The E BRAKE ACCUATORS should be replaced or redrilled.. where the two peaces of the accuators meet !!!!! THE HOLES ARE TO SMALL.........

 

like most things metal, they corrode. use the e-brake every day. it's a good practice to use it every time you park (manual or auto transmission). I've used my e-brake since day one and never had a problem.

my guess is that the corrossion can only lightly form and the constant use ensures that it doesn't accumulate.

what do they use to prevent the sticking? axle grease or something of that nature?

 

After some "wonderful" dealings with the dealership, I finally found out what they did to my truck . . .

They said the brakes were fine, so they had it road force balanced, and claim that fixed the problem.

So far, the death shake hasn't come back, so I guess it was out of balance.

 

My '05 FX4 had been doing the death shake thing for about 2 weeks, and it all came to a head this weekend with the wife in truck. She insisted that I take the truck in because it felt like we were loosing a wheel. My truck has 50k on it and I use the E brake religiously because that is how I was taught to drive. I don't remember ever leaving it engaged on accident. You could drive it for about 10 or 15 miles and it would start shaking like a dog passin' a peach seed! I first noticed the "hot brake" smell about a week ago, but this weekend, I could literally feel the heat coming off the left rear.

Which brings us to today...Took it to the dealer this morning and explained all of this. One of the techs took it for a spin and came back white as a sheet. He put an infrared temperature sensor on the left rear and low and behold...340 degreees Farh. The other wheels registered about 120 degrees.

Explanation- E brake was stuck causing enormous amount of friction and heat build up. This amount of heat resulted in the warping of the rotor, hence the shaking after about 10 miles. The dealer is in the process of replacing the rotor, shoes, e brake assembly, and bearing seals. They said they may have to change the bearings as well.

Overheard another angry F150 owner in the waiting room talking to a dealer about the same problem. However, he had already gone through replacing the disk brakes, the tires, and now he was in the dealership to have them check the transmission. I told him my story, and they discovered he had the same problem. His truck had 61k on it. Unfortunately for him, he had no warranty...OUCH !

Do any of you know how to report this problem to Ford so that a recall can be instituted (or at least a TSB)...or does the dealership handle it?

 

Got my truck back yesterday. All is good. They basically had to replace everything relating to the rear hub. Everything got too hot and either melted or was burnt up in some way.

The dealer said that Ford was issueing a TSB to have the E brake accuator replaced...but no word on a recall yet.

I had an extended warranty, but the job would have cost $950.96. This one job just paid for my extended warranty...