2006 F150 Rear Brake issue
06-01-2014, 09:27 PM
#1
2006 F150 Rear Brake issue
Hi,
I am puzzled but have an idea what happened but looking for some confirmation of my thoughts. I had a bad left fronT wheel bearing on my 06 4x4 F150 STX. I bought a new hub assembly and installed it. Everything went well. On my test drive I noticed the truck seemed to be fighting some drag. The temps at all 4 corners seemed OK. I was looking for a hung up caliper or if the new bearing was running hot. I pulled everything I had worked on and it was fine. Re-installed it and went out for another test ride. When I got back, with the same dragging symptoms, I found that the right rear brake package was smoking hot.
I am wondering if the pushing back of the caliper pistons at the left front with a C-Clamp could have caused the left rear brake package to pressurize? It makes sense that this could happen but it has never happened before. I am pretty sure it wasn't an E-Brake dragging as I only use it often enough to keep them from siezing up and didn't use them during any of this work. I solved the issue by cracking the bleed screw open to relieve the pressure then I bled all four corners. Everything is fine now except for a bit of lingering "burnt brake" smell.
Anyone care to elaborate on what may have been the cause of this happening on an area of the truck I wasn't working on?
I am puzzled but have an idea what happened but looking for some confirmation of my thoughts. I had a bad left fronT wheel bearing on my 06 4x4 F150 STX. I bought a new hub assembly and installed it. Everything went well. On my test drive I noticed the truck seemed to be fighting some drag. The temps at all 4 corners seemed OK. I was looking for a hung up caliper or if the new bearing was running hot. I pulled everything I had worked on and it was fine. Re-installed it and went out for another test ride. When I got back, with the same dragging symptoms, I found that the right rear brake package was smoking hot.
I am wondering if the pushing back of the caliper pistons at the left front with a C-Clamp could have caused the left rear brake package to pressurize? It makes sense that this could happen but it has never happened before. I am pretty sure it wasn't an E-Brake dragging as I only use it often enough to keep them from siezing up and didn't use them during any of this work. I solved the issue by cracking the bleed screw open to relieve the pressure then I bled all four corners. Everything is fine now except for a bit of lingering "burnt brake" smell.
Anyone care to elaborate on what may have been the cause of this happening on an area of the truck I wasn't working on?
06-02-2014, 01:12 AM
#2
I'm fairly sure the F150 is like almost all modern vehicles in that the brakes are cross linked. That is, the left front is hydraulically linked to the right rear and the right front to the left rear. Thus, there's no way for your brakes to be affected in the manner you suggest. It's more likely that you simply have a stuck caliper.
06-02-2014, 03:46 AM
#3
Boom. Nailed it. Pull the caliper and look at the pistons. I bet they're broken. I bought my '05 and so far have had both my front calipers' pistons shatter and hang up because of that bull**** phenolic caliper companies love to use these days. If that's the problem, either rebuild the caliper or replace the whole thing.
If the caliper is just stuck but the piston is in fine shape, then you need to find out if it's the caliper or the flex hose. The hoses can break down over time and cause clogging, not releasing the pressure back into the line. Get the brakes pressurized and get the caliper to lock, then open the bleeder. If fluid squirts out of the bleeder to relieve the pressure, replace the flex hose because somewhere it's clogged. If it doesn't, the caliper is just stuck on its own - replace just the caliper.
If the caliper is just stuck but the piston is in fine shape, then you need to find out if it's the caliper or the flex hose. The hoses can break down over time and cause clogging, not releasing the pressure back into the line. Get the brakes pressurized and get the caliper to lock, then open the bleeder. If fluid squirts out of the bleeder to relieve the pressure, replace the flex hose because somewhere it's clogged. If it doesn't, the caliper is just stuck on its own - replace just the caliper.