HAWK Brake Pad Question
 

I am putting on some new HAWK brake pads on the front of my 2WD EX and was wondering two things. Should I use the factory shim between the pistons and the pads? This is a shim in addition to the ones glued onto the HAWK pads. Also does the guide pin with the notch go on the bottom or the top?

Perry

I don't think you need to add more than what they came with. I didn't worry about more any ways. I replaced mine up front last weekend with the new rotors.

This is direct from guzzles site :Install the slide pins into the new boots and down into the bores. Make sure that the boots slip over the retaining ring at the top of the slide pins.
The slide pin with the notch needs to be installed in the bore that will be at the top of the caliper (farthest from the ground) when the caliper is installed.

Well the brakes are done. I repacked the wheel bearings as well. They were still ok but looked like they could have used some more grease. If you have close to 100k on your truck I would repack the wheel bearings (2WD). The seals came out without damage so I used them over. They looked fine so no need to replace them.

Anyway the brakes seem to be better than they were. Both my slide pins were free in the sliders but they notched one was on the bottom. I put the notched one on the top. The only difference in the pins is the notched one has three flats on it. I am not sure what this is supposed to do.

Perry

I would think so they don't hydro lock in there, bur dunno for sure.
That is abonus with the 2wd the bearings are replaceable. It is when you need the rotors that you replace the whole unit.

:-huh

The wheel bearings on a 4x4 are replaceable too.

New hubs. :D

Stewart

I saw a post on here where a guy was able to rebuild his 4x4 hubs instead of just buying new ones. Also you can grease them before they go bad.

Perry

Yeah, Guzzle's website and Marv's (Springer Pop) thread is fairly well known among the more frequent, regular users. Especially those in the 7.3L forum.

Stewart

The truck seems to steer alot better after tightening the wheel bearings. They had a little play in them before I did the brakes. If you have wondering problems on a 2wd Ex, I would check the wheel bearings.

Perry

Are the Hawk pads really that much better than run of the mill parts store Raybestos type? My wife's Ex brakes work fine, but there is plenty of room for improvement in stopping power.

Back when a common topic was fixing the Excursions brake problem (warped-feel/shimmy-pulsations) on the various Excursion forums on the different boards found on the 'net, the common fix was to install cryo treated rotors and Hawk LTS pads. Once that became a proven upgrade and fix, the Hawk pads became (like most fixes for problems) one of the commonly referred to ways to upgrade the brakes.

So, it's not so much that they are a "great" improvement over stock, it's just that they work really well (better than stock, if you ask me), and they help solve the braking issues a lot of people have.

I really like the Hawk LTS pads. They work very well, especially (IMO) because I also have cryo treated Powerslot rotors and they show their improved braking (over stock) during emergency braking.

At freeway speeds, I had an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig cut me off. I couldn't move over to the shoulder because there was a bridge railing coming up fast so I braked HARD (stood on the pedal) and the Ex put herself on her nose, almost scraping the front bumper. The stock rotors and pads wouldn't have done that.

I know EBC makes excellent pads too (they have a great rep with the Lightning crowd), and one of these days I might try them on my Ex or F250. It's just difficult to try something else when you know you can stay with a proven product.

Stewart

I'll second Stewart's post - Hawk makes a fantastic product. I've had a couple of panic stops and even with the boat on the back they have worked very well. No fading, no warping, minimal brake dust and no noise at all.

I was gonna put this in my above post, but left it out. But after reading TD's post, I figured I'd add it.

My Ex is currently on jack stands in my driveway. Friday, my wife said her brakes were making a griding noise. So I pull the wheels and see the front and rear brakes need to be done. I really wanted to order and try the EBC pads, but I couldn't pull the trigger. I'm really that happy with the Hawk LTS pads.

So I ordered a set of front and rear Hawk pads for the Ex. They'll be here on Monday.

I've pulled the front cryo treated Powerslots off and had them turned, but I still need to pull the rears off and have them turned.

Once the pads come in, all I gotta do is service the caliper slide pins, install the new pads, and button everything back up.

Stewart

I have to say that mynew HAWK LTS Brakes are alot better than they were. You don't notice till you really have to get on the brakes.

Perry

I have a new set of Hawk LTS pads and new Napa Ultra Premium rotors [couldn't afford the Cryo PowerSlots] sitting on the bench waiting for me to install this weekend. I know with other pad manufacturers there is a certain bedding process to follow. I didn't see anything in the box. With other pads, I usually drive up to 35MPH, stop slowly, but not all the way, release brake pedal and repeat process 10x and they're done. Does something similar apply to the Hawks?

Hawk LTS brake pad bedding procedure:

1. After installing new brake pads, make 6 to 10 stops from approximately 30-35 mph applying moderate pressure.
2. Make an additional 2 to 3 hard stops from approximately 40 to 45 mph.
3. DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!
4. Allow 15 minutes for brake system to cool down.
5. After step 4 your new pads are ready for use.

Hawk Performance Brake Pads: Light Truck / SUV

Stewart