I have noticed the brakes on my SD pretty much suck.

Having driven many other vehicles, one is a 2005 2500HD chevy with 105K towing miles on it, with original brakes and it has very good brakes.

I replaced the pads all the way around mine about 10K ago, because I thought that was causing my problem. I have to put the pedal really far down to get any amount of brake force.

I thought maybe it was just how these trucks were, but I test drove a Diesel SD the other day and the pedal on it only moved about an inch and I had full on brakes, much harder than my truck has EVER stopped.

What am I missing here?

2002 F-250, 4x4
67,500K

 

Have them inspected. My 05 brakes great, but I think that mine are a little bigger than yours. But when I had an 03, it braked great too. I have driven some chevys and dodges and I never felt like they were any better than mine. In fact my sisters suburban stops like a train compared to my SD's.

 

You need to make sure that the caliper slides are all free and the calipers themselves look to be in good shape. Also may want to make sure the pads are seated properly. I've had good luck on some vehicles scuffing the pads and rotors after initial break in when there was a complaint of brake feel.

Is this a new problem, or was it better before? If the pedal is really going down a ways, may need to look into other things. Is it going down under moderate pressure, or when you really stand on it just to get the thing stopped? Try and give a little more detail and I'll try and offer more/better suggestions.

Chris

 

Well the pedal feels normal, meaning it's not spongy, but it does travel farther than I think it should to stop the truck.. It is a problem I've had since I got it with 46K on it.

But if I was to compare it to the Diesel I drove I would have to say it is VERY spongy. The diesel had awesome brakes.

It is like I have to push the pedal down about 2-3" before I really get any major stopping power at all.

 

Your comparing apples to oranges with the diesel. The diesel uses a hydroboost system that runs off the power steering pump. A gasser uses a vacuum booster. I'd check for air in the lines(bleed them), vacuum leak or a bad booster.

 

You could always covert your vacuum booster system to the same hydroboost system found on the diesels. I'm not sure what your piston size is in the master cylinder on the vacuum boosted system, but it is 1-3/8 inches on the diesel (I just changed out my MC this weekend, and did a lot of research before deciding to buy a brand new MC from Y2K Ford Parts - site sponsor - who was great to work with and much cheaper than other Ford part sources). Might have to replace the power steering pump as well, but it should all bolt up pretty nicely, I would think.

 

When is the last time you flushed your brake fluid? Brake fluid is hydroscopic meaning that it will absorb moisture. Start by suctioning off as much as you can in the resivoir and re-filling with clean fluid. Then bleed your brakes until you see clear fluid starting with the passenger rear, then drivers rear, then passenger front and then drivers front. I would lay money on the fact that your brakes will feel better with new brake fluid.

 

My 2003 with over 82000 brakes great. In fact, I'm also driving my Dad's 2006 Chevy HD, and HIS are like what you are describing. I have to push his way down in order to get them to really "catch". Mine only seem to go half as far. You may have some other underlying problems as others have indicated.

 

Jspafford,

Agree with others that if your calipers/system is mechanically sound then you should try fully bleeding your brake system to purge all old brake fluid.

Also, what brake pads did you use and what is their friction coefficient and over what operating temperature? Brake pad material differs quite a bit in how much grip it has, and to some extent the temperature of the pad.

If you lookup, say, a Ferodo DS3000 you should note the high .62 coefficient over a smooth temp range. Look at other pad material and see how things change. All brake pad material is not created equal.

FYI: In one street/track car i had to use DS1000 front and DS3000 rear as i wanted to avoid using a MC brake balance system after upgrading only the front calipers/rotors.

Will avoid the solid vs slotted vs drilled rotors discussion as am sure your truck uses solid rotors.

 

Don't want to open that can of worms?

 

(Said in humor, like an angry dad) Now son, don't make me come in there! LOL

Ok, i'll bite. Drilled rotors for the street are for poseurs in general Ok, so there are exception being to truly reduce rotating mass for racing BUT then you lose brake pad grip area so suffer reduced braking ability. Also, drilled have a nasty way of playing 'conect the dots' and trust me, you don't want to know what happens to cars when the drilled rotors shatter and lock up one side of the rear wheels at the track and/or take out or bend a brake caliper in the process). Suffice to say it is U-G-L-Y.

Slotted, good way to go to keep pads clean. The 'myth' of pads needing outgassing is basically BS though slots do seem to keep thing clean and help water evacuate a bit for guys who drive/race their cars in the heavy rain (read: not NASCAR).

Solid: Good way to go, complete area for pads to grab. It is rare that solid rotors show signs of cracking, but i have seen it on those cheap $35 aftermarket Corvette rotors the track guys buy at ??? But hey, for $35 they are total throw away items every weekend at that cheap price.

Note that i am talking about metal rotors, no cheating and bringing up CF or other exotic materials/mixtures (you got that MrCMK bub LOL). If you have to ask what a complete CF brake system costs due to financial/budget concerns, you probably don't want to consider CF. The last guy i knew that changed CF rotors before a track event was $22k lighter in his bank account.

 

04 F250 SC 2WD--my stock brakes have always been great even with 105K miles on the clock. It's been to the track several times, high speed stops lots of times, and still have more than adequate pad left. I guarantee you they'd outstop my 93 Chevy. No slots??? Interesting. My factory rotors are starting to heat check/crack so they're history. No turning, even though they're in spec. Any particular brand better than another?

 

my 01 f-250 sd had the same problem with a lot of pedal travel. turned out to be a seized slider. one brake pad was worn quite a ways and had to travel 1/2 the piston to reach the rotor. I would definitely check that first.

 

You know your stuff. I thought you were going to be like many people who think that the more expensive slotted/drilled rotors are better because they are more expensive. The solid rotors will provide more surface area for pads to bite as well as more surface area for cooling. Slotted/drilled rotors also have a tendency to eat brakes pads more often.

I'm a huge fan of the brembo blanks. You can get them from tirerack and they are usually the same price as the ones you get from the auto parts store.

The Cobra brake kit I put on my 'Stang came with the cobra twin-pot calipers, pads, brembo blanks and stainless lines. The thing stops on a dime and will give change.

So, about those CF systems...

And I repped you for the good info

 

99'-04' SD have smaller brakes than the 05up SDs do so obviously larger brakes will stop better.

Most shops don't completly flush the fluid in the brake system and add new. (Just top the resivoir off) Like misterCMK said brake fluid attracts water just like alcohol.

My dad put Slotted Cryos and Hawk SD pads on the front of his 03' and they stop better than the stockers once they warm up.