Ford Man 14821

Hey all, I just purchased a 2004 F150 a few weeks ago and I think I am having some problems with the brakes.

I noticed the first problem when I first test drove the truck and the dealer looked at it and "fixed" the problem. It got new rear calipers and pads.

Now the front brakes are squealing almost continuously and the front left is covered in braked dust...more so than the other 3 corners. Also, after driving it the other day i felt the rotors to see if one was hotter than the rest. The front left nearly burned my finger and the other three were luke warm. I think the caliper is setting up on the front left.

Is the brake system problematic on the '04s? And, with the truck being so new, should I try to monkey with it and see if I can fix the problem?

Id be grateful for some info guys. Thanks

PS its the new body style in case it makes a difference

whitecrystal1

The only problems I've heard about is warped or grooved rotors. The TSB is below for this. These breaks do produce a lot of dust That doesn't explain why your only having an issues with one wheel. It almost sounds as if the caliber could be sticking. I wonder if they cleaned and greased the slide plates. If they just did a break job I would take it back and have them look at it.
Here is a picture of the slide plates the pads move on mine.

Fordaholic

Whitecrystal that was nice of you to go out and take a picture of your brakes.

I don't have a supercab but i haven't had a problem with my brakes. They do produce alot of dust, which is really agrivating, but no problems with them making noise.

Ford Man 14821

Thanks for all the lit. and pics pics whitecrystal.

I think it is the calipers setting up...thats what was the matter with the rear calipers when i took the test drive. But those plates that the calipers slide on do look awful corroded as well. There was a heat issue too that makes me think that something is wrong... the other day I shot the rotors with an infrared thermometer. The right side (problem side) was 217 degrees. The left was only 102 degrees. Seems like a significant difference in temp to me.

At any rate, Im takin it back to the dealer and having them do it on Wednesday. Thanks for the responses though.

oe542eeb

Yeah, my 2004 STX produces a ton of brake dust in the front ever since it was new, but no other problems I have 21K on it now and everything still seems to be in tact.

Ford Man 14821

I was also wondering if maybe some water or moisture had gotten into the system somehow. If the water expanded or turned into steam it could cause the fluid to push the caliper closed right? Ive seen that happen to the Humvees and CUCV's i worked on in the military a few times. Unexplained grabbing and noise and such was just water/moisture in the system.

The truck did have very low miles for an '04 which means that it may have sat around for awhile.

Thought Id throw that out there. If it sounds like its something that is illogical lemme know.

whitecrystal1

Just a thought but I think that would effect more than one wheel.

One other thing I forgot to mention is there is two springs that keep the pads away from the rotor when your not pushing the breaks. I wonder if they either fell off or they missed putting them on that wheel. That could explain why it's getting hot and maybe why it's not pulling like a stick caliber would cause. Sorry I don't have a picture, you will need to take your wheel off to see if their there. They don't look like a round spiral spring. They look like a very thin round metal rod bent in the shape of a U there are two per calibar on the front breaks. They connect at the break shoes to keep outward pressure on them. Look at the caliber and on the top side is where you should see them.

Ford Man 14821

thanks for the tip about the springs... ill take a look tonight.

Good point about the moisture thing... i guess it would affect all four calipers not just the front.

That service bulletin you posted... i can find out when my vehicle was manufactured on the door jam sticker right?