Greetings. I'm new to this forum, and have a question about brakes.

I've been driving my '99 F250 Crew Cab since it was new and have about 48K on the odometer. Almost since I bought the truck the brakes have been somewhat "rough", ie the truck vibrates when applying the brakes at above about 40 mph. I'm pretty light on the brakes anyway and this always caused me to be even lighter than I probably would have been. I went about 40,000 miles before needing new front pads.

So, I had the brakes done at about 40K, including turning the rotors. This was at Big O Tires at the same time I purchased a new set of tires. Everything was wonderful and smooth. But within a few thousand miles they were back to vibrating, even worse than before. So I took it back in and they re-turned the rotors for free and told me that with large trucks the brakes tend to heat up, causing the rotors to warp. Sounded reasonable, I guess, but like I said I don't over use the brakes, at least to my knowledge.

Now at 48K the shaking is the worst it's ever been. I took it to the local Ford service place and they told me the front rotors are below spec and that I need new ones. They also gave me the story about the brakes heating up. I'm a little ****ed off about now paying $400 for new rotors that will probably be warped in a few months. Does anybody else have this same problem with their brakes? Are there any after-market rotors that are larger or of better quality that I could have put on to avoid this?

TIA for any responses.

 

Many have had this problem, I am on my 3rd warrantied set.
Aftermarkets do exist, many like the ART rotors, but they are pricey.