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I just replaced our rotors and pads on a first ever Excursion which was just bought used. Before buying it I did some searching on them and as every one here already knows warped rotors are a common thing.
When changing my pads I noticed that I had to beat the pads out with a hammer. I changed the front brakes on our neighbors Excursion as well and his pads were stuck like mine but not as bad.
So my theory is the pads are sticking and not floating causing extra heat on the rotor. How bad this is would depend on how bad the pad is sticking but it can't help.
I made sure all the metal pad contact points were clean and free from anything to insure the new pads would float freely. I bought the best stock rotors I could. They were $100 a piece. I would have bought slotted rotors but could not wait a week to get them because our Ex needed brakes and the wife is driving it.
Has any one else had their brake pads stuck like that? Maybe it's an Ohio (salt) thing?
It's not so much a matter of the "pads" being able to float from side to side as they wear, but more that the caliper is able to do so. If the pads were "stuck" to the calipers, I wouldn't worry so much.
The brake system on our trucks actually aren't capable of producing enough heat to cause the rotors to warp. But you are on the right track, its the calipers not moving freely.
A fellow X owner I talked with last month while my family toured Canada (no Eh jokes please) with our X rig had an interesting and plausible theory (cause and effect). His rotors had warped and have been subsequently replaced with OEM Ford rotors and after another 85K miles he's had no more problems with them whatsoever. He said a Ford mechanic showed him that the lug nuts on the Ford X's have a very specific torque setting and the factory is very careful ensuring this tolerance is met on all new factory X's. What is happening is X owners and/or tire shops are overtightening their lug nuts and putting undue differential strain on the rotors. Hot rotors and overtightened lug nuts are a bad combination especially when the rotor encounters a fast cooling event, such as when a tire goes through a puddle of water; hence, the subsequent warpage via cooling. Bottomline, keep the lug nuts within factory torque settings and no problems. I failed to ask him what that torque setting is....anyone know ? Could all be BS, but the statement he's driven another 85K on the OEM replaced rotors and he's paid close attention to the lug nut torque settings without ever seeing the same warped rotor problem again seems to be compelling...
By the way, we put on 8900 miles this last trip on our '00 V10 Xltd pulling an 8500 lb trailer on some very bad frost heaved roads, pot holes, gravel, steep and high altitude hills, plus six passengers to boot without any problems whatsoever - what an incredible and comfortable touring vehicle ! Only regret is not having a diesel for twice the mileage...
I wholeheartedly agree that improper torque is the #1 cause of warped rotors in these trucks.
One of my super-duper, premium Applied Rotor Technology (ART) rotors warped after an accident caused the front left wheel to need replaced. Soon after replacement (less than 100 miles) the pulsating was back...
Yep - you are right !
hot rotors and uneven or wrong torque is a killer !
do a search and we've been touting the EXACT and balanced torque for a while...
someone even went so far as to say EXACTLY 148 lbft is the proper torque...
and incremental application is just as important...
50 lbs in a star pattern... then
100 lbs in a star pattern... then
148 lbs in a star pattern
So on my truck, when the brakes start a slight pulsation, I just take everything apart, clean everything and re assemble. Part of what I do is inspect and repair things. The pads get repaired if they are wearing unevenly. I do this by using a belt sander and flatten them out. I know this takes some life out of them but being the cheapest part of the system, I dont mind. I'll knock all the loose rust off the rotors and all other parts. Sand or file any races, check boots and make sure everything moves as it should. While I have the rotors off, I'll take a few minutes and use the "Snowseeker Hub Zerk" as intended.
I'll do this about twice a year or more depending on how many towing miles I put in. I've heard many people talk about Ford or our trucks having horrible brakes but I disagree. they work fine if they are taken care of, like anything else.
Now having said this, this coming weekend is time for the fall brake jamboree on all 3 vehicles.
I just replaced the 4 flex lines, calipers and rotors....calipers, lines are originals from 2002 (!!!) and I was having bad pulsation. My rear rotors looked like the pads were barely making contact and generally the brakes were quite bad despite having changed master cylinder and brake booster, bled the system, changed rusted hard lines.
I used Motorcraft in front, Bosch in rear with Raybestos parking shoes
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alternative theory
