just to add to the list. i found out that on my 89, the inner face of the front rotors tend to form rust pits after a few years. the outer face doesn't have a single problem with this... only the inside face. took the rotors to get machined, and the brakes work fine again. anyone else have this same issue?

 

As mentioned, even torquing of the lug nuts is important. The thinner the rotors get, the more vulnerable they are to warpage. I actually corrected a very slight "shakin when braking" problem by retorquing the lug nuts. It was slight, but I had to replace the rotors anyway a couple months later (wife likes to ride the brakes).

If retorquing cures the shake, plan on rotors soon.

 

That's about the biggest reason you torque every other lugnut, not in order.

 

get used to replacing rotors every 5 or 10 thou. miles. softer metal. same with gas prices. here to stay!

 

Actually, I think the problem lies in the insufficient rear brakes that forced the front brakes to work harder. Try readjusting the rear brakes when you do the front ones. The rear brakes seem to last forever, and that's only because they are not doing their job

 

Don't be cheap on the brand. Raybestos makes some great rotors for the Aerostar. They are made with better metals and use some good pads.

PS. You can't turn a Aerostar rotor. It's to thin to turn and leave anything left for cooling and braking.

 

I don't know why Aeros were equipped with drums in the rear in the first place studies show that disc brakes have more braking power are vented better and run cooler. Plus 70% of stopping power comes from the front brakes. Thats probably why those drums last forever compared to the discs.

I seriously think if all cars in North America were not required to have front disc brakes we'd be riding our Aeros with all drums right now .

<!--StartFragment -->Go drive an old car with 4-wheel drum brakes, make a few hard stops and then feel the brake pedal drop to the floor because the heat causes brake fade (due to the heat trapped in the drum), you'll understand the advantage of discs over drum.

Only advantage of drums is they're "self-energizing". In other words the rotation of the drum itself forces the brake shoe into the drum.

The only upside I see for Ford is, Drums are cheep, Shoes are cheep, being that they are used on the rear end, they last a long time.

Down sides, They dont recover from Fade as quick as a Disk, they are a bit more labor intensive to change shoes, Its tough to find a good high temp brake shoe...

While I've thought of converting my Aeros drums to discs because changing them once made me want to pour acid into my eyes I decided against it because I don't want to forget how to replace drums even if they are going the way of the dinosaur and the only thing you really gain from converting them is better thermal capacity. Stopping distances will pretty much remain the same. (Remember its the tires that are the primary contributor to stoping distances not the brakes them selves).

Discs are so much easier if this is your first brake job go for the discs first because drums are more labor intensive .

 

I concur with all who suggested warped or uneven rotors. The thing is, the rotors probably aren't bad, but will cause a vibration or "shudder" when braking. What causes this is uneven gripping of the calipers holding the disc brake pads, combined with heat. Over time, this will warp a rotor. To the naked eye, the rotor looks fine, but it's warping (even slightly) can be detected when measured. The clue was in your answer, saying you could feel it vibrate through the steering wheel. Which makes me think of another question to ask my fellow Aerostar owners: (which if you think this should be a new topic thread, by all means the first to comment can post it as a new topic) My question is: What is your general opinion(s) as the best front disc brake pad for the Aerostar? Brand name? Type of pad, ie hard or soft? Noise / Squeeks when braking? Wear rate, how many miles have you driven your Aerostar before you have had to replace your front pads? thanks everyone...Ed

 

i thought the rotors got warped when you do a stop from a high speed, and leave your foot on the brake through a stop light, or similar length of time.
I heard that the pads hold the extreme heat in one place on the rotor for too long and cause them to warp.

rotors just get warped, all cars with disk brakes have the issue. thats why when you go to a brake shop to have the brakes done they turn the rotors. but you can get em done at the local pafrts shop for 8-12 bucks per rotor. the parts store will tell you if they are thick enough to be turned, sometimes you just have to buy new rotors when they wear down too thin.

 

I originally posted this message and thanks to all the advise. I ended up buying some used rotors for eight bucks a piece and the problem is 95 percent better. Now if I could just keep my wife's heavy foot off the brakes! She admits she is always late for her appointments so drives a little? fast using the brakes to slow down from high speeds.

 

I re-read all of your posts, and noticed many of you already have given a lot of good, useful information here, so please disregard my recent "BOLD" question. Thank You. Ed

 

Well, the reason that the rear brakes don't do much is due to the shifting of the weight to the front under any significant braking. The height of the center of gravity relative to the instant center of the suspension creates significant weight transfer toward the front when braking. This is the reason that the rear end is where anti-lock braking is most effective on tall trucks or vans.

Given this situation, the bulk of the braking will be done by the front brakes, so they really do need to be very powerful.

 

Ah so technically the only time the rear brakes take the brunt of the braking action is if you were driving fast in reverse?

 

Years and years ago, I read about a crazy guy who drove in reverse from LA to NY or NY to LA or something like that. Must be the girl in the original "Exorcist" movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!