Has anyone had any luck getting the brake rotors replaced under warranty or will they turn them? My brakes are thumping when trying to stop.

Thanks,

Ron

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PP-ASEL

'97 Ford F-150 XLT SC, 4x4, Auto, 5.4, 3.55LS, 265/75/16 BFG AT
rmagers@cet.edu

[This message has been edited by rmagers (edited 05-18-99).]

 

I haven't had that problem with my truck yet. My 96 Contour SE has, I warped the front rotors the 1st time and Ford turned them. The 2nd time it happened they replaced them. My dealer said that is the way Ford covers them under warranty (pay for turn 1st time - pay to replace 2nd time).

 

If I'm not mistaken, Ford warrantys brake linings
for 20000km (sorry for the metric). But I just had my
rear drums replaced free of charge because they were
warped, at 40K.

 

Apply pressure to your dealer, mine replaced the rotors under warranty.

 

My dealer turned mine when I complained. Then I told them I still had the same problem and they told me to downshift(auto trans) in the hills. They claim they cannot make brake drums that will not warp since aspestos was removed from the pads. I can tell you that my volvo dealer replaced the warped disks without comment. Guess I ought to buy a Volvo truck next time.

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That dealer was giving you a line of Bull S**T.
I've never seen or had a Ford that didn't warp the rotors regardless of the pad material. Warped rotors are a common problem, all I've been able to do is have them turned and hope for the best.

 

I dropped off my truck at the dealer last week. He did turn my rotors under warranty. Also, I had the TSB done about moving the exhaust to behind the rear wheel. One other problem was the squeaking steering. The dealer replaced all the tie-rod ends to stop the noise, but I noticed the steering still squeaks.

Ron


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PP-ASEL

'97 Ford F-150 XLT SC, 4x4, Auto, 5.4, 3.55LS, 265/75/16 BFG AT
rmagers@cet.edu
http://www.cet.edu/staff/rmagers/personal.html

 

My '97 F150 was showing the same signs- Dealer turned front rotors, and ordered new rear drums...at 31000 miles...sure not impressive as my '94 Ranger S/c went 52000 miles with nothing required at all.....maybe the Automatic is harder on the brakes.....who knows....but the wife's Dodge Stratus has har two sets of rotors on it since we've owned the thing....

 

RMAGERS

I HAD SAME SQUEKING IN MY STEERING TOO THEY REPLACED THE PITMAN ARM AND ALL THE TIE RODS THAT FIXED IT.

97 LARIAT SUPERCAB ORP 4X4

PAUL

 

I just got done replacing my rotors.

It was not fun or cheap.

The pads had just started squeaking, so I picked up a set of front pads and rotors (I had a warped one, didn't know which, and was out of warranty). After removing the pads and calipers, I proceeded to attempt to pop the rotor off with a hammer. No luck. I moved up to a sledge hammer. Still no luck. Ended up putting new pads on the old rotors without turning (One of the original pads was starting to disintegrate, so I didn't want to put it back on). I called a friend who had a 20 ton press, figuring the rotors were pressed onto the hubs. It was about a week later when I managed to get over there, and tried pressing the rotor off of the hub.

No luck.

Several days later, I ended up taking both hubs into a machine shop. They said it took 30 minutes on a 40 ton press and a lot of hammering before they came apart. And they were NOT pressed on. They were *rusted* on.

I reassembled the new rotors with substantial amounts of anti-seize compound. AND another set of pads, as the "new" ones I put on a week ago were all scored up from being on the old rotors.

Cost of rotors from Murray's auto parts: $35/ea, $70
Cost of pads: $35
Cost of labor to remove old rotors: $30
Cost of 2nd set of pads from machine shop: $50 (they looked a lot closer to OEM)

I figure it was about $80 more than it should have been.

Good luck if you attempt such an endeavor.

 

I purchased my 1998 XLT SC 2 weeks ago from my local ford dealership. It has 18,500 miles on it so it was still under mfg warranty. About 3 days after I got it I noticed that the truck would shake when I applied the brakes to slow down. I called the dealer and spoke with the used car service manager. He said "no problem we will take care of it for you". They resurfaced the rotors and installed new ford brake pads, no charge. Now the brakes are great. It is a little concerning that the truck needs brake service in 18K miles. My last truck, a GMC Sonoma went 25K and then only needed a new set of pads.

Richard.

 

I too have had quite the experience with the front brake job. My truck had 45K on it when I went to change the front pads. They still had maybe a 1/4 pad left but the rotors were warped a little and the brakes didn't have that confidence feel so I decided to replace them.

WD-40 and Liquid Wrench do wonders! I started putting them both on a couple of tire rotations before I decided to do the brakes because they looked like they were going to be a real pain. When I did finally try to take them off it took more Liquid Wrench, a propane torch and a BFH (big freakin hammer).

Anyway, I had the rotors turned ($14.00) and a bought a new set of pads ($45.00) all from O'Reily. After about a month the rotors were giving me that same out-of-round feel. I didn't keep the reciept for the turning so I ended up buying new ones from Napa ($120). Another month goes by and wouldn't you know it, warped rotors, warped brand-new rotors. I called Napa and they said since I had not used their pads that they couldn't warranty the rotors. Oh no, they will warranty the rotors. They did talk me into a set of their pads ($60) but now I have a lifetime set of front brakes.

The United brakes from Napa along with the new rotors make my F150 stop on a dime. The brakes really never did impress me, even when new. But now, they really stop pretty good. I would recommend the Napa brake pads to anyone. All told, I did two brake jobs and spent an extra $60.

P.S. Anyone thinking about removing the rear drums better start using the penetrating oil now because they are a huge pain to get off.

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'97 F150 Lariat, Flareside, SC, ORP, 5.4, Mods: 305/70/16 GY ATS, AR Baja wheels, dual exhaust, Smittybilt nerf bars, fog light mod and Big Bird mirror toy.
kkirt1@hotmail.com

 

Glad to see I am not the only one with brake replacement stories. That BFH really took some time to get the rotors off. I replace the front pads at 40K and turned the rotors. I got smart and tried those performance friction carbon metallic pads. They worked great for about 3K miles, then they started to squeal. Now at 8K, they grind, squeal, and have warped the rotors! I give up.. Maybe another turn on the rotors and I will try some NAPA pads. Thanks for the info...

 

I've a question: When or how do you know you need to change the brake pads and roters??? I've now got 45k on the truck. Lately I've noticed when braking to a stop that it's starting to bounce, shimmy, pulse...I don't really know what word to use here but it's a very slight sensation and if I pump the brake once, it goes away. Do you all think this is the high sign that my brakes are soon to be needing replaced???

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97F150 XLT SC 4x4 Flairside 4.6 V8 5sp Dk Toreador Red, 3.55LS
ARE tonneau cover, p255/70rx16 tires (came w/235), Superchip
Pioneer CD w/4 Polk Speakers & Clarion APA5240amp, skid plates
bed liner, side window deflectors, reese hitch, K&N air filter
40s-2chamber Flowmaster, Bosch +4 spark plugs, rustproofing
Better Built Stainless nerf bars

 

Tina, it sounds like you've got warped rotors or drums or both. Regarding pad replacement, the only way to know if the pads need to be replaced is to pull the wheel and look at them to see how much material is left. My F150 went 90k on the factory pads and shoes (lots of hiway driving) and my wife's GMC Yukon went 40K on the factory front pads and still has the original rear pads at 50k (lots of city driving). Many reputable shops will do a free brake inspection. The problem is finding the reputable ones!

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'93 Regular Cab XLT Shortbed, 5.0, K&N, Borla, 160,000 miles; Future SuperCrew owner.