Driving home today I started smelling a burnt clutch smell!

Well since I have an automatic, I wasn't to worried until my 6 yr old gets out when we get home and says "DAD something stinks really bad out here!"

Get out and wow!! I have never had a caliper lock up on any vehicle I have ever owned! It stunk like I burnt a clutch out of a standard tranny!

So I start poking around and the left rear caliper is locked up, rotor is blue and you can hear it popping like a valve spring cooling down.

So my question is is there anything to look for other than the normal? I will be getting the brake system power bleed after I replace the caliper. I already checked the brake lines and there are no obvious issues. It is possible the rubber inner lining is toast.

 

I assume you're replacing all the components right? You seem to have a good handle on this but I just want to make sure. Before I power bleed the lines I would gravity bleed them just to see how they flow, and if you have the money (I don't at the time) I would upgrade to some SS braided brake lines. Everyone on here that has made the switch has nothing but good things to say about them

 

Well I pulled it apart tonight and boy do I have a mess!

The car lot I bought it at told me they spent 900 on a brake job. I do not believe it after finding what I did!

The left rear caliper was the one sticking. It appears a piston broke and that is what caused the caliper to stick. When I pulled the caliper off with a chunk of the piston fell onto the ground.

Rotors are still with in spec and hopefully are salvageable. I am not holding my breath since the left rear brake pads got hot enough to smoke.

The right side is a complete disaster! The entire parking brake assemble is missing! The backing plate is twisted and torn up! the only plus is the cable is still good and moves freely.

So I will have to hold off on a few other things to get this straightened out.

 

Yes sir going to do hoses, pads, turn rotors. As far as SS lines, I do not have the time to wait or source. I need this back up ASAP.

 

I would definitely go raise hell at the dealership, that is a life or death thing, not something you should EVER lie to a customer about.

 

My wife and I talked about this tonight as she was handing me tools in the garage. I have put 17k on it since I bought it. We both agree it was a crappy thing for the guy not to fix it, but we feel we can not go back to him since we put that many miles on it and it was sold AS-IS.

I should have paid someone to inspect it before I bought it. I am a pretty competent wrench and I did crawl under it and it all looked good. I did not pull the wheels though.

So I have one side done and the other apart, prepped and ready to go back together. I went and bought bearings and seals since I had it this far apart might do it right. It has been about 8 years since I bought tapered bearings! HOLY crap! 190.00 for 4 bearings and 2 seals!

So as it sits atm, this repair has set me back right around 750.00.

 

I wouldn't have put wheel bearings in it, they rarely go out. I firmly believe in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" theory. It's kind of like changing all your light bulbs every 5 years so you don't have to change one in the dark. . Also, you drove it 17k miles and you're upset because the owner didn't fix something that was probably ok when you bought it and he probably wasn't even aware of it anyway if it was going out then? If it was "as is" (which it always is) you couldn't have gone back even 2 days later.

 

Get new rotors. The quality is not what it was 20 years ago, they're disposable items these days. For the price of getting it turned you could just about buy a new one.

I had my left rear lock on me too. I rebuilt it and it's been fine for the past 20k.

That's hte problem with these trucks, to damn much power, that you can't even feel it when a brake is stuck on.

 

Well we all have our opinions and that is what makes us different!

Now when I buy a vehicle, I expect all factory supplied systems to be present and work properly. What upset me the most was I bought this from a buddy of mine at a lot he worked at. Plus I believe in integrity and if I, you or anyone paid 900.00- 1k for a brake job and you didn't know what was missing was missing...well you either went to a bad repair shop(which where he took it to is the top local PowerStroke shop), ignored it to save $. The owner of the lot had to be aware of it because he did brakes all the way around. Which he showed me a bill for new rotors, pads, and 2 calipers. One of which I replaced. What is amazing is the left side parking brake held the truck the way it did.

The issue with the parking park was it looked to be all there and it worked properly. What I couldn't see was the shoes and all hardware were missing on the right side. There was no way the shoes and associated hardware fell out in the 17k I put on it! The parts couldn't clear the hub and what was left of the backing plate.


As for the wheel bearings being replaced....Well I figured it was time since I was getting a slight rumble on the right rear. Since I had to put new backing plates on, which required me to remove the hub. Another 15 minutes to drive out the seal, races and install new was just a little PM in my opinion.

Now I know that I am keeping this beast for at least 4 years and I drive 20k a year mileage wise. So with 160k on it and knowing I will be putting 80K on it in 4 years better now then later.

Like I said our opinions are what makes us all different!

 

Rotors were new 16k ago and had only worn .025" and they cleaned up in one cut of .02" total. So I still have plent of life on them.

Yeah I was amazed it drove like nothing was wrong. The only thing that alerted me was a little smoke and the smell of burnt clutch! I thought it was the ragged out work truck in front of me when I first smelled it. In all my years working on vehicles, that includes a 5 year stint as a certified wrench, I have never saw a brake pad that turned a nice red color due to a locked up caliper!

 

Make sure you clean and lube the slide pin shafts (w/brake grease). Check the boots on the shafts for tears. I check mine every couple months.

 

I have a tube of sil glyde and got all brand new hardware with the reman calipers. I never do brakes without lubing! lol

 

This is familiar; mine were doing the same thing
Bleed/Flush/lube/test > worked for about 200 miles then replaced everything
Still have to do the Parking Brake stuff yet.
Darn thing

 

I don't get this part;

The issue with the parking park was it looked to be all there and it worked properly. What I couldn't see was the shoes and all hardware were missing on the right side. There was no way the shoes and associated hardware fell out in the 17k I put on it! The parts couldn't clear the hub and what was left of the backing plate.


And you bought it from a dealer but your buddy just worked there?

How can all those parts be missing but it worked fine?

 

EXv10 my buddy was the salesman. I told him what I wanted and he found me a clean body,no rust, no bubbled paint with minor scratches. Supposedly they fixed all of the brake system and put new tires on it. I ended up dealing directly with the owner of the car lot. The dealer I got it from got it wholesale from a Ford dealer that took it in on trade. Matter of fact I had called the Ford dealer on it and it had gone to auction that morning. The Salesman at the Ford dealer told me what was wrong with it and why it was wholesaled.

Now imagine my surprise when I was talking with the owner of the lot I bought it from and he tells me he bought at the Ford dealer I called. So I was CONFIDENT that my buddy would make sure it was 100% on the work that they performed to get it sellable. I mean I saw the receipt for all the work they had done. $1100 for tires, $1600 at the garage. That was all filters and fluids changed. I was surprised all the fluids where new. Oil, Tranny fluid, Coolant and brake fluid. Hell he even splurged and got a OEM air filter. The Brake job was 900.00 of the 1600.00.

How did the parking brake work with one side missing? I really have no clue on that! If I set it and forgot to release it before I put it into gear, it wouldn't budge! I am still dumbfounded as was my wife! I showed her each side and she asked how did that happen and how much to fix it.

The pedal was firm and only went just under 1/2 of the travel, which isn't out of the ordinary. Now the pedal is solid and doesn't go past 1/4 of the travel.


Anyway the brakes work much better than before. It isn't dragging like it did before. Now I am going to do ball joints and sort the front brakes. I do believe I have hanging slide pins on the front causing the issue.