I just purchased new OEM rotors, calipers, bearings, seals, and flex lines. Now to decide on brake pads. A local brake shop that has been in business many years suggested going OEM for pads too. After calling Ford, they provided part number F81Z2001EA as what was originally supplied when the truck was new. Unfortunately these are not made any more. The replacement are part number YU2Z-2V001-BA and I was told by the Ford parts guy these were "value" pads.
Then I looked at Powerstop Z36-756 which look like very high quality. No doubt. The I was looking around here and saw someone using Hawk Green pads.
I'm looking for it all; no noise, superior stopping power, low or no brake dust, and long lasting.

I'm hoping someone can help clarify, are ceramic, ceramic carbon, metallic, semi-metallic, or what are the best. Yes I do tow but not frequently. At this point, cost is not a factor as long as they aren't $200+

After some research I found what appears to be the superior choices to OEM:
Power Stop Z36-756 Front Z36 Truck and Tow Brake Pads $45.95 (Amazon)
Hawk Performance HB302Y.700 LTS Brake Pad $80.00 (Amazon)

Are the Hawk pads better?

Which pads do you gentleman suggest for my 2001 w/ 7.3, 2WD?

 

A friend of mine who used to work in Warranty for the Southeast Region with Ford told me that Ford rotors were prone to warping after heavy braking and subsequent water splashing, like a puddle of water. His suggestion was to purchase the cryogenically treated rotors. I use the StopTech slotted type. Don’t ever get the cross drilled type. The holes will crack and then the cracks get bigger. Ask me how I know.

Stainless steel brake lines are good for more instant reflexes between your peddle and the brake pad. It helps a little bit, but OEM is almost as good and less expensive.

Castrol SRF is the highest boiling point brake fluid you can buy, at least that’s what I’m told. Expensive, but does work and is track tested.

For pads I use Hawk LTS. I used to race with them and they are good. To me, they seem to grip just a little bit more than OEM.

I have some reman Ford brake calipers and they work great.

Hope this helps.

 

I installed the same cryo slotted rotors and Hawk pads, they made a huge improvement in braking over what looked to me were OEM pads/rotors on our 2002.

 

2001 EXCURSION 7.3 4X4 386k (all by me)

I have had all kinds of "warped rotor" issues on my Ex owned since new.

Original brakes were very good and long lasting.

Going forward I have changed the brake pads and rotors many, many times. Used parts store brand. No good. Warping and pulsation not too long after installation.

I usually try to use Ford OEM spec parts. I learned this a long time ago. If there is a V is the part # , this indicates a "value" part made to a price level to compete with parts store brands.

Over the years I have tried all the pads from Ford as well. Superduty pads, Motorcraft pads and the same with the rotors. Apparently, the newer Ford parts are not as good as the originals that came with the truck. Almost never make it to 40k without pulsation from the brakes. Or even 25k sometimes.

Then I tried the Powerstop brand Z36. I bought the kit that included the "carbon ceramic" pads and slotted and drilled rotors. The kit had a retail price of about $600. but I found them at about $300 for the whole set online. (Cannot remember vendor since it was a few years ago.)

No brake dust, silent operation, and NO WARPING. Better braking performance than I have experienced before with this kit. Also, they seem not to develop surface rust when sitting. This helps me a lot since I have to back down a steep driveway every day. The surface rust on the brakes from sitting in the driveway made the backing up very choppy. This condition would clear itself after about 1 stop as I get going.

This Powerstop setup has only about 30k and 2 years of service so far. So the jury is out on longevity, but perfect performance so far.

Here is the kicker. About 1 week after the Z36 setup was installed, a bicycle pulled right in front of me while I was going about 30mph. Made an emergency stop. In the 21 years I have owned this Ex, the antilock braking system has never stopped hard enough to chirp (small skid the front tires on clean dry pavement) the front tires.

I stopped with about 3 feet of clearance. (or less) Saved me from hitting a bike rider. I am sure this kit made the difference. For these reasons I highly recommend the Z36 brake kit. FYI The Z36 can also be ordered with calipers, which I did not try.

Just my opinion from 385k and 21 years of Excursion driving!

 

I just installed Dynamic Friction brake pads.... as in, I haven't even road tested them yet. Flushing the brake system today.

Previosuly... I had purchased new Motorcraft rotors 50k ago and they lasted 7K before warping, they're garbage. Power slot cryo rotors in the front for 45K no issues., highly recommended. Raybestos element E rotors in the rear (now) and new Raybestos element E calipers all around. This would have been 4rd caliper rebuild so I went with new. Yes they're made in China. To me the key to keeping the brakes functioning well on the Excursion is flushing the bakes every two years or so. I tow heavy so my brakes don't last very long. Motorcraft metallic pads seem OK, but the last time I went with Hawk green pads. At the time of install I noticed an improvement, maybe just new pads? who knows.. I did have a hawk pad delaminate and fail on the rear. Destroyed my rotor and caliper while towing. I have stainless lines from front to rear., including stainless reinforced flex lines. As a note... I had one of the original rubber lines fail internally and act like a check valve and not release the brake pistons, so they were all changed. in addition... Check the metal line over the rear axle for rusting through at the metal retainer clamp, it's located on top of the differential. That's right where my leak occurred.

20 year old trucks have atypical issues. Brakes are SUPER important. Next on my list will be power steering pump https://leepowersteering.com/product...-7-3-1999-2003 and hydro boost https://www.riffraffdiesel.com/hydro...ssembly-99-04/

Excursions at best... have just fair brakes IMO.

 

An additional step for better brakes, flush and bleed the power steering/hyro boost system. I had a hose blow out and ended up flushing the system. What a huge difference once it was done. The steering and brakes are quicker to react. I think it actually helped the wander a bit as well. The system uses trans fluid, not PS fluid.

 

Thank you all for your wisdom. I just ordered the HAWK Green pads. What tipped the scales for me was a call to 4Wheel Parts. Even though 4Wheel Parts doesn't sell the Hawk brand, the representative said the Hawk was superior to PowerStop. Are they, I don't have the knowledge, equipment or budget to test them out. All I have is the way my foot feels pressing the pedal.

For anyone who needs, here is the list of part numbers for everything:

E7TZ-1S190-B :Wheel Bearing Seal (2)
C9AZ-4222-A :Inner Bearing Cup (2)
8A-1202 :Inner Bearing Cup (2)
BC2Z-4221-B :Wheel bearing (2)
BC2Z-1216-B :Bearing (2)

3C3Z-2B121-AA (YC3Z-2553-AA) : Left Caliper NEW, NOT REMANUFACTURED (1)
3C3Z-2B120-AA (YC3Z-2552-AA) : Right Caliper NEW, NOT REMANUFACTURED (1)

1C3Z-1V102-AB : Rotor for L & R : Rotor (2)

F81Z-2077-BB : Brake Hose Left Side (1)
F81Z-2X204-AD : Brake Hose Right Side (1)

Hawk HB302Y.700 LTS : Brake Pads

I hope this combination works well and hopefully someone can use this information.

 

I use Napa rotors and Wagner pads and my brakes are really good for a large vehicle. Even better after bleeding the PS/HB system. I just cant see spending 50% more and getting 10% (guessing - but thats a lot) better braking.

 

The hawk LTS is a great pad in that it has a higher co efficient of friction giving the ex better stopping distances the down side is the can be a bit noisy and create moderate dust because they are a semi metalic pad.

a ceramic pad meets your no dust and quite requirements but they will not stop your ex well and should not be used on heavier vehicles, they are great on mini vans snd hondas however.

bottom line is you chose a good pad for what what break are suppose to do. Stop.

 

Thank you for the vote of confidence. Tomorrow the assembly gets installed with a fluid flush.

 

Front brakes are installed. Only hiccup, the rears were shot. Fortunately there was plenty on material on the rotors for a turn and new pads. They tell me it will take 50-100 miles before the new pads wear in.

While they were in there, I asked about the front suspension. Only comment was the radial arm/rod bushings were cracked and suggested replacement.

 

I put about 80 miles on the new brakes and could feel they needed setting in. Then I drove from Los Angeles to China Lake yesterday to pick up a new OEM quarter window yesterday. The brakes have great grip to them. It now feels like I have more command over stopping this beast. I’m very happy with these Hawk Performance pads.

 

I'm planning on installing new brake pads on as one of the many items on the winter to-do list for the EX. Lots of folks recommend the Hawk LTS pads (HB302Y.700), which was/is my plan as well. However, as I went to shop for them I noticed that there is also a 'Super Duty' pad (HB302P.700) available specifically designed for "heavy duty" and "trucks towing excessive payloads." Does anyone have any real world experience with these pads running on the EX as a dedicated tow pig?

Based on the specs provided on the Hawk website, the Super Duty pads don't actually seem to provide a lot of additional braking advantage over the LTS, which have better rotor life and less dust. It seems like the only advantage is if you drive in the mountains or have frequent braking and expect fairly hot brake situations to occur.
https://www.hawkperformance.com/compounds/street

 

I've been running the Hawk green LTS pads now for about 3 years. Very little dust and they are wearing very well. I'm also running their rotors which are slotted but not bored. Very noticeable difference in stopping distance. That Power Stop stuff is too gimicky for me. They basically just use the same OEM calipers and color them red. How do I know this? I actually called Power Stop and asked one of their representatives. Once I found this out, I didn't trust the rest of their products. Hawk is big in friction material for all kinds of heavy industry and that stuff MUST be good. Good choice on your part and I'm certain that you'll be satisfied as am I. The only way you can get much better stopping power is to shell out the big bucks and go to a bigger diameter rotor, bigger calipers and 20" minimum wheels which in my opinion, would just look stupid on an EX.

 

I’ve been using the Hawk LTS pads with NAPA rotors for several years now and have been very happy with them. If needed, I would replace with the same.