Ever panic stop to find that you are going to hit something because of the abs? This has happened many times in my 97. Coming to a stoplight on a downhill and the pavement was bumpy and the truck ran right through the light with the brakes on full! Wasn' t even going very fast. Anyone else experience this? My 96 has ABS but never did this. No car i have ever owned with ABS has doner this. Any bulletins anyone knows of? Thanks in advance..

Bryan

 

You got a big problem. WORN SHOCKS

worn shocks will make your stopping distances worst especially with ABS as they will not be able to keep the wheels on the pavement over the bumps and the ABS will constantly limit the pressure to keep them from locking up. There is a bullitin/FAQ on Monroes website about worn shocks being dangerous and increasing your stopping distances.

http://www.monroe.com/SHOCKsafety.htm

 

Hello B's97F150, my 97 stops horrible even on the dry, smooth, and level. Throw a little drizzle and a rough road surface into the picture and braking distances increase dramatically. In addition to Matt's fine advice let me add that a good set of tires will also help improve braking performance.

From asking around here and talking to other gearheads it would seem that my factory equipment tires are not so good in the traction department and consequently stopping the truck in a hurry can be really challenging.

Good luck.

 

Shocks? it only has 42000 miles. It doesn't even bounce. I have never experienced anything like this be fore and its not always consistent like it should be if it were shocks.Not being a smart a$$ but I am a mechanic and have seen worn shocks before and they are not worn out. Shocks are not load bearing, they only dampen the springs. Plus there is no nose dive and the rears are adjusted up as well.

Also LEPEW; The truck hasa set of 265/75/16 BF Goodrich all terrains that have about 3000 miles on them. These are better than what it had so i don't know about the tire thing. Appreciate all input though. Almost feels as though the brakes are disconnected from the pedal until i let off the pedal and try again. I did not pump the pedal just a hard push. Really makes me hate the truck. Anyone know of any service bulletins? Also its a 4X4.

 

I've experienced this with my '97 XLT 2wd LB. I scared the hell out of me. It is a problem it has always had. If I press hard on the brake pedal on a bumpy surface with a slope, I hear a fast ticking and the brake presure disappears immediately and the pedal goes all the way to the floor. To get around this I have to pump it as I come to a stop on rough surfaces.

I don't know if it has something to do with the angle but it is only severe on hills with bumps. Could be that there is not enough weight being placed on the rear wheel under such conditions.

 

The 97s are just underbraked. Thats the reason that Ford switched to the 4-wheel discs in 99. Every one w/ a 07 complains about the same thing. I just know how far it takes for me to stop & slow down as soon as people in front of me hit their brakes

 

OMG! You think that you do not have worn shocks at 42,000 miles? What an eye opener for you, professional mechanic or shade tree.

Second note, the stock shocks are a POS. lets not ***** foot the issue.

There has been studies that basically when you pick up a car/truck from a dealer, it has the equivalent of about 20K miles on the shocks of wear from the assembly line to transport to your garage. 20/20, dateline and such made a big deal about that a few years ago.

You should get new shocks by the time your truck hits 10K. Anyone that has replaced them will tell you a world of difference in the ride and handling.

Plus my theory with the tech behind it totally explains your issue.

"Coming to a stoplight on a downhill and the pavement was bumpy "

If you cannot keep the tires on the ground how are you going to stop? Air brakes? Flaps? reverse thrusters?

Let me know your miracle secret "professional mechanics" tip here. Back it up with tech/proof also. Not just your theories cause like mine, many have proven wrong.

 

Sounds like air in the lines if that is your case! Pumping the pedal for pressure is a classic sign of air in the lines.

other thoughts if I can read you right is that you have a bad MC booster or MC.

 

My 97 doesn't stop too good. It does the same thing when I hit bumps while braking. The brakes just go away bad when the ABS kicks in.

 

Just a little question - folks who are having problems stopping - do you have the rear wheel antilocks or the four wheel antilocks. I have observed the same behavior in certain cases where the rears momentarily lose braking traction. End result is much less braking power and a really scary feeling. I hate the rear wheel anti-locks I have on my truck. They just don't give me the warm fuzzies.

 

Easy on the personal attacks there chum!!!! Its not just bumpy pavement. Smooth dry pavement. I think you are missing the boat. When i hit a bump it does not continue to bounce in the least bit. Are shocks going to Make the brakes not work??!!?!?!?? I.E. loss of stopping power??? This is a mechanical problem with the brakes intermittantly. However minute the wear of the shocks is not going to affect a hard pedal at times is it mister shadetree?? May be you should think outside of the box. Sorry to be pissy but where do you get off telling me i'm a shadetree because i don't buy into monroe's theory? Thats uncalled for man.

Also on Edit Of course Monroe has that stuff on their website they want to sell you shocks don't they? Obviously worn shocks can reduce stopping distance any monkey can do the physics here. WORN Shocks do not feels like there is a mechanical problem with the brakes. Do you work For Monroe or something? Is that the Cure of the week for bad brakes? Throw shocks at it? Whatever. Ask for advice and get criticism. I noted your opinion and filed it. Why start a fight?

 

I was just thinking of this issue tonight. I feel that the brakes of the 97's are very underrated. It feels like the brakes should be twice as big to effectivly stop this 6000 lb truck. You know all that weight on those small rotors creates lots of heat. No wonder half of us end up with warped rotors. I was drving very aggresivley tonight and after I got out I could smell the pads. I touched the wheel to wind it a little warm. I then had a stupid moment and touched the rotor. Bad mistake, extra crispy finger tip now. On the way home I drove normal and esy and the wheel stayed cool to the touch. Moral of story: Any hard or excessive braking and the brakes on these trucks just can't take it.

My ideas to solve this so far
1. Invest big $$$ into aftermarket big brakes (Brembo=dream)
2. Have the rotors done in the cyro type thing (any ideas where this is done and how much?)
3. Drive smoother and use sense when stopping and guessing on the distance ( this is the one I will follow)

 

The last is what i have been doing there KY. Its unnerving. I guess i should put shocks on instead of better brakes though.

 

where do you guys get 6000#s for your truck weight? I dont think the 9.75, auto and 5.4 is 1500#s more than me?

with me, wife and kids in the truck it was like 4600# last time at the scale. So that is about 4300 truck. About 300#s more than my ranger which tipped the scales at just over 4000#s.

4.6, manual tranny transfer, 8.8, extracab, bench seats

 

Matt
I know bud, that's the GVW. I don't think I could come close to the 6000 lbs even with the bed full unless it was like brick or something. Still it takes a lot of brake to stop that weight no matter if it's 4300 or 6000. But I am sure all of us here now that much. It's a truck, if I wanted neck snapping take off or stopping I wouldn't have got it, but not everyone thinks this way.