So my truck is at "the" dealer right now getting the front wheel bearing and other parts that failed fixed under my ESP warranty, but the service guy there said I needed to replace the front brakes too, but that they wouldn't be covered by my ESP warranty (which I know). However, from looking at the rotors briefly (and my not-so-in-depth knowledge of cars), I was under the assumption that the front rotors could be surfaced and just the pads replaced. FYI- The front pads were replaced under warranty at ~20,000 miles (due to a faulty ABS sensor), and the rotors were surfaced at that time. I now have just over 50,000 (very enjoyable) miles on my L. He said that the rotors couldn't be surfaced, and that I needed new ones. Fine, whats the price?...

$180...each! (Uhmmm...Ouch!).

Okay, so lets see: $180 a pop for the rotors, plus ~$100+ for the pads, plus the other small stuff, the labor, and the deductible to get the bearing fixed...you're looking at about $700 (once again...ouch.). Now, being all of two months away from finally getting my masters degree (i.e. broke-*** college kid), and oh-so-ready to sell the L (...to get a new one...calm down), I really don't want to drop all that cash right now (that I don't have at all anyway).

I still think the surfacing thing is a viable option, but I'm not a total rat-bastard, so I decided to buy rotors...just not the $180 OEM ones. So I spent part of Friday and the better part of today trying to track down some Autozone, NAPA, or Pep Boy specials...

And another FYI (for atleast the 2000 guys): Ford apparently had both 12mm and 14mm studs on the 2000 model (this came not only from my not-so-friendly Ford dealer, but various other auto parts stores as well. And something I was rather disappointed in is that most (~75%+) of the parts people at these stores have no idea "what" a lightning is. If you basically show them how to do their job to narrow down the search, the application usually comes up listed as the Nascar/Lightning edition, 5-lug, 4 whl ABS). Autozone had the 12mm jobbers in stock, but not the 14's...and since my truck was about 50 miles too far away for me to check which I had, I just bought the 12's hoping they'd work.

Fast Forward to This Morning: Show up at the dealer with the parts, take of a lug nut...which of course fits nicely OVER the threads of the new 12mm variety rotor (instead of threading ON the stud). So back to plan B. Call multiple other Autozone locations, along with the rest I mentioned...and you will soon realize that NO ONE (of the literally 15 to 20 places I tried) not only didn't have them in stock, but apparently weren't even sure they could get them. Trucks made before 11/29/99 had some available (I'm assuming these are the 12mm deals), but trucks made AFTER 11/29/99 DON'T (and I'm climbing out on a branch to say that these are the 14mm deals I need).

I know from seeing pictures that Spike has some pretty schweet cross-drilled/slotted rotors, but I'd assume that those are probably more than the OEM deals (and I'm trying to go in the other direction).

Has anyone else had any luck tracking down front rotors from any company that are cheaper than stock? I tried http://www.fordpartsonline.com, but thats a little ambiguous too. (I did a keyword search on lightning, then 2000 Ford F-150, and about 3/4 down the list of "collision catalog" parts, they list a rotor under "front suspension parts" for trucks after 11/29/99 at $100.76 (which would be sweet), but the people at the 1800 # put me on hold for a long-*** time when I called to verify it, and I'm starting to get fed-up with the whole deal anyway.

Anyone have any good leads, advice, or info?

Thanks. Later...

GK

 

Guess what? Ruslows rotors are less expensive than you think, ie. less expensive than the OEM's.

By the way, they're easy to replace. And if you want, I'll give you my current ones after I put on my new set if you pay for shipping. They're a little warped but work.

 

Why not just get good pads and rotors, do the install yourself. I have never done brake work before, except pump the pedal and I am going to give it a shot.

 

It would take me 30 yrs to get a masters in anything, but I can do a brake-job like your talking about (repl. rotors and bearings ) in about 3 hrs. Go ahead and try it yourself. After your finished you will feel silly for being afraid, and probably save yourself around $10,000 if you live to be 55!

 

Thanks for the offer Spike, and I might just take you up on it...after all, a warped rotor would probably stop me better than metal to metal...

Anyway, I just wanted to let other people know that Ruslow's rotors ARE in fact less expensive than the OEM's my dealer tried/is trying to sell me, and I AM going to buy them if I can not just surface my existing rotors again (fingers crossed).

And another thing, the 11/29/99 date I mentioned earlier is the date they apparently changed from 12mm studs to 14mm studs.

And I'm still undecided on whether or not to try to do the brakes myself. I've done just about all of the "other" stuff (which shall remain unnamed) to my truck (except the exhaust), and I do about ~90% of the work to my bike too, but I'm kind of leary about fooling around with the brakes, especially since they mysteriously totally lost pressure on me that time a few weeks ago (you know- "no" responsibility if something goes wrong). Weird, I know, but thats how I am sometimes. Still undecided. We'll see.

Thanks again.

Later...

GK

 

MXRacer and everyone else. I don't think we have to worry about mixed stud sizes on Lightnings. 99's have 12mm, 2000 and up are 14mm.

If 11-29-1999 is the date they switched from 12mm to 14mm studs on the F-150, then there should be no 2000 Lightnings with 12mm studs. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but weren't the first 2000 model Lightnings built sometime after 1-1-2000? Actually, I think they didn't start building 2000 L's until Feburary 2000.

My L (1204 of 4966) wasn't built until March.

 

...most of the 20 or so car parts guys that I've dealt with over the past few days didn't know that, and many told me they wouldn't order the parts unless I got my truck's production date from the sticker on the driver's-side door jamb to check first.

My 2000 L (forget the prod.#) was built in 04/00.

Just trying to help others out.

Later...

GK

 

The majority of the aftermarket rotors out there are really for the reg f150.I think that they would work but they are .125 inches thinner than ours.So they would heat up faster.The calipers and pads are from the LIGHT duty [under8500]F250.I have been ordering calipers and pads for the 98 model but should be the same for all Lightning yrs,not just the 99.Stan