Twice replaced under warrenty because of warping...big surprise there. Now its my turn to do it. Im having trouble finding a better quality pad and rotor for my 99 4x4. Its got disk front and back. Id like to replace everything...kind of starting from scratch. Can anyone point me in the right direction???

 

Hi - I am having the same problem now at 50,000 miles with my 99 4x4. At what mileage did your rotors warp? I have had the brakes serviced three times in the last six months and none of the three repair shops told me about this. I thought the belts on my tires had shifted, so I kept getting the tires rotated and balanced. I am looking into the same issue as you are right now, because I certainly don't want to replace with the same parts. Good luck.

 

Most of us get 50k miles and it's time for new parts. Consider yourself lucky, my father's 2000 Jetta needs rear pads at 30k miles (no material left!!).

OE rotors (4x4) were just over $100CDN each and JCWhitney dust-free Titanium pads were $32US a set. No complaints here.

One thing I have found that ticks me off is the front 4x4 hubs (bearing assemblies). They don't seem to last much longer than the brake parts. I don't consider bearings a normal fast wear item. When they go you'll notice some brake squeak because the rotors wobble around a bit.

 

Just be glad that its not like my wifes Ford Focus, needed new front rotors and pads at 28,000 miles. The inboard pad on the one side was down to the adhesive holding what was left of the pad. Dealer refused to help on any way here saying it was a maintenance item . After some research it seems like all the Focus models eat them up, could it be the trucks do too?

I have a rear rotor that got chewed up due to a bad pad at 21,000 miles and the dealer wouldn`t cover it under warranty. Was able to get it turned but it brought it to lower limits in the process. Tech claimed it had a slight warp to it also.Where do you guys get the better deals on new rotors other than Ford. They socked us a fortune on the Focus and the trucks rotors/brakes are much larger.

 

I've been through all sorts of troubles getting brakes to stay in my truck. What I finally figured out is it's the cheap pads eating the torots up and causeing them to warp. I tried VGX pads, the auto store "titaniums", factoy pads, you name it. What finally worked the best for me is Performance Friction pads, they are available from brakewarehouse.com. These pads kick butt, stop the truck like a sportscar, and I haven't warped a set of rotors since I put them on.

 

Guys,
I hate to tell everyone, but I'm sitting on 95,100 miles on my truck and have never had to replace any of my rotors and or pads. The only thing I've had done is my front rotors turned and that was about a month ago. I was sure I needed a brake job, but my mechanic talked me out of it. Told me I had plenty of pad left on the front and rear brakes. He told me it was all in the driving of the vehicle. So here I sit now with a truck I've owned for 6 years and (knock wood) never has given me a lick of problems. I'm definitely a committed ford man...!

 

My truck has 70,000 miles on it, and today I am replacing the front pads but the shoes look fine (I have disc/drum). My rotors are still in good condition also, no need to turn them! I bought the truck with 30,000 miles on it and to my knowledge it had never had the brakes serviced. But then again, I don't have a 4x4.

 

I have a little over 52,000 miles on my truck with the origanal brake pads and rotors had them inspected around 50,000 and was told they are still in good shape.

 

My truck is getting up to the 35,000 mile mark and I figure after reading about the brake issues you guys are having it won't be too long until I have to start looking for brakes.

I just as soon replace all the pads and rotors with a good set of vented rotors and the best pads I can get. I have the 4wheel disc brakes.

(Its always nice to be able to stop when you need to) :-)

What brand rotors and brakes would be best for my truck? I tow about 4 to 5,000 pounds through the hills of West Virginia and Kentucky. I do a little city driving mostly open road and interstate.

Any recommedations on brands and estimates on prices would be helpful.

 

...I've heard lots of stories about rotor warping being affected by unevenly tightened lug nuts. I chuckled at first, but it's possible, especially if the kiddos who rotate your tires just use the electric impact to smash your lugs on without going through a rotasting pattern to do the job smoothly. Could explain why you've had hard luck and some others haven't, 'cause the wear parts are made of the same stuff.

I have a manual transmission, and can't get the Midas shop to put onj new parts after six years and 75,000 miles.

Best of luck!

 

Took it to the dealer at 26000 and they told me that the rotors are now only warrenteed for 12000 miles. I know what you're thinking, the big tires and wheels ruined my brakes. Not true. The rotors were shot before I got the lift and tires. I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Bob

 

Yes unevenly tightened lug nuts will contribute to warped rotors, but the main culprit is heat resulting from driving style. I'm sure Ford doesn't spend a ton of $$ getting the best rotor either. If you commute in stop-n-go traffic you can expect to change your brakes @20-30k miles. The warping is caused by the heat build up resulting from hard braking. If you feel you have to be the first to the red light, you are abusing your rotors and they will warp. I see it every day, the light turns red from from a 1/8 mile away and people will gas it until they are within 50-100 yards and then jump on the brakes, heat, heat, heat. I have almost 3/4 pad left @ 28K miles. But my mustang warped within 5K miles, but I know I abused them.
I'm sure they come warped from the factory occasionaly, but for the most part it's quality and driving style. In a perfect world we would get a serious Brembo slotted/cross drilled dual piston system from the factory, but we gots what we gots.

 

I just replaced my rotors and pads about 3k ago. Got 77k out of the originals. There are a couple of places I would suggest buying brake bparts online:

http://www.brakewarehouse.com

and

http://www.brakewarehouse.net


I purchased mine thru brakewarehouse.com for $151.00 for the rotors and pads. Pretty good deal I thought.