07 F150 SC 4x4
160k

Had an issue with pulsating brakes that I let go for to long. Finally got around to them.
Replaced rotors and pads all the way around. Everything greased, new hardware, cleaned rotors....bedded the brakes in, all of it. The pulsating is gone...but now I have a grind/clunk in sync with rotation coming from the front left. At light braking I can't barely feel/hear it. Heavy braking...feels like the tires are going to shear off. I can feel the pulse in the brake pedal in sync with the grind noise.

Oddly, this did not present itself until I did the rear.
I replaced the fronts one day and test drove only to find the pulsating was still there (no grind). So next day installed new rotors and pads on the rear only to find the pulsating was now gone but replaced by a clunk/grind.

No noise/grind whatsoever without the brakes applied.
So, I figured maybe I got a bad rotor or the pads were't seated.. took everything apart and inspected everything. checked all my bolts in case i forgot to tighten one. Everything looks normal. All back together, still an issue.

Next day remove everything again to swap rotors and pads to the other side to see if it follows it. It did not, problem is still on the front left.

Calipers are original... I'm guessing during the install (pressing the pistons back in) that something went wrong and now the calipers shot? I've been throwing money at this thing for the last 6 months and rather not take guesses anymore.

Was going to pinch the brake line to the front left and see if the noise was still there to help see if it's the caliper but don't want to mess up my brake line.

I removed the brakes again and started the truck, applied brakes to see if the pistons were moving like normal and they came out but one piston came out about twice as far as the other. Without even pressure on them, I'm not sure that is any indicator of anything but they seem fine.


On a side note, my 6 month old MEVOTECH supreme outer tie rod ends are toast. More so on the passenger side but has some play on the drivers side as well. I just don't think that would cause what I'm feeling being I can feel the brake pedal lift/pulsate with the noise.

 

If you are running the original calipers, rebuild them or replace them. Also replace the 5 fliexible hoses. They are a common failure. The insides of the hoses come loose and you can't look at the hoses and tell they need replacing.

 

Thanks.
Just having a hard time throwing another dollar at this thing. It's got me for 5k in repairs in the last 6 months.

My other option was to mount a gopro on the chassis somewhere to see if any other mechanics were causing it.

But since the noise/grind is only when the brakes are applied medium/hard and can feel the brake pedal pulse/rise with the noise, my guess is the same as yours, calipers.

If you could imagine a chunk of metal stuck on the rotor and every time the pads come around they grind over it. That's what it feels like.

Can't wait to get out from under this thing. Rather have my 99 back any day.

 

Nobody rebuils their own calipers any more it seems but you might be able to find the kits at rockauto for your truck. that would be the cheapest way to get good calipers. Just don't hone longitudinally in the bore. Hone around the bore. All you need is fine sandpaper to clean it up. the kits may have to include new pistons too since most are plastic these days. And the hoses are really cheap at rockauto.

 

Yah looks like there's still a few kits out there. Most of them are seals only but I think I have found the pistons separately. Ford does not carry rebuild kits anymore so they are from carlson, centric and a few other brands.

In total if I go that route, front rebuilds about 45 bucks, 75 if I include new front lines.

From ford, reman calipers are 86.44 each with a 50 dollar core.


Pretty good savings to rebuild them.

I can't find much info/videos/tutorials on how to rebuild these particular calipers. Never rebuilt one myself

 

You can get good quality aftermarket remans for half that price at Rock Auto.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....433694&jsn=513

 

Yup, like glc said, and some others, good quality aftermarket remans are the best way.

 

I'm banging my head over here trying to figure out where the noise is coming from.
I plan to buy calipers regardless just do to it's age but for the time being I'm still poking around under there hoping to actually pinpoint it.

So today I took some video. Quality sucks and it's a bit long sorry. Noise is only when I'm braking which is off and on throughout the video. You can clearly hear the noise I'm talking about especially in the middle of the video where I was able to brake harder.

It just boggles me. Certainly feels like a rotating part but at the same time makes me wonder if it's something else.

Either way. Feel free to watch it and maybe something will jump out at you.
Only thing I can see is it looks like (which it may be normal) the lower control arm, spindle and hub assembly all torque in the forward direction when braking. And I think I may see movement in the lower control arm that is in sync with the noise. Hard to tell.
Don't mind the noise from the camera rattle, loose case.

 

Sounds like it could be the caliper rattling. Or could it be the auto locking hub trying to engage when engine vacuum decreases when you brake. The vacuum booster does use vacuum to operate the brakes. Just wild guessing here.

 

You can test that theory by putting it in 4wd.

 

I recommend sanding your rotors.

Sometimes when they are machined, they are left with an outward spiral on the surface causing the brake pads to be pried up. The spiral tries to pry the brake pad up, and then it slips the grooves, and clunks back down into place causing the clunk.

Depending the precision of the slots for the brake pads, they can move quite a bit to cause a clunk like that.

 

Just to check it out I drove around for a bit today in 4wd. It didn't completely go away but surprisingly I would say the sound and grinding feeling in the pedal decreased by 75% or so. I can still hear and feel it but not much at all.


I can give it a try. I figured when I swapped rotors and pads to the other side that it would eliminate any possibility that there was a fault in either.