Good evening!
I have a 2006 STX SuperCab. Strong Truck. It has only 41,137 miles on it.

What's wrong with these brakes?

In March of this year I replaced the four rotors(they were warped, twisted and the front inner bearings broken) and all pads.
Back in May of this year I replaced a stuck front driver's side caliper. It happened again on the front passenger's side this past weekend.

Someone told me that the Master Cylinder may be the next to go, though the brakes feel OK at the moment, same since day one.

Does having a stuck caliper somehow will damage the Master Cylinder? In both situations I stepped out of the main road and carefully drove short distances, between 5-7 miles, never exceeding 10 MPH... I think not even smoke came out of them.

Is there anything else I might expect regarding brakes or anything else on the 2006 model? I am NOT giving up on this truck, its the second one I've owned and I love them. Everything else has been rock solid. I had NO brake issues whatsoever for 15 years on my previous 1997 truck.
Its just that I became a proud grandpa (I'm 43 years old) and a brake issue scares the S**T out of me, more when having a baby on board.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

I don't have much help to offer, but I don't think the brakes are particularly an "issue" on the 04-08 or 2006s (I have one too) but brake issues have certainly popped up for some people. Warped rotors are somewhat common and seized calipers occur as well with some frequency. What's happening to you seems kinda funky though, and definitely excessive for the mileage, and even stranger yet that it's all happening one issue on top of the other. I've noticed that the best way to get replies is to have some people post so others wonder what's so great and they open the thread too, so hopefully this will net some good for you haha.

But whew! 43 and a grandpa is certainly young! And you're in Puerto Rico? Nice to see some F150s outside of the states. Are you from the US and there for military purposes at all?

 

Brakes are indeed an issue on these trucks. I've never seen so many sticking calipers in my life. I'm on my third set of front calipers and this last time I replaced all the lines. I don't know what it is, but I think myself and 2stroked and holding the record right now with 3 sets I hope this whole set lasts (only have 96k - truck is babied) cause then I'll do a big brake kit. Stupid factory crap.

 

I too had a caliper stick at like 40,000 (pretty sure it was stuck before that but I was being stubborn)

I also had both my front rotors warp on me ... I replaced them with slotted and dimpled and there has been no issues to report

 

3? That's ridiculous. Must be a northern thing, maybe? Mine have been fine and still have the factory calipers at 88k

 

Happens down south too, I live in GA and had one get stuck this summer. Had chunks missing out of the pistons when I took it off.

 

Yup, same here, both had crumbled pistons this time around.... ruined new pads and rotors. Luckily I had purchased a spare set when I had first done the brakes. For some it may be due to neglect but aside from a little surface rust here and there on the undercarriage (been undercoating anyways) you would not know my truck is from the NE area.

 

I don't understand... are you having trouble with you master cylinder?
Or just paranoid based on other people's comments?

When you replaced your pads and rotors - did you clean and grease your sliders? That is the best maintenance to avoid stuck calipers. The highly pro-active route would be to put new sliders on each time you replace the pads.

I would not expect any issues with the Master Cylinder just because the calipers stuck. The heat is a long way from the MC so that won't matter (even if you smoked the rotors).

Probably the only way it could cause problems is if you drove it with the stuck caliper, thereby overheating the brakes and loosing your braking force. You would then have to start doing very high pressure stops (to stop with only 2 or 3 of your brakes working) which could damage a marginal MC.

But you said you limped it home very carefully, so I doubt that is an issue.

 

I figured rust would have been a large contributing factor, but either way a caliper is gonna get stuck or it isn't. Glad I haven't had issues with mine other than light squealing for no reason (had my front end apart 3 times and everything always completely checks out)

 

I'm on second set and have had passenger side to stick a couple of times. Replaced rotors when callipers started sticking for the first time. Seemed fine for a while, but the new ones finally started sticking just like the old ones. Gonna have to try somethin different when I have to replace them again.

 

Hello everybody...
Sorry for the late reply. I was caught in the US Gov't shutdown and was called back to return to work in a hurry.

KMAC... I was born in Puerto Rico. I have never been in the military. I have family and friends in the continental US, but I have been there only for vacation, I have never lived there. I have been considering relocating though, possibly TX or FL... don't know yet. And yes... there is something very beautiful about being a grandpa... actually, feels kind of strange. For the first time I think I am being VERY overprotective... don't know what to say. I had to go to the psychologist just because the happiness was overwhelming. She said "...get rid of some happiness by telling everybody that you're happy...they will be happy too..." Sorry. My mistake. That was off topic.

MKOSU04... I was paranoid based on other people's comments, but actually I thought exactly the same as you. All this week the brakes have been functioning at 100%. I'm satisfied.

I will be monitoring the MC cylinder but I think it will be working fine for quite some time.

And yes, both times there were some small chunks broken/missing from the pistons.

 

Hey, I wish excess happiness was a problem I suffered from! Enjoy it! I just thought you might have been from the US because I don't know how common F150s are outside of the US. Is yours a bit of a rarity or are they common? I guess because PR is a US "province" or "territory," or whatever the official term is, they may be a little more common there. I do have to vouch for Texas though if you do relocate

 

I was in San Juan for several hours a few months ago, and the mix of vehicles on the streets was similar to any mainland US city.

 

Huh, good to know! Guess they use the US dollar, etc. so that would make sense

 

It *IS* part of the US, it's just not a state and Spanish is the primary language.