I had a 98 F-150 XLT S/C and the brakes on it sucked big time. It had the same slow stopping symptoms and the pads were gone in 18,000 miles. I took it to Allied for the brake job and the guy told me to get upgraded pads (I can't remember what the are called, some kind of performance brand) since the Ford factory pads sucked. Boy what a difference it made. It still was not perfect but at least a lot of the brake fade was gone. I had a theory that the brakes on the 98 were too small or poorly vented or something.

I now have a 99 that will stop on a dime, I mean like a sports car. It has 4-wheel ABS/disc brakes. They don't squeak like my 98 brakes did either. No warped rotors either. I love the brakes on the new one and drive with a LOT more confidence now.

Sycoholic, did they change the brake sizes in 99? Rotor sizes etc.?

------------------
'99 XLT S/C 4.6Romeo, Auto, 3.55 LS, Oxford White, Dark Graphite int., Tow Package, Orlando appearance package (Body color honeycomb grill, mirrors, and Lariat wheels) Gave up on the captains chairs!! I'll live with the 60/40 for now
I am taking my Bucs front license plate off until they dump Trent Dilfer again!

 

I dunno about stopping like a sports car but for a 4400lbs truck I think it stops damn quick.

------------------
99 XLT 5.4L reg cab 4x2 120" Wheelbase 4 wheel disc brakes/ABS 5 star larait style wheels Toreador Red/Silver 3.55 gears 255/70/16 OWL Delta toolbox
Eclipse 5340 cd player
Memphis ARCS50 component speakers w/tweeters mounted flush in the door panels (excellent sound)powered by a Sherwood 35x2 RMS amp
Jensen 50x2 RMS for the 2 Audiobahn AWC10 subs
Looking for reasonably priced used running boards
54regcab@duesouth.net in Columbia SC

 

My previous 98 F150 Supercab did not seem to want to stop as quick as I thought it should. From the day I picked it up..I noticed an excessive amount of brake pedal travel. Nothing dangerous...mainly that I had to stand on the brakes for quick stops.

My 2000 F150 Supercab is 100% different. The first time I hit the brakes during the test drive I about BROKE MY NECK! All I have to do is barely touch the pedal and this thing stops on a dime.

I don't know if it is the 4 wheel disc antilock brakes..but I have noticed an INCREDIBLE improvement over the earlier rear drums/front disc set up.

---------------------------------------------
2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, towing package, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, bedliner, K&N air filter, cabin filtration system

[This message has been edited by Dustoff (edited 10-23-1999).]

 

The whole reason for 4 wheel disk brakes is decreased braking distance. There is a noticeable difference in the stopping distance between front disk and 4 wheel disk. I still think the front disk setup stops quite well. I think I can relate this to the gas mileage problem; it's a truck. I also am not aware of any changes in rotor size for the 99 or 00 model years. Although they could have changed the pad composition. I do believe Ford makes a kick a** brake pad.

------------------
1997 F-150, 4.6, automatic, Dark Toreador Red, Supercab, Flareside, 4X4 Off-Road, Towing Package, Chrome Grizzly Wrap Around Push Bar, Ford bedliner, and Lots of TLC!! (Besides being an F-150 nut, I am a Ford auto technician.)

 

http://www.performancefriction.com They're suppose to be the best.

 

Couple of things I didn't note here. The first is the rear brakes should be self-adjusting. Most vehicles with rear drums, when you press the brake pedal, cause an adjuster to help reset tension on the rear mechanism. Try it, in a parking lot, back up slowly and press the brake pedal a few times slowly, it might help. Second is the brake pad material. As I remember, semi-metallic pads take more heat to start biting than the old asbestos pads/shoes did, but they last longer. You might want to check out a brake shop and let them go through your brake system, it's your life and everyone else you meet on the road. Besides that, many places like Midas, CarX, etc will do a check on your brake system for free. What do you have to lose other than your life or a headache.

I'm not trying to be ****y, many years ago I planned to have my brakes worked on that coming payday. Unfortunately 2 days short I bent the frontend of my car when it didn't stop fast enough in an emergency. I was penny wise and pound foolish, Never Again!

[This message has been edited by HCBPH (edited 10-26-1999).]

 

Just a comment to those who don't think their trucks don't stop as fast as they should. Try a Chevy of the same year. I picked up a customer's truck to detail it and he took mine. We exchanged comments at the end of the day, I almost went through a red light in his truck and he almost went through the windshield in mine. It's a big heavy vehicle but the brakes on the newer f150s are well above average.

------------------
1999 Lariat Super Cab, S.B. 5.4L, 3.55 LS
and everything but the leaky slider window.
Bright red w/ gold 2-tone, Leather Captain's Chairs
Mods: Duraliner bedliner, Bugflector II, Hide-a-hooks.
& a leeetle chrome tip on the exhaust.

 

Hey Guys,
I have read all of the posts in this thread and understand everyones concern. I have noticed the same thing with my truck. I was towing my jet ski one day when I almost pasted up my turn, I hit the brakes real hard and man it sure did seem like as hard as I hit the brakes things should have locked up. But they did not and it seems to me now that I can look back on it it is probably good that I did not lock em up. The first thing I did when I got home is check out my brake pads lines the works. The only thing that I could come up with was that the pads were a little glazed but that is it. It seems to stop pretty fast 30mph and under. I think some of us just need to realize and understand that we are not driving sports cars but are driving pretty good sized trucks. The last truck I owned was a nissan it was much smaller....it stopped pretty fast. For the most part I think that we are much better off when we do not lock up our brakes it is a proven fact that when you lock up brakes not only are you not stopping but infact you are in some cases speeding up! And you have no control! In the case of Steve Zinski he was probably better off for not skidding or locking them up. At least then he had enough control to manuover (is that how you pell that?) around the stopped car.
Nino




------------------
97 F-150 XLT 4.6 V8 with OffRoad package,Superchip,flowmaster,K&N Airfilter kit
Check out my truck at
http://www.homestead.com/ninof150/F150.html

 

I agree with JC Performance Friction Carbon Matalic are great,I had them on my 93 Lightning.
I wish Ford would get rid of Rear drum brakes on all F-150's. The drum brakes are allways going out of adjustment, and then you are only using your front brakes to stop. With the weight of a F-150 there is no way it is going to stop with only front brakes.
I was allways adjusting the rear brakes on my 93 with rear dums, when they are adjusted properly they work well, but seam to go out of adjustnent very quick.

 

Let me tell you about brakes... No really, I have been messing with mine all year. Since my seemingly easy front brake job I have replaced the front rotors and pads three times (NAPA warranty). The rear shoes have just recently been replaced (Brake Best) and I have had the drums turned. What a pain in the a$$ - but you know, there is nothing worse than bad brakes.

It is critical that the back drum brakes are adjusted properly. HCBPH is correct, the rear drums are self adjusting. You can tell if they are adjusting by going in reverse and applying them firmly. If you hear something from the rear-end it means that they are adjusting, if you dont, that either means they are adjusted properly or something is broken (I would go with they are adjusted properly!) Normally you shouldn't hear anything.

Oh, to respond to the orginal question - yes, my brakes will make those big 305/70/16 Goodyear's howl!

[This message has been edited by kkirt1 (edited 11-28-1999).]

[This message has been edited by kkirt1 (edited 12-01-1999).]

 

When ABS was first introduced, some of the first vehicles to use it were police cars. Shortly there after there was an increase in accidents during high speed pursuits with the officers. It wasn't because the system failed, it was because they were unfamiliar with it. The pedal is suppose to fall almost completely to the floor, you may feel a pulsating effect, too. These are normal 'side' effects of the system. The actual components are located under the hood. You are only activating the 'switch'. Best advice, learn your brakes before you need them in a hurry. Also, I believe it is the metallic brake pads that work best.

------------------
99XLT SC 4x4Offroad Pkg. Lund Bed Cover, Westin Nerf Bars More to come....

 

I have to disagree with COPE on a couple of points.
A brake pedal should NOT go almost to the floor even with ABS, that usually means a low fluid level or air in the lines.
And, brakes are not activated electronically. It's still the pressure from your leg that stops the truck, not a "switch" or electronic circuit. The only thing the computer does is detect when a wheel (or wheels) have stopped while another is still rolling which then pumps the brakes on the wheel that's locked up.

------------------
1999 Lariat Super Cab, S.B. 5.4L, 3.55 LS
and everything but the leaky slider window.
Bright red w/ gold 2-tone, Leather Captain's Chairs
Mods: Duraliner bedliner, Bugflector II, Hide-a-hooks.
& a leeetle chrome tip on the exhaust.

 

I am not saying it is a switch, hence 'switch'. The pressure on the brakes operates the system, which then looks at those pretty white and black stripes near your wheels, in front, and the exciter gear in your rear end. That is electrical. And the falling near the floor, the brake pedal, may not be what is supposed to happen, but it has, and the vehicles does stop. Quicker than before, just ask the people without ABS who kept running into people with ABS.

------------------
99XLT SC 4x4Offroad Pkg. Dark Toreador Red. Lund Bed Cover, Westin Nerf Bars More to come....

 

cope
ABS will not make a vehicle stop any faster than a non ABS vehicle. In fact once you activate the ABS it takes a longer distance to stop than if they had not been activated. The one thing that ABS does is let you control the steering input of the vehicle so that you can steer around something and not skid into it.
Paul

 

I noticed a definite improvement in braking with my double-ought over my '98, though I never had any complaints. The rear discs, you can feel them hauling down at the back and there seems to be less front-end dive. I never had to replace my '98 front pads in 26,000 miles but, if I had to, I'd go for the best quality. This is no place to save a few bucks.

I've been out tonight in a snow storm and I had a ball playing with the ABS (+ steering with the gas pedal). What a gas making the ABS unit up front moan and groan when it comes into play.

------------------
Black 2000 SC XLT short-box. 4.2 V-6, 5-speed, 3.55 Limited Slip. Side steps, CD, remote entry, FORD box liner. Add-ons: Older Windstar driver's side wiper blade (with the air scoop, because I don't slow down when it rains), back-up beeper, "f150online.com" sticker and snazzy Tweetie Bird floor mats.

My third F-series: '73 F-100, '98 F-150 and '00 F-150. Great trucks!