocouple probe yields inconsistent results)
I went out to a empty township road just outside city limits to try hard braking from 100km/h to 0km/h without touching the steering wheel to make sure it wasn't pulling to one side or another, and it seemed fine.

Only thing I've been doing differently with the vehicle lately is a lot more travel on gravel roads and a lot of rain recently, and then the combined product of mud. I guess I need to follow the severe service schedule religiously now.

Everyone tells me it's a safety hazard and that I shouldn't be driving the vehicle, but it doesn't seem too bad to me anymore since I pulled it apart and put it back together. I guess the worst that could happen is that if I lose hydraulic pressure I lose half the braking system.

 

I've had front drivers side and rear drivers side issues with calipers freezeing on both my 08 6.4 and now the 6.7. I work it hard I guess. Hauling a trailer around the citys. Stop and go. Also carrying a camper around in the bed.
I think at some point the brake may get good and hot and freeze the piston somehow. There are 2 pistons in each caliper.
On my 6.7 the front drivers were totally shot at 29k. The pass side was fine. I just pressed the pistons back in good and installed new pads on both sides to keep things even. This has been fine hauling,etc. since. I now have 49k. I tried this on my 08 rear and it didn't work. Ended up having to replace the rotors too.
And yes I had plenty of Brake Pin grease on these pins at all times.
So watch your driving habits closely maybe you'll catch something that triggers it off.

 

Does traction control operate in 4x4 mode? I know the ABS box is now capable of applying brakes on individual wheels for me without my intervention. I've been keeping that in as a possibility.

I downshift to slow down more often than I apply the service brakes while driving, so I don't have a whole lot of wear on the stuff that is supposed to wear.

 

TC is default on with 4x4 high.
Default off with 4x4 low.

 

Waiting on a caliper assembly to be ordered from the USA... no one knows an ETA so sometime between now and forever I should be getting a replacement.

When (if) this part shows up, it will be replaced under warranty, but for now, it hasn't been acting up.