hey guys, i have the most annoying problem. When i press the brake i'm getting a pulsation as if i was skidding on ice or whenever the ABS would be in use. The brakes are working fine. no lights are on and it just passed inspection yesterday. I cannot figure out what it is. Its not happening all the time. Mostly at low speeds coming to a stop sign. What do you guys think?

 

Its most likely warped rotors, I'm a mechanic at a dealership and the pulsation usually is the rotors and 9 times out of 10 it's the front ones, you can get them turned if there not too bad but it'd be smart to get new pads as well because they have a tendency to wear to the rotors (uneven if the rotor is warped) hope this helps

 

I had a very similar problem with a 97 Expedition it ended up being the ABS module to the tune of 900 bucks. The pulses are very fast. too fast for a warped rotor it feels just like the ABS when your on ice.

 

im no mechanic but if it's at low speed and more of a eerrrrrrrrr and less of a pulse feeling. it is probably ABS related. get the rotors checked out anyway.

 

do you feel the pulsing or vibration in the steering wheel or the brake pedal?

if you feel it in the steering wheel then I would believe it would be do to "warper rotors" which means you overheated your brake pads and transfered some of the material to the brake rotor causing the high spot you feel in the steering wheel as you drive down the road. to fix this you can have the rotors cut and/or replace the brake pads

if you feel the vibration in the brake pedal then that would make me think there is a problem with the ABS system. if this is the case you should take it to a repair shop who has the tools needed to diagnosis this problem.

 

Can he pull a fuse and disable the ABS and see how things work? I pulled the ABS fuse out of a few is my vehicles cause It sucks sometimes in the snow.... I have no issues with my trick ABS seems to work well on these models.

 

X2 in the steering wheel, but I have also felt it in the brake pedal. If it pulsates, it is definetly the rotors. If none of that, it is the abs. You might feel a clicking in the pedal, if it is abs.
I would get new rotors if yours are warped. If you get them turned, the same rotors that had warped are now thinner, and the chances they will warp again are good. Not one but both fronts (or rears) and new pads. If you have to change the rotors, either go directly with ford oem, or go to dimpled/slotted rotors. Depends on your budget.
Good luck.

 

It does sound like warped rotors like the others say but definitely get new rotors, I wouldn't bother to turn them. There isn't much point in turning them because new rotors don't cost much more, plus when you turn them you're are just taking material off of them and grinding them back down to a flat surface. When you do that it makes the rotors thinner and more susceptible to heating up, overheating, brake fade and also warping them again. Most mechanics I know recommend new ones for that reason, some shops won't even turn rotors anymore or guarantee them if they do.

 

just to clear some things up, brake rotors do not "warp" the vibration that is felt is due to some material, often the brake pad itself, has adhered to the rotor and causing a high spot which is then felt in the steering wheel. more info about the warped brake rotor myth can be read here:
http://stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

with that said, turning your rotors will in fact remove material from the rotors but this will not make the rotors more or less susceptible to "warping" again. This has to do more with your braking habits and the type and quality of the brake pad material.