hey everyone...i have an issue with my brakes.. i felt them rubbing up front so i broke down the front tires, and i seen that i needed BOTH calipers!!! the passenger side seemed fine except for 1 frozen slider! probly a known issue, pads had about 1/4 life left but one of the pistons on the caliper had a torn boot and was leaking fluid, on the left side, the outer pad had again about 1/4 life but the inner pad was shot, the sliders were ok on this side but again, one piston had a torn boot and was leaking fluid. so i went and bought a good set of pads, remanufactured ford calipers (which came with the mounting bracket and sliders) and had the front rotors turned. bled the system and took her for a ride, the brakes feel good but when i hit the brakes i feel a rumble, almost like your going over those rips on the side of the highways... could it be the rear brakes??? or possible the front rotors not turned right?? mind you i only had them turned to make for a good brake job, they were not warped.. could it be doing this cause of a faulty bleed job?? i am guessing it might be the rear brakes, but what are the odds they all give me trouble at the same time!!! i can go and break down the rear but its like 100 degrees here ( in RI ) do id much rather kick back, and
and see what you all think????

 

Many things can cause this.

How did you bed in your brakes?

 

by bed you mean bleed???

 

No. By bed-in I mean to use the brakes in such a manner to allow the two surfaces (pad & rotor) to "mesh".

 

oh, well it was doing this immediatly after install... i am thinking eaither they didnt cut the rotors correctly... or is it possible not bleading them correctly canmake it have this vibration??? it is not warped... its not as severe as warped rotors, but the thing is the rotors were not warped before, theonly reason i cut the is i was doing new calipers, and new pads so i figured cut the rotors... do you think air in the break system could cause this issue??? also i called the shop who cut the rotors said maybe i have to run them a few hundred miles to work out the rotors?? is this true? i thought when the rotors are cut they are nice and straight???

 

Read this entire article. StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades

Here's the excerpt for proper break-in. Try this first and see if it evens things out. Let me know how it turns (no pun intended) out.

There is only one way to prevent this sort of thing - following proper break in procedures for both pad and disc and use the correct pad for your driving style and conditions. All high performance after market discs and pads should come with both installation and break in instructions. The procedures are very similar between manufacturers. With respect to the pads, the bonding resins must be burned off relatively slowly to avoid both fade and uneven deposits. The procedure is several stops of increasing severity with a brief cooling period between them. After the last stop, the system should be allowed to cool to ambient temperature. Typically, a series of ten increasingly hard stops from 60mph to 5 mph with normal acceleration in between should get the job done for a high performance street pad. During pad or disc break-in, do not come to a complete stop, so plan where and when you do this procedure with care and concern for yourself and the safety of others. If you come to a complete stop before the break-in process is completed there is the chance for non-uniform pad material transfer or pad imprinting to take place and the results will be what the whole process is trying to avoid. Game over.

In terms of stop severity, an ABS active stop would typically be around 0.9 G’s and above, depending on the vehicle. What you want to do is stop at a rate around 0.7

to 0.9 G's. That is a deceleration rate near but below lock up or ABS intervention. You should begin to smell pads at the 5th to 7th stop and the smell should diminish before the last stop. A powdery gray area will become visible on the edge of the pad (actually the edge of the friction material in contact with the disc - not the backing plate) where the paint and resins of the pad are burning off. When the gray area on the edges of the pads are about 1/8" deep, the pad is bedded.

 

ok,i put new rotors and still have the shaking at hard brakeing, i went to the tire shop to see if one of the front wheels was off balance, they werent, could it be lower ball joints doing this?????

 

Yes! Bad ball joints will give the vibration you're describing.

Are you familiar with how to check them?

 

no!, PLEASE do tell me i should be putting a frown face but i am happy to have found the problem!!!

 

Lift the front wheel(s) off the ground at least 6+ inches.

You can do one at a time or both. Just make sure you use jack stands. If you have a floor jack this makes the job much easier. It's a "must have" for the DIY Excursion owner.

Use long 2x4, metal bar or whatever and put one end about midway under the wheel.

Lift the other end so that the bar/wood/whatever attempts to lift the wheel. (This is why you don't use the jack in the back of your truck. )

If the ball joint is bad then you'll feel/see play. Some even click.

You can also grasp the top of the wheel with your hands and pull it towards you. This checks your uppers.

 

Does your steering wheel move or vibrate when you brake? If so, describe the movement or vibration.

BTW, did you see that recent post of the new guy who bought that black Excursion with the Teflon wheels, the huge lift, roof basket w/lights etc. etc.?

His is a Limited like yours but with the cladding removed...just in case you wanted to see what it looks removed.

 

when i hard brake i feel the front end vibrate, id have to say side to side, i know when i got my tires probly around december they told me my lower ball joint were "going" and i know for the last couple months i was hearing the creaking when i turn the X, you know the old creaky door sound, i believe that is a sure sign of the lower ball joints going aswell, now the vibrating. the thing that threw me off in the first place is the brakes went at the exact time the vibrating started so i naturally thought it was the rotors! but that is now definetly ruled out due to the fact that the rotors, calipers, and pads are all new in the front!! im realy suspecting the lower ball joints, i will try what you said tomorrow though

 

I FINALLY GOT SOME TIME TO GET UNDER THERE AND FIGURE IT OUT!!!! i have been so busy, ( and i wasnt drivin the X due to nonsense gas prices) but i took her out today and the issue WAS INSANLY BAD!! so i laid under her and i was lookin around, i noticed the left suspension bumper was missing, (i know thats no biggie but i did notice it ) and the ball joints looked fine, then i notices the inner tierod at the pitman are was shot out, so i grabed the tierod and it freely moved and makes the clunking sound i was heering!!! i know this MUST be the vibration, and the reason the truck feels like its all over the place, i found the parts for under 100 at advance with a lifetime warranty so i am going to tackle this hopefully tomarrow, i just hope that it also solves the creaking sound i sometimes hear when steering!!!!

 

Did you fix your truck?

 

Word to the wise:
When you replace the tie rods have the front end aligned.