Explorer Brake rotors

[paulreed4]

Well it's time to spend money on my 98 explorer again. The left front brake was making a terrible noise yesterday. Took it to Midus. The result: All four rotors must replaced. They looked as if they had cancer. They were just falling apart . 51,000 miles. The Midus guy stated "Not the first Explorer to do that....". The noise was coming from the fact that the front left caliper was "locked", and the right wasn't far behind. Total damage : $871.00. However I did finally get the extended warrenty to pay for something... The calipers were covered. So after the 100$ deductable.. they paid for a wopping 139$.. yeah...Just 700 plus out of pocket. Has anyone else noticed Explorer rotors that are rusting a part?

 

[Kontrol-Trak]

That sucks....I have more than 128k miles on the original rotors and they are still fine.

 

[tbomb]

just under 34k on my 98 and theyre fine.

 

[Robert]

If you haven't been lubricating your caliper slide pins at the recommended intervals in your service guide, it will cause your calipers to stick. If your caliper stick, it will destroy a rotor in no time. My '97 has 84K miles and is still on the original calpers with a pad change at 50K.

 

[Jason_25]

Robert,
What is the correct procedure for lubing the slide pins?

Just squirt some oil on them?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[mikeresin]

96k miles i had to replace all of mine.
i love explorers but they are sponges. they soak up all my money

 

[IgotTwo]

My 97's went while under warranty 30k? big gouges left front.
Brake rail grease is the best insurance. Ask for the stuff at a parts place. It is a specical high temp stuff.

My 94 had mild hot spots on the rotor and I almost lost those. One guy wouldn't turn them which was BS and another gave them a good going over before and after and they turned fined.
1. They don't make em the way they use to - newer rotor and not as beefy
2 You have to watch that rail grease

 

[oahrens]

I don't know how much difference there is between my '91 and later models. My caliper froze 40 miles from home. I drove/crawled home to find 1/4 inch deep ruts in my rotor, only on the inner passenger side. There was no pad left. The Bolt rivets tore it up.
I think this was from not greasing the slide pins. They need to be greased with "brake caliper grease". Anything else will attract dirt.
Another cause of brake wear/rotor warp is defective hubs. Just a thought...
The consensus on the board is replace the rotors with ART rotors. Too late now...

BTW---You could have saved at least $400 by doing the job yourself....If you're into that sort of thing. I'm sure the board can help you with whatever the prob is.

 

[checkedout]

I've got 125K on my 96....no problems. Getting ready to put my third set of pads on the front. Probably time for rotors as well.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Jason_25
Robert,
What is the correct procedure for lubing the slide pins?

Just squirt some oil on them?

Thanks,
Jason

Jason,

As oahrens said, you need to use brake caliper lube or I've seen it sold as caliper slide pin lubricant (pretty obvious what it is ). I got mine from Pep Boys for a few dollars. All it amounted to was a couple of tubes about the size of a free sample tooth paste tube you might get in the mail. It was a dark green, transparent liquid. You definately do not want to use oil. The preferred lube is dust resistant, high temperature and of the proper lubricity for your brakes. Anything else and all bets are off as to how long it lasts, if at all.

 

[Chris Jella']

Definately lube the slide pins. I use a synthetic brake caliper grease. It's clear blue and seems to work great. I do mine around every 10-12,000 miles. When I bought mine, the brakes pads had just been replaced. I now have just over 50,000 miles on the fronts and still have good pad left and the rotors haven't warped a bit. I'll keep lubing the slides as it has rewarded me with good brake life so far, and it's not hard, just a little messy.

 

[oahrens]

Chris...Good Luck with the resto
That's going to be soulfull to cruise in the Ozarks on a late summer afternoon. Good for you.
BTW- how restricted is the airspace around Ft. Lostinthewoods ?

 

[Chris Jella']

oahrens
Ft Wood is a breeze to fly in and out of! I think the guys in the tower are just glad to talk to another human! Other than the 2 small restricted areas that have been there for years, they are open for business. A friend of mine rents an airplane there. They are planning a runway extension and ramp upgrade for general aviation this summer last I heard.
The Stearman restoration is coming along great. Check out my site, i have a few pictures in the flying section from our first run the other day

http://home.earthlink.net/~pt17pilot/index.html