1996 4.0 Aerostar EXT, 110,000 miles
I seem to have a problem with the front disc brakes wearing a lot faster than the rear drum brakes. I realize that the front carries more load than the rear, but I pulled the rear drums at about 80k miles and they were still good. However, I go thru front pads every 20-25k miles. I just went thru a set at 110,000. It makes me think that the rear brakes aren't grabbing like they should. I tried tightening the star wheel to get them to engage better but I don't think it helped. Has anyone had this experience and how did you solve it? I wonder if the shoes look good but are really glazed over to the point where they don't grab. I think I may need to do a rework on the rear brakes (turn the drums, replace the shoes) even though they look OK.

 

Ford brakes are not the best in the world. What brand of pads are you putting on the front. And how are your rotors?

As for the rear shoes, if they are glazed, replace them. Shoes are cheap. I would also check out the runout on the drums.

 

Seized rear wheel cylinders can also cause the problem. If they aren't working properly then the front brakes will do more of the work than they should.

 

We had that problem with Raybestos sp? pads on our van - stopped using them and switched back to Ford - I think bendex are best - but haven't used them yet.

Realize this is a very heavy van, and will go through brakes quicker than cars - I get about 80+k on front pads on my Soob - but my dad's old Caravan gets only 10k out of his (and I brake harder!!) - 20-25k does not sound too bad to me - but I would still check it.

 

Premature pad wear is usually due to the pads sticking on the caliper slides and not fully retracting when the brake pedal is released. If you are due for another set, be sure to wire brush both the caliper slide rails, the retaining pins and the matching recesses on the calipers themselves. Use a brake lubricant during assembly and you will be pleasantly surprised at the results. The rear shoes on these vans are often out of adjustment despite have "self-adjusting" brakes. When the rear shoes are out of adjustment, you will notice a softer feeling brake pedal rather than the "hard" feel common to a properly adjusted system.

 

Is there a way to manually adjust them?

 

93AeroAB,
Yes, you adjust them just like other drum brakes, the exception being you have to use two tools simultaneously - one to move the little self adjuster bracket away from the adjuster star wheel - the other a standard adjuster wrench to move the star wheel. All the while operating through a 1/4 inch x 1 inch keyhole slot in the rear backing plate. Because this is a difficult stunt to perform, most people (myself included) simply wind up forcing the adjuster past the self adjuster bracket. The bracket is thin sheet metal which quickly gets a groove worn in it by the notches on the star wheel. This renders the self adjusting mechanism inoperative from that point on, which is why most Aerostar rear brakes are not in adjustment to begin with. If you have never adjusted rear brakes before, its not a terribly difficult feat to do but the first time takes some patience to master the process. A good repair manual will help but you will find like most repair manual guidelines, what appears simple in theory is a lot harder in practice.

 

Thanks for the info. I had been using cheap Lifetime warranty pads with metal impregnation. I fired them and started using OEM pads, or least buying them from Motorcraft. (Motorcraft aftermarket may not be what you get on a brand new car, but they still run $54.) The Lifetime pads wear the rotor tremendously. I had also been tightening the lugs way too much. I got a torque wrench to do the upper control arm bushing job and have since used it on lug nuts. I was 1.5-2x tighter than I should have been. Anyway, while pulling the UCB I saw that the pads were down to the rivets. Rotors were grooved, so I bought a set of Valuecraft rotors for $25 each against the Motorcraft pads, and the rims have been torqued. I did clean up the slide pins and I put a thin coat of nickel "never-seize" on the surfaces. Now I wish I had put a heavy coat! Anyway thanks for the help. I want to pull the rear and look at the brakes.