Howdy,
Gonna replace the brake pads on my '97 F150 4x4 Triton 5.4 Shortbed. Does anyone recommend Ford brand pads or should I go with some other brand? Any I should stay away from?
Thanks, I always appreciate the input.
Kim

 

Well for me I would recommend them. When I need to change mine I will be buying the Ford ones. I have 37,000 miles on my truck and pleanty of pad left on the fronts and rears. I have had 0 problems for noise, warped rotors, and NO brake dust at all. It stops very well, never a problem if cold or hot out, wet or dry.

I personal see no reason to change something that works great when you do hear storys at times from others that use some "name" brand because they are "suppose" to be better.

 

Wagner brand worked great on my '97

 

I have herd by more the one brake shop that aftermarket pads and rotors on late model F-150's are prone to problems, I would stick with Ford parts. I have a 2000 F150 4x4 Lariat, just had new front and rear pads and new front rotors put on, all aftermarket parts. And now I am getting an intermittent squeaking sound from the front of the truck, wish I had OEM parts put on.

 

I see you drive a 97 4X4...good luck getting those rotors off! What a nightmare! But seriously, it is all up to you really. If you want to drop a few bucks, sure, go with some nice power slot rotors and hawk pads. I went with Bendix for both rotors and pads (titanium), no complaints here. Factory rotors were a huge pain to get off, but aside from that, it is an easy job. Use an anti-squeal lube on the back of the pads before you install them, though. Definitely will keep things quiet for you. Good luck!

 

IMHO, the F-150 OEM pads suck, but it really depends on how you drive. Lots of brake dust and warped rotors is what I have experienced. And they are not cheap either.

Either Brembo OEM form Tirerack combined with Bendix Titanium pads or NAPA cermic pads with NAPA mid-grade rotors.

 

Kim

According to the local Ford parts man there are three Ford pads available for these F-150s. A low quality and low price pad c. $18, then a premium pad (which he recommended) for c. $60, and a severe duty pad for obvious severe towing applications which produces copious dust and eats rotors, but stops heavy rigs every time.

Personally I have a '98 F-150 with 60+ thousand miles with original pads. 60k+ miles and no dust and good stopping sells me on another set of premium pads when the time comes.