Initially when I start driving, the brakes work just find. But it seems as I use the brakes, the front brakes build up pressure and slowly start to lock up. They don't lock up completely, but they do cause a significant amount of drag. The rotor, calipers, rubber hoses and master cylinder are all very new. I'm thinking maybe the issue is with the master cylinder and am considering going to get one along with a brake booster(since it doesn't have one currently). What do you guys think, I could use so help here.

Thanks,

Mike

 

Are the calipers new or rebuilt? I have installed rebuilt calipers and then had to change one again as it would not release like it should have. unfortunately neither new or rebuilt is a gaurantee of a perfectly working piece anymore..

 

honestly don't know, they were replaced prior to me buying the truck. maybe i could drive around untill they start locking up again and then crack lines at master cylinder. if they release then its gotta be the master cylinder, otherwise it's something after (brake diifferential valve, lines, calipers). If I can just solve this issue, I will have a truck in great shape, that runs well, with under 2k invested (purchase price, tune-up and some repair parts).

 

Hello there,

When you get it all squared away could you post back what the problem was? i have an f250 with similar issues and would be curious to see what your issue was.

Thanks, Krc002

 

I had a simalar problem with a Jeep and a mechanic friend told me when this happens to jack it up and crack the brake bleeder screw. If that release the brake the problem is the brake hose is collapsing if not it is the caliper.

Hope this helps,
Paul

 

Will definantly check out the hoses. Will post when I get this figured out.

 

As it turns out, the brake light switch that the pedal rests against was adjusted improperly. It wasn't allowing the pedal to come far enough out from the floor board. Truck brakes perfectly now.

 

I have this exact same issue and it's been a problem since I bought it new in 2008. I'm on my 3rd set of pads and rotors (100k on truck) on the fronts and am just beside myself as no one can seem to fix it. Been driving it for 10k miles on severely worn rotors as I figured just a waste to replace them. So for several months I have put up with vibration when stopping so decided to replace pads and rotors once again. Keep in mind that I did a brake flush 6-8 months ago to and brakes have released great since. Now that my ford dealer just did the replacement they are not releasing again. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my truck? I've had 3 different dealers try to locate the issue but so far no luck. My truck has been great except for this one issue. Thanks

 

Ok so gave this thread to my dealer and they will check Monday. Will post back their findings.

 

Is your problem like you push the brake pedal and when you let off the brakes don't release for almost a full 2 -3 seconds?

 

No actually you can't tell much driving till you start smelling the hot brakes. Once hot then you can tell they hot from the smell and sometimes it pulls to left or right.

 

Was this problem ever solved? My front brakes are acting very similar. Seems like they will not release. Definitely gets hot I have pulled over and let them cool and then start driving again and eventually have them loosen up, but once applied again it all starts over.

 

I'm not really sure but don't think so. I took it in when they were not releasing last time and smoked up the Ford repair shop with the hot front brakes. Looked like I was the space shuttle and had just re-entered our atmosphere. lol. Anyway they didn't find a thing wrong but that was about 8000 miles ago. So far so good but know in the future it will probably happen again. I know it's nothing to do with proper type grease use etc as its happen way to often and I've had different shops do my brake jobs. I've been driving for 30 plus years and never had a issue like this. I can see one shop at one time not greasing or using wrong grease certain items as they should but not 2-3 times a year and at several different shops. Anyone with common sense knows that's not even possible. I really am more inclined to think its something with the abs breaking system. Because last time when I cut off the engine and restarted it I noticed they instantly fully released. Just waiting for the next time to see if I'm 2 for 2 on results.

 

Thanks for the reply, I initially thought i had a front brake sticking and figured I would find a bad rubber hose, but i just jacked all four tires off the ground and i cant turn any of them by hand. So now i am thinking it must be something in the booster or master cylinder. I am not very knowledgeable about either....YET.

 

This is a very common problem with older vehicles. The push rod that activates the master cylinder may be a little long and it won’t let the master cylinder return back to the neutral position allowing the pressure to bleed back into the master cylinder. If the push rod isn’t adjustable you could put a couple of washers behind the master cylinder mounts to bring the master cylinder out a little bit to see if the pressure will bleed off of the master cylinder when the pedal is released. If that does it then it is a simple matter of adjusting the push rod in a little.