Ok so really Quick in the past year I have,
Blown Clutch Replaced<O</O
Blown Motor Replaced<O</O
Blown Rear Carrier Replaced entire Rear Axle<O</O
Bad Lower Ball Joints Replaced<O</O
Bad Controller Arms Replaced<O</O
Blown CV Axle Replaced<O</O
4 days later Blown CV Axle Same side replaced<O</O
Replaced Inner and outer Tie Rods<O</O
Replaced Idler Arms<O</O
<O</O

Ok so I have been through the ringer with this one. This does not include the 6 COP's, and minor maintenance stuff ie Plugs, K&N Intake, Hi Flow Exhaust and stuff...
Now I would like to say thank you to the forum. On just about everything I have worked on I have asked for advice on here. I would never have thought I would have been able to tackle most of the above. I am a phone guy by trade not a mechanic so enough said about that.
Now my issue is my breaks. Please guys one last time tell me what in the world could be going on.
Both my front breaks are getting super hot. After I did the Tie rods, Controller arms, ball joints, new tires and wheels, and alignment, the breaks get super super hot. I can touch the center hub covers for about 2 seconds before they get too hot to keep my hand on them. I have taken the breaks apart and made sure that they are clean and that the caliber is not sticking. I have no clue.
Oh my bad
2000 F-150 XL 4x4 SCAB, StyleSide, 4.6L, No ABS FRONT

 

only theory I have is that the rear breaks are not working properly which is putting too much of a load on the front breaks, but when I installed the new rear axle I made sure they were working and bled them good. That was about three months ago. Breaks didnt start getting hot until about a week and a half ago, after the above mentioned upgrade/replacements. If my alignment is off would that cause the heat on the breaks? Not sure if the alignment is on cause the truck pulls to the left at highway speeds.

 

and you are 100% positive the brake calipers are not sticking? and an alignment issue should not have any bearing on your braking issue you are having.

 

well not really sure how to check if they are. I have taken them apart and the pistons press in fairly easily.

 

I've got to go with Shawn and say it is likely the calipers sticking. The heat has to be coming from too much friction, and the friction is caused by the pad against the rotor, which traces you back to the caliper. Since you are in Florida, with lots of flat places to drive, can you take it somewhere flat, make sure everything is cool and then drive it a bit without using the brakes much at all. Then get out and check... if hot it would have to be sticky calipers.

 

did that yesterday and both sides are hot

 

I tend to want to agree with the sticking theory, however everything was fine until I worked on the front end. Now there is this issue. I even had to take it to a shop for the first CV axle so I know that everything is put back together correctly. If it werent for that I would be willing to say I put something back together wrong but the shop did the latest work on the driver side.

 

Had the same problem, except mine was more on one side, which made my truck pull hard to one side, and it turned out to be bad calipers. Another way would be to put your truck on a slight incline and put it in neutral to see if it rolls or not. One piece of advice though, if your rotors get really hot, wait until they cool naturally, don't spray water on them it could cause them to warp.

 

Don't assume that shops put things together correctly. most here in Florida hire guys who didn't do too well n high school as it is - my experience is that they do their best to put things back exactly as they found them ... correct or not ... because they don't know what they're doing.

Did you take the front rotors off at any point of your last mechanical work?

Do you have any kinks or low spots on your brake lines when the calipers ('caliber' is for firearms) are installed?

Without taking mine apart again, I can't remember too well, but I believe it would be pretty tough to get the brake pad placement messed up - but still, if you're having that much heat, constantly, take the calipers up and pull the pads to see if a specific side is wearing faster than the other.

 

I dont didnt notice anthing like that yesterday when I had them apart yesterday. It is normally the pass side that is getting really hot but the last few times I have checked them both sides were hot. what are the odds that both went bad at the same time...

 

Sorry, but whenever "breaks get super super hot" for no apparent reason it usually means they need to be rebuilt. The tests recommended should isolate your problem. To repeat: drive for awhile in an uncongested area & roll to a stop w/o touching the brakes-then check to see if they're hot. They should be cool. Also coast to a stop on a flat road w/o touching brakes & feel for any binding or wobbling/pulsing. If your brakes get hot w/o being applied & are dragging they will already be hot before you need to use them & will be subjected to overheating when you do. This can warp rotors & toast seals.

I worry when anyone mispells "breaks" & "calibers" & does major brake work. Bleeding brakes is almost an art form & gives countless 'shade tree mechanics' headaches. Small amounts of air trapped in brake lines act like springs & maintain pressure when all pressure should be relieved. How did you bleed your brakes? When you found the "pistons press in fairly easily" did you force the old fluid back into the master cylinder, or purge it thru the bleeder screw?

Calipers can stick in their yokes & pistons stick in their cylinders. Age & old brake fluid can cause flex brake hoses to swell inside, preventing fluid from returning to MC. Even sloppy wheel bearings can cause friction.

 

Sorry about the spelling, I was trying to post too fast I guess and didnt proof read my work before posting. However I did use a spell check tool. As I said before I am not an english professor nor have I ever claimed to be an auto professional. I am a broke phone guy who needs a vehicle to run so that I can make ends meet.

As to answer your questions, I used a small press to push the fluid out of the caliper. Probably not the right way but that is the way my dad taught me years ago and have never had any issues when doing routine maintaince. When I bleed the rear breaks I had a buddy help me press down on break, open bleeder til fluid, close bleeder, release break so forth and so on working my way from the pass rear to the driver rear. I did not bleed the front brakes. As I said before I know that I am not a certified mechanic and if I am in the wrong forum becuase I use the wrong words or misspell something maybe the moderators should add that to the disclaimer. Club Wagon you sure know how to make someone feel stupid when they are just asking for help.

 

You need to bleed those front brakes. The air inside them, if there is any, expands much faster than does brake fluid, thus your brake lines may end up with brake pressure once you use them even once due to the heat the air is subjected to.

But I sorta of agree - if you're asking for help, and expect us to read through your paragraphs to help you, asking us to ALSO try to figure out what you mean is akin to askng us to just skip your thread. We're here to help people because we lke to do it - we aren't here, being paid by the hour, to make the customer always feel as if they are right. Making anyone work harder to help you, for free, needs to be corrected on your part - not ours. All we're asking for is, now that you know, you spell the words correctly. By and large your paragraphs (i.e. descriptions) are clear enough, so you're already off to a good start.

 

I checked the driver side today, The pistons have the rubber boot around them, well I should say had the rubber boot around them. I know that I am needing to replace them but would you think that this could be part of my issue? Bear in mind that the majority of the issue is on the other side.

 

its really hard to say though man. but with your brakes getting that hot, you have probably scortched or warped your brake rotors, and caused damage to your calipers. not only that but if equiped with ABS letting that ABS unit go dry is a very bad idea.

my money is still on the brake calipers though. if you plan on replacing the calipers or rebuilding them, i would probably go ahead an buy new rotors while you are at it.