I have a 99 F-150 V-6. I had the front brakes and rotors replaced 18 mos ago. They said the backs werent ready. Shortly thereafter I noticed a loud clicking noise when ever I applied the brakes at a low rate of speed , mostly when backing and pullling forward. I was told that the noise was coming from the rear brakes and when we changed those they would fix the problem. 1year later the front rotors were warped...drivers side much worse than the passengers... They had a third party turn the rotors and thats how I found out about drivers side being worse. They also replaced the rears entirely. The clicking stopped for about 2 days. Now 6 mos later then front end is bouncing again and the steering wheel shakes. I dont want to have the rotors turned again until I find out whats causing this to happen again so soon. Has anyone had a similar problem ? I would appreciate some help.

Thanks,
im4uva12

 

Replace the rubber lines. What happens is they collapse/breakdown inside and don't supply enough fluid to our twin piston calipers. Generally only one of our pistons gets what it needs and then some, the other starves. This over heats the rotors and eventually vibrates bad when brakes are applied.

In other words, -Ford brake lines suck lol.

 

Thanks Buddy, sure it needed it the first time.

 

Yea, I replaced everything but the lines when I tackled this problem. Brembo rotors, Cardon calipers, Carquest blues (Pads). After all that, - started vibrating/shaking again eventually. Had the new rotors turned , replaced the lines this time and it braked like new again, - night and day, still does.

 

I purchased my new replacement lines from Rock Auto about a year and half ago. That's a good Internet store for parts.

 

Sorry to jump in on this...but jbrew, how hard is it to replace the lines for an average person? Job to be left to the pros? I'm wondering if that may be contributing to my rear brake woes (posted today under the brakes section)...thanks!

 

Well, took your advice and had the rubber lines replaced. They sent me to a third party to have the rotors turn for the second time in 6 months and I was told they couldnt be turned again. So I am replacing rotors for the second time in 18 months. $ 1400.00 total in 18 months for front rotors and pads...then the brake lines, rear rotors and pads. Hopefully this will be it for awhile. The original shop said they couldnt warranty anything because it may have been the lines that caused this. Is that not something they should have checked doing a brake job on a vehicle with 150,000 miles?

 

The best rotor life on my 97 came with NAPA rotors, and semi-metallic brakes. Get the best rotors, as they have 2 prices. I have nearly 90K on the last set of rotors, and just replaced the second set of pads. No great wear, and NO warping!

I could not keep a rotor on that truck with ceramic pads. The more expensive the pad, the quicker the rotors warped. Sometimes, in less than 25K! Since I switched to the NAPA rotors, I've only replaced them once since. That would be since about 80K. I now have 245K, and have a new F150 Lariat on the way.

Not sure what came original, but I seem to remember they were semi-metallic. When I changed the pads the first time, I thought I would go with the better ceramics for less dust and better stopping. Bad choice, that I didn't figure out for a while.

 

What type of pads came on the a 99 F-150. I never had a problem until they were replaced with the "Best Ceramic Pads". I didnt want to go to the dealer for service but its looking like I may have made a mistake. Do you think it would have made a difference? Its just really frustrating. I love my truck. I have never kept a vehicle this long.

 

One other thing is to make sure your balljoints are good and tight. Any wear, and that can contribute to the front end shimmy during braking.

 

They have never been replaced. Had them checked a while back ...they said they were good but that was about 40,000 miles ago. Would they make a clicking sound when braking at low speed ..either backing or pulling forward? Happens when changing directions.

 

Yes, which pad you use does affect rotor wear. Think of it this way: What's making the truck stop? Friction between the rotor face and the brake pad material. In a friction situation, something is going to get damaged. Which item would you rather take most of the damage, the rotors or the pads? Semi-metallic pads shear and flake more easily (this comes out as "brake dust"). Ceramic pads, on the other hand, cause less brake dust because they don't flake. Instead, like most ceramics, they heat up (which causes brake fade), and transfer more of the friction to the rotor surface.

In my opinion using ceramic pads is a terrible idea, and the quickest way to wear out rotors. If you're willing to pay that price for less brake dust, okay. But I'd rather just wash the truck.

 

The rubber lines are pretty basic. You have one in the rear with drum brakes or two with discs. I replaced all hardlines as well, that took some know how, but I learned all that on "You tube", -made it easy, learned a few tricks along the way.

 

im4uva12, I'm curious, did that fix the clicking sound? My 2003 is doing the same thing.

 

THe pad type does cause the rotor to wear faster. But what causes the rotor to warp the most is to have them hot and then drive through water. The fast cooling effect of the water is just like tempering steel, and it causes the warpage.

I recently put on my first set of ceramic pads. I didn't read up on them, so I didn't know they would eat the rotor faster. Just my luck though.
I have delivery vans, so we go through brakes pretty fast. When I do the brake job on one the first time, I just go ahead and buy two new rotors. That way when it's time to do brakes again, I just have the old set surfaced. That way my Van is down a minimum of time.
From what I've read here the ceramics will eat the rotors up faster? That's a shame, because I bought them so there wouldn't be as much dust. But I guess if it's just eating the rotors up, I haven't helped a bit.