I have a 2003 ford f-350 dually.I am having big brakes problems that i cant seem to find the problems to.I installed new brake pads and had the rotors refinished,brakes started to pulsate about a week later.Took the rotor off again,had them refinished again,this time with in 2 days they were pulsating again.OK,now i gave up and went out to buy new rotors,thinking that the old rotors got to hot and they were weakend.So i installed the new rotors on saturday and went to work on monday.Well on my way home monday night the new rotors started to pulsate again,with only 160 miles on them.I took the wheel off to look at the rotors they were blue and purple,now i know they are getting hot,but the problem is that i cant figure out what the problem is.I have checked my spindel bearings,there good.I checked the brake oil,no air and no water in the lines.
Now i am at a lose,cause i have no clue what else it could be.
If any one had this problem and knows how to solve it please help me.The next step would be to replace the calipers,but i wanted to know what u guys thought first.
Thanks

 

Well you should do a search on here ! Brakes are a weak link for our trucks
Your caliper slide bolts are either loose(worn) or dirty an need lubed or both.
This will cause them to not retract from the rotor
Which is a common problem.
Beaware that your rotors are good for 1 turning.
Alot of us are now using ART Technology rotors.

Rich

 

Very important: How many MILES on the truck?

It's likely a caliper is hanging up in one of three ways, two of which FortyFords pointed out: Worn guide pins, they have steps in them, and the caliper can **** and lock. Not enough lube on the guide pins, same idea. However, the caliper piston(s) themselves may be stuck in the caliper housing.

Mileage is a funny thing with brakes - my wife's '97 Cougar needed new calipers in the rear at only 12K miles... but that was at 7 years old. On the other hand, something with 100K hard miles could have the calipers locking up too.

Check if the rotor is blue on only one side, or on both. IF on both, chances are it's the caliper. If only on the outside, that's the guide pins sticking.

If you can arrange it, take the caliper off, leaving the hose attached. Using a c-clamp and the piston-side brake pad, compress the pistons a little. Back off slightly, and have someone push the brake LIGHTLY, it should snug up against the c-clamp. Have them let off the brake, and if the c-clamp comes slightly loose (like just before the brake was pressed), the caliper is OK. The fact that the c-clamp goes back to it's original tension means the caliper is backing off enough. If the c-clamp stays totally locked in, the caliper is bad.

Does that make sense? It's late...

 

thank u for the info on how to check my calipers,yes it does make sense.

 

Kerwat,

That is a great way to check the calipers. I have been working on brakes for years now and I have never even thought to do it that way... Thanks for a new way to do things.... LOL

 

We do have smileys, you know... LOL!

 

My brother said something one day to me, as I scratched my head and tried to figure out why my '77 Triumph TR7 kept eating front brake pads, to the tune of once every 2-3K miles! I mean, those brakes aren't great to begin with, but they should at least last 5-6K

He said - "Maybe the seals are bad, and they aren't retracting the pistons. The seals are shaped to pull the piston back slightly when the pressure releases".

Well, I went and rebuilt the darn things, and bled them with c-clamps on them, and the darn c-clamps kept falling off. I said "hey, that's what he meant".

Then, I had an '82 LTD wagon that kept burning up the left rotor. I tried the c-clamp method on both sides, and the one that stuck just locked up the c-clamp so I couldn't even unscrew it by hand. I bent the handle on that c-clamp that day

 

I just realized the TR7 has opposing piston (two opposing pistons) calipers, there's no way to get a C-clap on them...

Musta been a different car, now I have to remember which one... Anyway, my brother's comments about the TR7 were correct for that car... rebuilding the calipers worked (not for the faint of heart - I tell ya).

art k.

 

Make sure that you are buying the superduty brakes from the dealer. I usually don't buy OE parts because I always seem to think that after market is always better but in the case of the factory brakes I can't complain. I have 44,000 miles on my truck and tow on a regular basis and still have plenty of brake pad left and no pulling or pulsating.

 

i put new calipers,pads and changed out the brake oil.No more brake pulsating,works great now.

 

One thing I ran across on a Chevy - left front rotor kept locking up - would actually start smoking at times - changed pads, made sure caliper was free, finally changed caliper, all no help. Finally changed the flex brake line to the caliper - problem solved. Seems that sometimes the inner lining gets soft and can actually prevent caliper piston from returning when pedal released. Sounds wierd, but thats what it was.

 

For you brake experts I found if you go with larger loads or tires braided brake lines help with brake fade. Just my two cents.

 

Welcome El Gato It is good to see another New Mexican here!

 

I can almost bet you it is the pins. Read my post from several weeks back and no problems since.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=386041

 

many people/shops fail to clean and lube the pins or inspect the calipers to be sure they are free. the above poster has also brought up a little known subject, bad brakes hoses it truly happens . the inside breaks down and blocks the return of fuild to the master cylinder.