A while back there were some posts regarding noisy brakes. The problem was that the brakes would make an awful groaning sound that resonated through the whole truck. This noise would occur just prior to a complete stop or when releasing the brakes to roll forward (creeping forward and then stopping in rush hour traffic). Seemed to come from the rear discs.

There were quite a few posts on this topic:

Noisy Brakes and Brakes!!!

I too was one of those who experienced the noise as captured in a sound byte on one of riccog's posts(bad brake noise).

Fortunately my brake noise suddenly disappeared 2 days ago after living with it for 3 months. I now have 2900 miles on my SuperCrew and I hope the noise never comes back. I was curious if anyone is still experiencing this noise or if they once had such a noise has it disappeared on its own?


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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover.



[This message has been edited by fun island blue crew (edited 08-05-2000).]

 

I almost forgot about that post I made with the sound byte. I still however have the same noise. It hasent even seemed to have let up any. I barely drive my SCrew so I guess I kinda forget about it. I never really had the time to do anything about it with the dealership. I a selfemployed contractor by day and a full time college student by night. Anyways if any of you have found the exact problem post it. Thanks

 

riccog,

Sorry to hear yours still makes noise. I'm hoping the noise never returns in mine because it is so nice now that it is gone. I fear that after writing this post I will go out to my garage put my SuperCrew in reverse and be greeted to it once again.

What I was hoping to find out was that this noise would disappeared over time due to parts breaking in. How many miles do you have on yours now?


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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover.

 

Well, it's back. The brake noise that is. Not as bad as it used to be but it is still there and therefore just as annoying.

I find it hard to believe that there are only 2 SuperCrew owners out there that are experiencing this (riccog and myself). When I talk to my dealer regarding this they immediately react as though they know exactly what it is and that they are very sorry but there is nothing they can do for me.

This apparently is related to the rear disc brakes of any F150 trucks (not just SuperCrews). If this is such a common complaint then why are there no TSB's on it? And then again if there are so many that do not have this problem there must be a solution to this problem.

Here is my theory on why the noise occurs:
In a properly functioning brake system the front brakes need to provide more stopping power than the rear. If this proportion is to the point where the vehicle comes to a complete stop but the rear pads are not fully contacting the rear discs then this sound will occur due to lack of pressure. If there was slightly more pressure on the rear pads at the point when the vehicle stops then this would not occur. Simply adjusting the front / rear proportion should alleviate the problem. I don't know if this is something that can be adjusted or not. Maybe that's why the dealer says he cannot do anything for me.

Keep in mind that I know nothing about brake systems other than the basics. I would certainly appreciate comments from anyone who has knowledge in this area.


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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover.

 

i have heard the noise you refer to when
my discs are wet (from washing or heavy
rainfall) it goes away if i ride the brakes for a short time
as a suggestion you may want to visit http://www1.askme.com where you can post the question/issue and generally get an ase certified mechanic to answer quickly

 

fun island blue crew I have 4,000 miles on my SCrew. Most of those miles were put on when I drove out to Dallas (bout 1,200 miles). I live in the city so all the driving I do is stop and go. I have tried all sorts of ways to try and break them in so to speak. I can assure you that locking the brakes up doing 60mph you can't hear the noise :-). I will try and goto the dealer to see what they tell me when I get a chance. It really annoys me and i'd like to go asap but I am always very busy with my buisness and school so I never really have the time. Anyone reading this post can go here and listen to our brake noise. http://www.geocities.com/getusome125/badbrakenoise.htm . And for those of you thinks its the humidity or rust on the surface on the rotors your DEAD WRONG. I can drive all day and still hear the same noise. Anyways just talking about this problem irritates me so much I really just wanna run my SCrew threw the front window onto the showroom floor.

 

jimmy,

Thanks for the info about the "askme.com" site. I will post something there as well.

Your comments that this noise only occurs when brakes are wet may further support my theory that my rear pads do not have enough pressure. When your brakes are wet the rear pads my have the same effectiveness as mine do all the time.

riccog,

I understand how you feel about driving your truck through the dealership window. If I had to drive this in stop and go traffic every day I would have probably already done that.

I'm convinced there is a simple solution to this for our trucks. We just haven't found anyone who takes us seriously yet - but we will.


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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover.

 

My brakes made a horrible groaning noise when I first got my new 'crew... but the noise thankfully went away after our Memphis trip this year (at 1k miles on the truck - hauling )... I suspect that maybe the pads just needed to be bedded properly.

For ****s and giggles- try the following procedure (and PLEASE make sure you do it on a safe stretch of roadway):
-cruising at 30mph, make a clean but hard stop to 0mph. Now get rolling again and avoid using the brakes for a few minutes.
-perform the same procedure again from 40mph, 50mph then finally 60mph.
-after the 60mph stop, cruise around for at least 15 minutes avoiding the brakes to let them cool down.

There are variations of this procedure, but it basically serves to seat the pads to the rotors and heat cycle all the parts. It should really be done anytime you replace the pads and/or rotors.... but isn't mentioned in any owners manual.

Lemme know if this helps your noise!
jC. jca@lugnutz.com http://www.lugnutz.com
'67 camaro 8.94@150
'00 mustang GT 13.71@100
'01 supercrew 5.4 4x4 lariat all opts!

 

Thanks to jimmy for directing me to the AskMe.com web site. I've gotten 2 answers so far and understand much more about my situation. If you want to read for yourself follow this link: www.AskMe.com

Sounds like my original reasoning wasn't bad but the problem is most likely the pads. Apparently the Ford pads are very hard and if they begin to glaze it changes their cohesiveness which can cause vibration. The only solution (if brakes snubs do not help) is to replace the pads and drive the brakes harder or replace with a softer pad material.

I will give jCAkers procedure a try. It can't hurt. I have noticed that the noise is less than it used to be and may be a result of my driving the truck harder now. That gives me some hope that the pads are not too far gone to save.


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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover.

 

I have a terrible squealling noise on the brakes of my wife's Sable, but not on my Supercrew. A friend of mine (ASE Mechanic) told me that sometimes that noise is associated with semi-metalic pads. About the only thing to to is use anti-squeal on the backs of the pads, and chamfer the edges of the pads so that they are not sitting flat on
the rotor. I also use my parking brake almost everyday to help keep the pads adjusted up. I'm not sure if it works, but thats what you were supposed to do on earlier
4 wheel disc cars. We'll see...

 

just a thought
i have three vehicles (other than the s'crew) which have four wheel discs
all have produced very noticeable 'brake
dust' residue on the wheels over time
on one i have installed shields behind the wheels to block the dust as it was really bad-
my point-all of these vehicles are gm products (including a mid size suv) and none have brake noise-my s'crew produces no 'brake dust' on the wheels which i think further supports the 'hardness or glazing' theory

 

FWIW- the noise my brakes made was unlike any other brake squeal I'd ever heard before. It was more like a low frequency groan/grind noise/resonance. It was clearly the brakes and only happened at fairly low speeds. I believe giving the brakes a good workout on our memphis trip is what cleared up the problem for me.

jC.

 

I started getting an occassional squeak in my brakes after a couple of thousand miles, usually following lots of downhill use. I just had the truck in for its 15K checkup at the dealership and they said it was a "glazing" problem. They claimed to have fixed it but on my way back from a ski trip this past weekend, the noise came back! Anybody found the correct fix yet? THANKS!

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'01 Harvest Gold, Lariat Screw, SuperChipped 5.4L, 4X4, 3.55ls, towing package, K&N filter, leather captain's chairs, 6CD, Moonie, Slider, DuraLiner, Westin Grille w/ Explorer driving lights, Rosewood dash accents...

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kwthunb,

In my case it was brake glazing. I tried some hard brake snubs and immediately noticed an improvement. For the next week I tried to avoid my normal gentle braking style and made more firm stops. Eventually the noise disappeared altogether. I have since gone back to my normal braking habits and my brakes are still silent.

Good luck.

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2001 SuperCrew, XLT, 4x4, Island Blue/Silver, Med gray int., 4.6L, 60/40 seats, 6 disc CD, cab steps, power seat, 17" 10 spoke wheels.
Mods: Access Roll-Up tonneau cover, Ford bed mat.

 

Thanks FIBS, I'll give that a try and report back.