rudell

I have a 98' F150 XLT 5.4L and starting to notice some brake issues. I left the other day to go to the gym and made it down to the stop sign and when I hit the breaks I heard a loud clunk and my brakes locked up which made if fun since the road was ice/snow. When I attempted to go forward, it would not move and would only move when going in reverse. I was able to reproduce the issue a couple times just switching between reverse/drive and eventually just reversed back down the road to my driveway.


After a little while, it appeared to work fine and I could not get the issue to happen again until today again. This time I had already driven it for a while and was once again coming up to a stop sign and when I hit the brakes it locked up again (this time without the clunk) yet I was able to continue going forward without any problems. The one thing I noticed is that my brakes now have a spongy feel now when I press them.


Any idea what I should look at? I checked the brake fluid and it appeared to be fine. I also don't use the parking brake as I had seen some references to the parking brake cable stuck.


Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Tackle

If it is indeed brakes...salt, sand or dirt in your calipers...or they rusted up. Find out which one the next time it happends. Either get out and smell which one is burning hot, or jack it up.

Jbrew

You need to check your anchor plate bolts as well. Check those , then I'll tell yuh what I think you should do.

RaptoRx7

I had a similar issue on my 98... Ended up being the rubber brake lines were collapsed on the inside and also bulging... That acted like a check valve, I could push fluid to the caliper but it could not release the pressure back to the reservoir....
I'd also check and make sure the pads are free and not in a bind inside the caliper bracket and that your caliper is floating freely on the pins....
My brake lines literally fell apart in my hands when I went to remove them..
Hope this helps..

Jbrew

This is your Anchor plate BTW, -

rudell

Ok sweet! Some things for me to look into tmw after I get the kid to school. New symptom I noticed tonight on top of the squishy brakes when I tested further, is if I rapidly engage the brakes, I almost get to the floor and then my drum brakes appear to kick in quickly with almost a thunking type of sound. Don't know if this opens up other possibilities as well.

iFord

I've had that problem. For mine, it was those caliper slider thingamajigs that were rusted. And, right now, my right rear brake is sticking after having them replaced! But I think that one is parking brake cable. I just crawled under and sprayed some unstuck em stuff everywhere I could reach. Anyway, keep us posted!