Ever since I bought my 2000 Excursion XLT acouple of months ago, I have been unhappy with the brakes. No "grab", and you have to jump on the pedal to get it to do anything. Both feet on it, and the truck would seem to "casually" roll to a stop. Not confidence-inspiring.

So:
1. Replaced rotors and pads. Marginal improvement, but still not there.
2. Removed calipers and cleaned (grind, file, sand, lubricate) all of the contact areas (clips, pad mounts, etc). Marginal improvement again.
3. Bled entire brake system, new fluid in. Marginal improvement. Significant amount of moisture discovered.

At this point, I was puzzled. This thing should stop like new.

4. Removed ABS fuse. Truck brakes with proper force, but mostly right front and left rear wheel. Practically turns the truck sideways on hard braking. Wierd. At this point, I'm blaming the RAB valve, but am not convinced.

5. Reconnect fuse. Sloppy brakes again, but brakes straight (after some hard stops).

At this point, I think: "Is it possible that I have a flex hose problem (collapsed, deteriorated, etc)? " This shouldn't be an issue on a 4-year old truck with 45,000 miles.

6. Call several Ford dealers. Explain situation and my thoughts. They tell me I'm crazy - no way it's flex hoses. Major parts supplier in the area says "never seen/heard any problems with these flex hoses". Hmmm..

My instinct says it's worth a shot. I don't know what else to do.

7. Order new flex hoses for all corners. According to Ford, a special order item - "not a regularly stocked part". They didn't even have a part number for the rear center line. Had to get it from Raybestos.

8. Install new hoses. VOILA! In the banjo fittings at the calipers, there is a build-up of black crud from the fitting into the caliper - right rear is almost blocked off.

9. Clear out the build-up in all calipers, fit the new flex hoses, flush and bleed the system.

Now the thing stops like a new truck would!!! Amazing difference.

Still puzzled as to why/how those hoses would break down and contaminate the caliper feed ports. According to the service records, this truck has been serviced regularly by a Ford dealer since new.

Anyway, long post. If you are trying to solve your poor braking problem, check out the caliper fluid ports and flex hose banjo fittings for build-up prior to flushing/bleeding the system. Mine may be unique problem, but you never know.

Hope this helps.

Norm

 

Great post, did you research using steel braded lines...Teflon lined?
They usually increase pedal fell and are far superior to stock ones.
However I have no idea if they are made fro our units.

 

Great information!! What was the total cost to replace the lines, fluid, etc...?

 

I was having major hassles just trying to locate the OEM lines. Steel-braided was the next option - but would have to be custom-made.

The OEM lines were ~$40 front, ~$50 rear and center, each. ~$40 in fluid for multiple flushes.

Norm

 

How long did it take to install the lines and on a scale of 1-10, how do you rate this job?

 

The job was about 5 hours. I had a mechanic friend of mine with me, made everything straightforward. I'm no pro, but have reasonable mechanical abilities and experience. Also, nothing was seized or broke, so that simplified matters.

Norm

 

Found a good site to get those hoses cheap. www.rockauto.com. $44.00 for all three shipped to me. Looks like I found next weeks project. Is there any special brake fluid for these things, or is it standard dot3? Thanks.

Bill

 

Is that a different price than from Ford.
Is Ford really that high

 

Hey Groundrat, can you give the product #?

 

These prices are for a 2000 model
2wd
Front Left Raybestos# BH381169 11.71
Front right Raybestos # BH381170 13,82
Rear Raybestos # BH381163 13.82