1990 F150
02-22-2008, 09:43 PM
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1990 F150
Just bought 1990 F150 Lariat XLT 4x4 reg cab, LB. It's in good shape, no rust, mainly just needs TLC. Did oil, filters, tire rotation, brake inspection, and wax job last weekend. Seller just replaced master cyclinder and it has alot of brake peddle travel. He says brakes just need rebleeding. Brake inspection revealed hardened dust seals on front that maybe preventing proper release of pads. Probably will put seal kit in front calipers & get rotors turned. As for brake bleeding, are there any tips for bleeding?? Reading post indicates other's have had issues with excessive brake travel too. Is this a common Ford problem??
02-22-2008, 09:47 PM
#2
No Pain, No Pain!
Welcome!
It is not necessarily common, just something that isn't being done properly. The brakes probably need to be bled properly.
Check out this post:
https://www.f150forum.com/f10/brake-leak-5811/
It is not necessarily common, just something that isn't being done properly. The brakes probably need to be bled properly.
Check out this post:
https://www.f150forum.com/f10/brake-leak-5811/
Welcome to the site!
02-22-2008, 10:35 PM
#4
Senior Member
Welcome to the site! Glad to see the older model year owners showing up here.
As to your brakes, if all the seller did was replace the master cylinder, then bleeding is probably the best shot at correcting the pedal travel. Be sure to start with the right (passenger-side) rear wheel cylinder and work your way forward - RR, LR, RF, LF.
From my experiences, a complete brake system bleed-out takes a little over 2 quarts of fluid, but then you can write off fluid maintenance for another 3 years, as I go by the theory that it's good to change the brake fluid periodically due to crud and moisture absorption issues.
As to the dust boot issue - if the caliper piston has any corrosion or rust due to the exposure, a seal kit will not be a good repair - the roughened sides will just eat up the new seals, and you'll soon have a leak that requires opening the hydraulic system up again. Suggest to consider just replacing the calipers instead of rebuilding - it's really not that expensive in the scheme of things.
Also, hear of horror stories of guys that rebuild brake parts where they soon have a catastrophic failure resulting in repair and insurance costs that far exceed the cost difference between a repair kit and a rebuilt caliper.
My personal 'motto', if you will, is not to fool around when repairing brakes and steering components, to do it right the first time, figuring that if one can steer and stop - there's not a lot of trouble left to get into.
If brake pedal travel is still an issue after bleeding - suggest to check the rear drum shoe adjustment - many times, the auto-adjust mechanism takes a while to dial back in if new shoes are installed or if the shoes have to be backed off for drum removal, or the mechanism binds up not allowing the auto-adjust.
Good luck, and let us know how things end up.
As to your brakes, if all the seller did was replace the master cylinder, then bleeding is probably the best shot at correcting the pedal travel. Be sure to start with the right (passenger-side) rear wheel cylinder and work your way forward - RR, LR, RF, LF.
From my experiences, a complete brake system bleed-out takes a little over 2 quarts of fluid, but then you can write off fluid maintenance for another 3 years, as I go by the theory that it's good to change the brake fluid periodically due to crud and moisture absorption issues.
As to the dust boot issue - if the caliper piston has any corrosion or rust due to the exposure, a seal kit will not be a good repair - the roughened sides will just eat up the new seals, and you'll soon have a leak that requires opening the hydraulic system up again. Suggest to consider just replacing the calipers instead of rebuilding - it's really not that expensive in the scheme of things.
Also, hear of horror stories of guys that rebuild brake parts where they soon have a catastrophic failure resulting in repair and insurance costs that far exceed the cost difference between a repair kit and a rebuilt caliper.
My personal 'motto', if you will, is not to fool around when repairing brakes and steering components, to do it right the first time, figuring that if one can steer and stop - there's not a lot of trouble left to get into.
If brake pedal travel is still an issue after bleeding - suggest to check the rear drum shoe adjustment - many times, the auto-adjust mechanism takes a while to dial back in if new shoes are installed or if the shoes have to be backed off for drum removal, or the mechanism binds up not allowing the auto-adjust.
Good luck, and let us know how things end up.
02-23-2008, 10:03 PM
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BStruck Brake Bleeding
Thanks for the info. I'll update once I get brakes bled. Oh, it's a 302 with 113,000. Sits high in the rear, has anyone removed the 2" spacers in the rear to level out. Thinking of doing this before I get front end aligned.
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02-23-2008, 10:22 PM
#8
No Pain, No Pain!
