posterdahl

Hello everyone and just wanted to say thanks in advance. So here is my deal. The brakes on my f150 have been spongy and barely adequate for as long as I can remember (have owned it since new). Around a year ago my driver's side caliper froze (just after replacing the pads and rotors, ended up warping the rotor). I replaced the caliper along with the brake line and the problem went away. Fast forward one year, after letting the truck sit for around a month due to traveling, when I went to drive the brakes were dangerously bad. Not only soft but the warped rotor was terrible. So I decided that I needed to replace everything again, and while I was at it I replaced the master cylinder and flushed the brake fluid system completely . The brakes worked amazingly well (still a little soft however).

Now I am around two weeks out from the fix and the front driver side brakes seem to be catching again. The wheel is getting excessively hot, with a lot of brake dust, and a burnt smell. Now this is not to the extent of when I had to replace the caliper but it has me very worried. The passenger front side is fine even with the original caliper.

What do you think could be going on? I made sure that the slides were on perfectly (filed off and sanded off all of the corrosion), that the pads moved well, and that the slide bolts were clean and lubricated.

Could the new caliper be shot after only a year? The brakes make no sound at all.

Looking for any help! Just getting sick of spending money on my brakes only to keep on having issues.

My truck is a 2005 Lariat 4x4 with around 170,000 miles

corey_lax

caliper maybe stuck. I would also check for collapsed brake lines at the problem wheel. And make sure you used the correct brake fluid.

posterdahl

Used the correct brake fluid and I will check the flex brake line going to the driver side although that brake line is also new (just under a year old replaced when I had this issue in the past).

quinner30

Have you ever flushed and changed the fluid?

Nevermind, I re-read your post and there it was. at any rate, you might consider flushing again, excess moisture would cause the spongy pedal. As for the sticking, I would suspect the rubber flex line, but there could be a blockage anywhere. I don't know a ton about brakes, but I believe the pressure applied at the pedal is greater than the return pressure, so a soft blockage could prevent the brakes from letting go sooner than preventing them from squeezing.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

filed off and sanded off all of the corrosion ???

posterdahl

Yeah where the metal slide brackets clip on to make sure they stay/seated flush and the pads would not get hung up. That's always my biggest PITA is getting the brackets to clip on, stay on, and have the pads slide ok in the brackets, and then get everything back on with those darn springs that help keep the pads off the rotos. Have gotten hit in the face a few time when they pop off when I'm trying to get the caliper back on haha. Before cleaning up that area the pads would not slide smooth at all. Had to do it every time I have changed the pads (the back part of the metal clips always gets a bit rusted and corroded and leaves some corrosion behind lowering the clearance space for the pads to fit into once the new clips are ore on).

Hope that makes sense

posterdahl

Going to try to adjust the pusher rod (not sure what it's called) on the brake booster today to see if maybe it's partially engaging. Maybe the new master cylinder is slightly different than the original. Will try turning it in a turn or two. But it doesn't make sense to me that it worked fine for the first few weeks. That's what's stumping me. I figured if I was going to have a problem it would have started pretty soon after finishing the job.

digitaltrucker

DID you install the brake pads correctly? On that year, do the front pads have one with what looks like ears? If yes, this pad goes on the inside. This will cause serious issues with that wheel.

posterdahl

Pretty sure they went in correctly, the pads were identical. I think it is the slightly newer model year (possibly 09 on?) trucks that have a specific pad for the inside and outside. I will take it apart later today and check.

redfishtd

They tell me the composite piston after being out and absorbing moisture gets pushed back in during job and sticks intermittently coming out and won't back off when you release brake ..
Well I finally changed both front calipers with remans and that fixed it years ago .
Maybe you got a bad reman ? I didn't change the fluid or the hoses . I'm at 175k .