I got a call from my cousin yesterday, said that his 98 expy caught on fire, totalling the vehicle, and even doing some serious damage to his home. He stated that the vehicle had not been ran for 12 hrs prior to the fire. He believes that it was caused by the cruise control malfunction that some vehicles had recalls on. His 98, nor my 99 Expy have had recalls on this. Does't anyone know what they are changing on the vehicles that were recalled?? I think I would like to go ahead and change things myself...

 

It is the switch on the front of the master cylinder.

Brake Pressure Deactivator Switch

If you change it you will need to bleed the brakes.

Also see:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=202990

 

A quick fix that Ford has been doing is simply unplugging the wire from the switch. That is what the did on my Dad's truck while the part was back ordered.

 

First, you do not need to bleed the brakes after replacing the switch. It can't hurt, but if you fill the switch with an eyedropper before installing it, there's no need to whatsoever.

Second, just because you have the switch on your truck does not mean it will fail. Ford has sucessfully used that switch on millions of vehicles over the last 20 years. We're still trying to figure out why some fail and some don't.

Third, the interim repair (i.e. simply unplugging the switch) stopped May 1st. Parts have been available at all Ford dealerships since May 1st.

-Joe