I took a look at my 99 manual. The spec is 1mm (.039") to replace or unusually wear/ contamination. So the thickness is ok but my experience that pad wears really quick at that thickness. Pads are cheap compared to rotors.

Also I'm no mechanic by trade so I go off of common sense. 1/4" on a pad to me should be replaced. My truck is a piece of equipment for me (plowing and pulling my mowers) if it breaks I don't make money. So I'm not risky with it.

 

Thanks! Now 1mm I would consider paper thin. I think that will put the argument to bed and end my involvement with this thread. Again, thanks for the actual number and not an opinion. Before the ASE's get butthurt, I would definitely change my pads before they ever got to that thin-ness and not endanger your kids, your mothers, or the general public. My whole point of posting this was to point out a mechanic that is a liar, not get into everyone's opinions.

One last thing - The 99-04 is basically the same truck. Please don't say that was a 99 manual and my truck is an 02. Take care.

 

In reality if the pads are as thin as the pads steel back it is time to replace the pads due to the thinner the pad the hotter the pads get, then the rotors get worped then people still complain.

 

General Specifications Item Specification
Brake Pads
Brake pad minimum thickness 3.0 mm (0.118 inch)
Brake pad maximum thickness variation (pad-to-pad) 2.0 mm (0.079 inch)
Brake pad maximum taper wear (in any direction) 3.0 mm (0.118 inch)
Brake Disc
Front brake disc minimum thickness 36.0 mm (1.41 inch)
Rear brake disc minimum thickness (F250 and F350) 28.0 mm (1.10 inch)
Rear brake disc minimum thickness (F450 and F550) 36.0 mm (1.41 inch)
Minimum thickness to machine front brake disc 36.6 mm (1.44 inch)
Minimum thickness to machine rear brake disc (F250 and F350) 28.6 mm (1.12 inch)
Minimum thickness to machine rear brake disc (F450 and F550) 36.6 mm (1.44 inch)

Taken from Ford TechService for a 02 F250. I am also ASE certified and I would start to reccomend pads if they looked .250" but would never say theyre required and paper thin unless they were less than .080" or the wear on the rotors was abnormal/uneven.

 

BUT it appears that you did listen to that mechanic after all ...even if you did the work yourself...

Many users here would have given you the spec's but you do not want to hear that, instead you choose to think ASE certification is meaningless , and we just back each other up for no reason.....let me tell you there are to many liabilities to ignore . You still do not get it. that is fine....cause after all you did replace your 1/4 inch thick brake pads .

BTW did you even turn your rotors? or even bother to measure them ? failure to do so just might result in hot spots developing cause you did not think to remove the glazing that has occurred ,or they are to thin to turn but you think they will be okay, till they explode at the worst possible time , like when you just have come down a long twisting down hill road several miles long and something jumps out in front of your truck, next you know , you hit the brakes hard, and the rotor splits in two ,leaving you un able to brake properly and then you hear a "thud" then feel a soft like "bump" . you finally stop and get out and look back and see something that just causes you to lose everything in your stomach,









its a little red bicycle , then next you spot your worst fear.....you hear the high pitch of a mother screaming at you saying "why did'nt you stop" as she leans over her child.....

but what do i know....I only belong to group that has taken the time to get certified by ASE so that we do the job only one way.....


Btw do you realize just how much of the population here on FTE is made up mechanic's ?

Btw I am still waiting for you to answer my questions..........

 

I'm the same with tires. Technically they are junk at 2/32", but I get nervous about them long before that. It scares me to see the tires some people continue to ride on.

Also, it is very difficult to anticipate how many miles are left on brakes. Brake wear is a function of stopping, not distance driven. I refuse to advise anyone on how much longer brakes will last. "But you said they would last 5000 miles, but then only went 2000 and I trashed my rotors" i can hear it now!

I've seen trucks with 80k or more on the original pads (go figure in 1 year of driving with those miles he never used the brakes!), and I've replaced properly functioning brakes with less than 20k.

However, they may not have technically been "paper thin" so I guess its a crime.

 

In defense of mechanics. If the man had not told you your brakes were paper thin and just put them on and said the heck with it and just did what you were paying for. then 2 weeks later your pad shears off and tears up your rotor and just maybe causes you to wreck your newly lifted truck. then who you gonna blame. your gonna go after the mechanic that had your wheels off last for not telling you your pads were crapped out. in his opinion they were paper thin.. maybe he is not such a bad dude after all....hmm

lets allow the proposition that maybe he figured your sinking this much money in a lift on this big bad ford that maybe you may be a little harder on the brakes than lets say grammy going to church this sunday. you know you have to think this way sometimes. Im sure they do.

Im not saying there are not oppurtunistic mechanics out there that figure heck he wont know how the pads looked once we put the new ones on. But lets not hang all the good fellas as well. IMHO

 

I have read through this bashing thread with great interest. I am a state certified vehicle inspector for West Virginia. The State has a guide book to use, but it is left up to the inspector. Any complaints you can take to a State Trooper, he will have you bring it back to my place or one of your choosing and the Trooper will inspect it. Then he will give you his opinion.

From the descriptions given on the pad thickness, I would fail it plain and simple with only one reason given. Idiot, you are stopping a four ton truck, not your mama's malibu. Live with it.

Also, I just checked my brakes. They are the originals and now at the the point of needing changing. Why, well 130K miles, 8 years old and the thickness has now gotten into the worry factor. Would they pass? Yes. Do I feel safe with them, Yes. But it is the same with tires, when halfway gone, it is replacement time. My safety along with my family is more important thatn some silly manual that states that 2mm is passing. BS!

 

Who actually measures the exact amount of pad left? The mech. gave you his OPINION. They were too thin in his OPINION.Why rip the guy a new a*****e ?? You tried a new mech. and you don't like his OPINION. Calling someone a LIAR is pretty strong. Go somewhere else and leave that shop alone. He probably will do just fine. NO I AM NOT A MECH.

 

"OK, check this out. I had trouble with a lift kit so I wimped out and took it to a shop in town, had never been there before. The guy tells me, "No problem, we'll finish the lift kit."



By the way, just cuz I'm curious, you started this thread with taking the truck to a shop to have a real mechanic finish the lift install that you wimped out on. How'd that work out? Did he do the job well? Were you satisfied with the result? Most importantly, was he true to his word about it?

You came on to bash a mechanic for trying to rip you off. I think what you heard was that he was right to suggest changing the brake pads even if his wording was exagerated. Were it me, I would have gone down to the shop and looked at them and then let him do it. Been time and money ahead to have it done while the truck was already off the ground and wheels removed. Heck, that's most of the work.

I'm glad you took his advice and changed the brakes. Be safe out there.

 

I think any mechanic is taught that brakes are a critical safety item an are inspected an tested to make sure they function as there supposed to. quarter inch is not much left off a brake IMO. Id say the mechanic puts a new set on or I will ASAP. No delays. The mechanic was doing his job making sure your vehicle is safe to drive. One time i lost my brakes. You have go throught that once to appreciate your breaks an its was all because off my carlesness. No more though. My brakes are priority one an I have them checked over at regular intervals. You got to realize your safety is in the hands off a mechanic an what they do. Like any profession there is a rotten apple in every barrell. But overall I think most mechanics are honest an trusting

 

I think this has been beaten to death

 

Let me say this, however....

 

Yes, it has, and sorry to stir it up again, but am I the only one here who thinks 1/4" is still a fair amount of brake left? That's almost twice the minimum given a few posts back (0.118", which sound plausible, as opposed to 0.039" which I read elsewhere in the thread). Seems like there might have been quite a few miles left on those pads, depending on driving habits and load carried.

The question of whether to change them or not might depend on whether you do your own maintenance. Since I change my own, I would have let them go a while longer, and kept checking them at every tire rotation (5k miles).

Also, are they bonded or riveted pads? They must be bonded if you can let them get down to 0.118". And how thick are these pads to begin with? Someone said an inch earlier, but I have a hard time believing that. Are these pads really an inch thick when they are new?

 

Nope I agree. On a customers car I would most likely let them know they will need service, but not immediatly, and document that on the repair order.
On my own truck, I would have checked back at the next oil change, or if I had a concern.

I will measure a new pad tomorrow, I do not believe they are any thicker than .600" new