Anybody have any suggestions on replacements for the front pads. I've found Bendix pads for $40 and the dealer wants $74.00 for the OEM fords. I'm looking for something that is long-wearing, not noisy and leaves as little dust as possible. I've seen the raybestos ads on TV but can't find them locally. If anybody has any tips on different brands, your input would be appreciated. BTW, the truck just turned 35k. Is this amount of wear fairly normal???

 

My OEM lasted 70,000 on the front. I then put on Raybestos Matalic. They were the dirtiest brake pads I have ever had and only lasted about 12,000 miles or so. Not long and a lot of front wheel cleaning.
I now have Bendix Titanium and they are a lot cleaner. Much cheeper then factory and they come with a one replacement warrentee. I plan to keep my truck for a couple of hundred thousand more miles or more so...
P.S. Just installed slotted and cross drilled front rotors which really brought out the best in the Bendix pads.

 

I just replaced the front pads on my '97 F150 with some "titanium" pads from J.C. Whitney. Got them for $24.95 on sale. Old pads worn much worse on inside pad; frozen lower slider pin in pass side caliper; changed at 80,000 miles. Doubt I would have made it another 5K miles on old pads. Took 15 mins/wheel to change: piece of cake.

Anyway, after two weeks, the Whitney "titaniums" seem to be pretty much dust-free.

 

..as for the early wear, it all depends on driving habits, conditions, loads, etc. it does sound a little premature, but if you've been doing a lot of braking, it may be normal.

i just put bendix TI on my pig. they seem to be better than stock, but not significantly. i must admit, they are superb under heavy braking w/ a 6000lb trailer. no fade. i also have to disagree about the cleanlyness of the pad. granted my stock 98 pads may have been cleaner than some other years, but the bendix are definitly dirtier. they leave a dark red dust residue. nothing extreme though. for the price, warantee, and great stopping power under adverse conditions, i think they are well worth putting up w/ the dust. $40.00 Advanced Auto.

Bendix has great comparison tests on their site. you may want to check it out if you can get to that part of the site. it takes some digging.

 

I agree with jaymz. I just put the same pads on my truck and they work really well. I haven't seen any brake dust yet..
I paid $29.99 + 5.00 shipping.
I am going to order a set for the wife's Jeep.

 

I find the $14.99 ones at pep boys / candian tire (depending on where you live) generally work good, but i generally use the Raybestos brake products. They last well, and have a lifetime gaurentee.

 

woodswalker,i don't know what the difference between where you live and tennessee(where i live) is but they charge $95 for ford pads here and 50 for motorcraft,next time i change mine i'm gonna try jc whitney,anybody know if you can order em straight from the factory? also it'd help to know some of the national chains that sell em.thanks for any help.

 

used the Bendix TitaniuMetallic pads. excellent stopping power and no fade. Dust ain't too bad, but I have recently installed the Kleen Wheels brake dust shields($30). If you want to keep your rims virtually free of dust, get a pair of the Kleen Wheels.

 

Thanks everybody for your input. I went with the friction master Carbon Metallics. Probably would have gone with the bendix titaniums but I would have had to wait 3 or 4 days and I needed to do the brakes like, YESTERDAY!!! I have found the front hubs virtually empty of any sort of bearing grease in the last 2 ford trucks that I have owned. Anybody else notice this? Seems like such a small quantity of grease on those bearings when they come out. I got just shy of 36K on the factory front pads, guess that I'd better slow my *** down???? What the hell, that is why I opted for the 5.4!!! Thanks everybody!!! I just love this site!!!!

 

You guys are lucky, my frt. brakes were dead at 25K. Replaced with Bendix and had the rotors drilled. Got over 50K on them since . Dealer told me that the brakes would need to be serviced every 12-15K!!!! I drive it normal, ie no drag racing, occasionally tow two jet skis. Anybody got any suggestions as to how to take the grease covers off the hub without destroying them?