I recently purchased a 2002 F350 7.3 CC LB SRW with 105k miles. I noticed that in certain braking conditions there is a bouncing / vibration that occurs in the front end. It seems to be at it's worse when I brake lightly at 20-30mph. If I brake hard at any speed it is more of a vibration. After searching the forum I see that factory brakes last beyond the 100k mark and I also see that warped rotors can occur. I have read contradicting posts about whether or not the rotors can be turned.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

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Any thoughts on what might be causing this and the appropriate measures to correct it?

 

your rotors are probably warped. if they are over a certain thickness, you can have them machined. do you have calipers? go out and measure the thickness of the rotor at the braking surface, three or four times around the rotor. come back with the results. i can look to see the minimium thickness for machining.

 

It is possible that the brake caliper pins may be sticking. How worn are you brakes?

 

I will get that info and post later. Thanks..

unrelated: anyone know why my signature is not visible?

 

If you want you signature attached to you post, you need to become a supporter. I think everyone that has benifited or plans to benifit from the site should join. Check it out.

 

Ditto - Check the caliper slide pins 1st. Sticking/Stuck pins are a very common occurance.

DG

 

Your signature is working.. just put your mouse cursor on the word signature and it will show you your signature.. You don't have to be a supporter to have signature but it is a great forum and you can learn alot.. so i would suggest joining..

 

Turning the rotors will most likely make them warp again faster - if the rotors are the problem. A real fix is replace them with something like the Powerslot/Hawk combo that is a lot more resistant to warping. I just put Powerslots and Hawk pads on the front of my truck because the stock ones were warped all to hang - and they are awesome - truck stops WAY BETTER!!!

Powerslot also now has the "cryoed" rotors that are even MORE warp resistant

 

My two cents worth on warped rotors that they are caused by driving habits.. Granted there are inferior rotors on the market. But if you have hot brakes rotors and you come to a stop and just sit there with your foot on the brake pedal, it will transfer all that built up heat into just one portion of your rotor.. That one area will then wear differently and you will get warpage..A person should stop just short of the stoplight and creep forward afew rotations of the wheels.. thus transferring the heat to the entire rotor.. This is really important if you are towing or hauling heavy loads.

 

I have read that too - as well as uncorrectly torqued lug nuts being a cause as well...

BUT - I have done the "drifting stop" thing since mile #1 on my truck - it's just my style of driving, and I ALWAYS use a torque wrench on my lugs, and I really don't tow that much, and my rotors were noticably warped at 20,000 miles!

On the other side - my Dad consistently jumps on his brakes at the last possible second and comes to complete fast stops, tows a trailer a LOT more than me, and uses an air gun on his lug nuts - but... no warpage on his truck??? Now he DID go through front and rear brakes in 50,000 miles though...

 

If you want your signature to show up at the bottom of your post you have to become a supporter for the very affordable sum of $15.99 per year. Check it out, you get a lot more perks than just that, plus you can give back a little to this forum that has save untold millions of $$$ in service charges to the dealership. That has to be worth something.

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I am ready to jack it up and I will mic the rotors and check the slide pins. I had already priced the powerslot rotors and hawk pads from Dave at importperformance.com. He gave me a discount for being a forum member. It wasnt bad $6xx.00

 

Duke,

FTE member Guzzle's VERY detailed procedure for doing the slide pins are here:
http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/cu.html

In addition, ss Guzz notes, Ford has a slide pin update kit you can install, too.

Pop

 

Nice, you gotta love this place! (FTE)

 

Well I finally got my parts and did the job. I followed Guzz's notes to the "T" with a few of my own twists. I used a technique to clean the slide pin bores that I used when I was a kid and bored and polished intake manifolds on mopeds (that did 70mph). With a 1/4" drill bit on a cordless drill I applied some strands of fine steel whole while it was spinning. This will give you a great polishing tool that will get the job done is seconds. Be careful, as it will take it quick. I also used permatex anit-seize lubricant as opposed to silicone lube. Other than that, the post was of great assistance and I am very thankful to Guzz for taking the time to post that complete with photos.

Once everything was apart I saw the pads were down to nothing and one had a small crack in the surface. (no rivets yet). So off to the parts store for pads. Unfortunately I did not have time to get the rotors turned. They seem to have plenty of life in them and I feel that there might be some warping. Needless to say 30 min later I was test driving the truck. The bad news is the vibration is still there BUT not nearly as bad. I suppose it was a combination of things. I am going to drive it a while and see how things progress. I will probably do the powerslot / hawk pads all the way around in a month or so. cha-ching!!!!!

I will post agan when I have fixed the problem.