I got to tow with my new x a few days ago for the first time. Overall I was very impressed with the power and handling but stopping was another story. It was horrible. I was towing about 6000# and I had to make a fairly quick stop and it took forever. I do understand that I am comparing it toy 08 so I didn't expect it to be as good bit man that was scary. I do have an aftermarket trailer brake controler but the gain is broken so the trailer was doing very little to help. I've towed the same weight with my 08 with no trailerl brakes (brake wire broke)and never felt I would have an issue. My x does have newer front rotors, pads and calipers from ford and normally it feels fine but how did ford get away with rating this truck to tow 9600# with these brakes.

 

Have you cleaned the master cylinder and completely flushed the old brake fluid? If that is the original fluid in there it is verging on useless. Also check to make sure you don't have a frozen caliper. The front ones on mine were both frozen. With just the rear working in normal driving they worked surprisingly well. Good enough that until I had to do a panic stop one day I didn't even notice that there was a problem.


Also NO light truck that I know of is rated to tow 9600# without trailer brakes. In most States it is illegal to tow half that weight without them. My experience towing about that amount with a F250 that also had the electric brakes fail is that I definitely felt that I had an issue when it came to a quick stop.

 

Yes it does. I would love to hear from the crew about the best brake mod. I replaced whatever was on there with yellowstuff brakes and got a little improvement but nothing that would give me comfort pulling a big load.

 

My excursion's brakes are better than the 3 government motors vehicles i've owned, all bought new. I guess it depends on what you compare too.

'80 firebird, rear drum
'90 s10 blazer, rear drum
'97 tahoe, rear drum.

 

I have all stock parts with exception of pads, they are just cheap replacements. I have ZERO issues stopping the "train" (excursion, camper, and ATV trailer, combo sits about 22,000 lbs).

The trailer brakes play a huge part in stopping. If you couldn't adjust the gain, I'm sure that's your problem...

 

Personally I think that trying to stop about 14000# on vehicle brakes only is not going to yield great results, especially in reference to light truck stuff. If I tow anything over my vehicles payload then the trailer WILL have working brakes. Since you know you have a faulty brake controller, replace it and tow safely. No disrespect intended but that can be plain dangerous on the road.

 

The controller will be replaced soon. Unfortunately I didn't know it was broken until after I had the load hooked up and tested the brakes. At that point I didn't have many other options.

I do not know if the fluid is original or if the master has ever been bled. I do have receipts from the previous owner about having new calipers, pads and rotors installed by ford. The truck only has 63k miles but the fluid could be 14 years old.

 

I put drilled and slotted rotors and new pads on all 4 corners. Works wonders

 

Stock brakes well maintained have worked very well for me. My only problem is following slow drivers down long grades. The brakes glaze too easy and rotors warp quick. Responsible driving good maintenance all help. I do notice many do not properly clean and lube Ford brakes. 3 shops locally all known to be the best all f'd up my friends trucks. Occasional removal and inspection is wise when pulling regularly.

 

In those situation try dropping it out of OD and let the motor/trans do the braking, your rotors/pads will thank you.


To the OP, my all stock brakes stop better than my Chebby 1/2 ton pickup's do. I also pull an 11k TT and with the TT brakes doing their fair share I have zero brakes issues to report. I highly recommend the Tekonsha P3 brake controller, with the Ford pigtail it is plug-and-play and offers very good adjustability.

 

Why didn't these trucks come with a controller from the factory

 

Cost.
I don't think the SD trucks got the factory controllers till after the Ex went Extinct.

 

Every Government Motors vehicle I've driven (and I mean every one) for some reason has really mushy brakes. My brother bought a 2008 Silverado new and I borrowed it to go pick up a grill. Being used to the firm pedal of the Ex, I'd really have to mash the pedal to get it to stop they way I needed it to.

I too suggest:

-A Prodigy P3 trailer brake controller, the best on the market now and far outshines the others

-Check the slide pins on your brakes. Whoever the previous owner had do the brakes on my '05, used some sort of brake grease that didn't play well. Both slide pins were stuck and it almost took some heat to get them out. There was also some sort of rubber seal on one of the slide pins that seemed to be hanging things up. The newer slide pins I put in didn't have this seal and the brakes worked night and day better.

-Make sure your calipers aren't stuck. KrazeeMatt came over to my house not long ago to look into a grining noise. Come to find out his right rear caliper was frozen and turned the brake pad to dust. We also replaced the brake fluid while we had things apart.

-Now is also prime time to replace your brake pads and I'm sure at this point, your rotors. Once my brakes wear out, I'm getting this from Rock Auto More Information for POWER STOP K190636

They even have a rebate on them until December now!

 

'05 Excursions had the option, as with the SD versions of the trucks.

 

Yeah, I didn't enjoy that day and neither did my wallet. Nor did yours. OP, I'm with the others that have suggested a full bleed to get new fluid everywhere. I'd also consider replacing the soft lines with the Russell (696490) braided set as the soft lines can deteriorate over time internally, causing more issues.