Lookin for ideas and part locations to upgrade my front disc brakes. Be nice to eliminate that distribution block and have bleedable calipers, perhaps even 2 piston calipers .

 

? All calipers I have ever messed with on any car or truck had bleeders, including the ones on these trucks.

 

Yep. All of the 5 F150's I've owned have had calipers that could be bled. The only upgrade I'm aware of is the differing slide arrangement from early to late trucks. The early ones used a dovetail slide arrangement that frequently didn't slide. The later ones used a metal-clad rubber piece that both cushioned the caliper and provided a better slide arrangement.

But, I'm curious if anyone knows of upgrades so I'm subscribed.

 

You could slot your rotors and go with pads that have a higher friction coefficient.
Of course you will go through pads and rotors much faster...

 

a. test your brakes to determine how well they stop.
b. change the fluid and bleed them
c. retest your brakes to determine how well they stop.

i would guess that tire to ground is the problem, or air inside your brake lines.

if you think that your brakes are not sliding correctly check for uneven pad wear

 

My mistake, i read the section on early models. Thats where i picked up the block or pressure differential valve.

My truck does have some what weak brakes. Not dangerously weak but not what id like. I do work my truck and admit i over load it from time to time. Id like a firmer better bite on my rotors. I can find drilled and slotted rotors but if i do that id like a better caliper.

 

"Better" in what way?

 

Maybe a bigger pad , dual or more pistons, it just doesnt seem this one bites great. Pads are a couple years old but have 7k miles on them at most. Pads were about $40 at autozone so i didnt get the cheapy pads. Something that will rein in a 6500-7000 pound truck ( when loaded).

 

Hmm,
To get more swept area you're going to need bigger rotors.
But then the caliper bracket needs to make more room.
And the wheel has to clear the caliper mounted in the bracket...

Bigger pistons are going to require a bigger bore master cylinder to keep the fluid ratio close to the same.
They still need to fit within the caliper bracket.

This all is why I suggested a more aggressive pad compound.

Of course, any kinetic energy absorbed by conventional braking is turned to heat.
A given mass of iron (your rotor) can only accept and shed so much heat.
Pad backings can only insulate the piston(s) and fluid from so much heat...

Obviously the mu of the pad linings must be within these limits.
See if you can find some pads rated GG.

These are cold-hot friction numbers
DOT Pad Codes

At least with a manual gearbox you can use engine compression to help slow yourself down.

 

The only thing I can think of that might give you some difference in braking is a hydroboost conversion. These can be found on f450 trucks in the junkyard or if you punch one of them in at a parts store they will come up. Instead of using a vacuum booster it uses the hydraulic pressure from the power steering. A lot of cars and trucks use them now, especially when room is at a premium.

This is not increasing the rotor area or the pad area, but it will increase the pressure delivered to the calipers relative to the amount of foot pressure you apply. It's done all the time on f250/350's. Not sure if it has been done on a f150 before, but I don't see why it would not work. You do also have to change the reservoir on the power steering pump for a extra return line, and you need a couple more lines that go to the hydroboost.

 

Isn't the HB master cylinder a larger bore for the 2 piston calipers of the bigger trucks?
Hydroboost is found in Lincoln's and Mustangs too.

This is what I was alluding to when I mentioned MC:Caliper ratios.
Bigger bore with single piston = no travel and wooden feel.
The other way applies as well.
Small MC with two pot calipers = too much travel and very grabby.

 

I haven't done any research on it, but I was thinking the f150 master might fit the hydroboost. But it may not. People use the f250/350 master on the hydroboost conversions with just a little file work, the holes are just a little bit off. Don't know if that would work with a f150 master or not.

I would not want to get into messing around with master cylinder bore changes and such. Too much figuring to be doing that.

 

If the 150 MC can fit with a little notching of the ears it's all good.
I have no doubt the Hydroboost will provide more assistance.

IIRC Ford had bores from 7/8 up to 1 1/2 over the years

 

I thought the stock calipers were already dual piston???

Anyway, I had weak brakes and I got tired of it and started trying to track it down. I had multiple things working against me. The big things were I had old tires that could no longer grip well and would slide under hard braking, my calipers were partially seized with only one piston moving, my rears brakes weren't self-adjusting so my front brakes did all the work.

I ended up replacing both front calipers, front hoses, pads, adjusted the rears and they were fine and I got new front rotors. All was well.

Some things to keep in mind...you get what you pay for. A premium rotor will be thicker and have more mass than a cheapie. It will absorb heat faster a dissipate it better...and that''s a good thing.
And check you pads. Look for the cold-hot friction numbers that ArdWrknTrk mentioned. It's usually the last part of a code stamped somewhere on the pads edge or back...something like FM123456000 FE.
EE, FE, and FF are all pretty common. GG is out there, too. Stay away from EE if you can. Look for FF, FG, or GG. Federal-Mogul Motorparts makes a ton of brakes for most every "brand" out there, but they own Ferodo and Wagner. The Wagner Severe-Duty brakes works well on trucks that are worked hard, but don't be afraid to compare to other brands. I get the parts guy to bring out a few different brands for me to inspect before I buy.

 

Dual piston only on 8-lug 16" wheel(HD) trucks.

My personal experience with Wagner these past few years has been bad.
Pads not properly bonded and shoes with spot welds that fall apart.
(I am not hard on my truck anymore)

Don't believe the Hawk snakeoil either.