Stupid Brake Problem

[Bratmanxj]

I've owned my clean, low milage '06 Mountaineer since March and its been a great truck. The dealer put cheap pads on it and the brakes were squealing to a stop so I decided to do something about it...

Pull the pads, sand them down a little with some 80 grit on the work bench, compress the piston, and re-install. The squeal is gone but now the truck is pulling to the right and gas milage is way down (from 18 avg to 12 avg)?!?

Pull the wheels again, clean & grease the slide pins, make sure everything looks correct. The inside pads apeared to be dragging (extra dusty/caked in) on both sides. Put it all back together and still having the same problem.

Im a very capable mechanic and fabricator...but i think I'm probably overlooking something stupid on this truck...any help.

 

[swshawaii]

Sounds like a sticking caliper. Is the rim getting hot?

http://www.aa1car.com/library/common_brake_problems_ucx.jpg

http://www.aa1car.com/library/bfixes.htm

BRAKES PULL TO ONE SIDE

If your vehicle suddenly swerved to one side when you apply the brakes, there is uneven braking side-to-side. This usually means one front brake is not working properly. The pull will be toward the side with the good brake (because it is doing all the work). Brake pull can be caused by brake fluid, oil or grease on the brake pads, a stuck caliper, a blockage in the brake line to one of the front calipers, or sometimes loose wheel bearings. A brake pull can also be caused by different types/brands of brake pads side-to-side on the front brakes. Different friction materials have different friction characteristics, so the brakes will pull toward the side that generates the most friction.

 

[Bratmanxj]

I went from perfectly fine to issues... Caliper pistons retracted easily, slide pins move smothly, everything is relatively clean and free moving. I know what a stuck caliper feels like both driving and working with, this only seems like a slight drag. Is there something special to fiting the pads in the mounts?

 

[swshawaii]

Did you replace or remove the stainless pad clips? Often the caliper surface below the clips gets crusty and can cause binding. As you know,
tolerances are very tight and just fitting the pads can be challenging. Small wire brush and use only specific high temp silicone brake lube.

 

[Bratmanxj]

Went back out to the garage after the truck cooled off; pulled the front & rear calipers to check everything. I pulled the new shims out of the box, wire brushed the mounts and installed. All the caliper pistons retracted smoothly, all the pins move smoothly, none of the lines are kinked or chaffed. I've got to run a few short errands so well see....if not I'll take it to the dealer and see just how much my aftermarket warranty covers.

 

[Bratmanxj]

Well, I'm not sure what it really was but all is better again. The stainless clips that I took off were fairly clean and straight with no real build-up on the steel bracket underneath. I had when I have to do a job 3 times to make it work!

 

[USMCBuckWild]

At least you got your brakes working properly.

 

[Bratmanxj]

And after 3 days its back, truck feels sluggish and holding gears to over 3k-3.5k rpm on normal acceleration. Both fronts rotors were warm/hot to the touch when I got home. Off to the dealer this week for a possible sticking caliper, lets see what this warranty covers!

 

[Rcflyer330]

The 3 to 3.5k rpm shift sounds normal to me that is where mine usually shifts unless I really baby it. What engine and tranny do you have? I have the v6 and 5r55s

 

[Bratmanxj]

Its a V6 5r55... But even doing it down the highway at a constant 60 mph holding 4th gear on level ground. I'll drive it for a few days and see if it gets better when we warm up next week.

 

[USMCBuckWild]

Original brake hoses?

May have collapsed brake hoses. They wear out and expand (rubber absorbs brake fluid) over time which allows fluid to flow through from master cyl to caliper, but not retract from caliper to master cyl. Way cheaper to replace a couple brake hoses than calipers.

 

[Bratmanxj]

So I was also having issues with a dragging parking brake on my Mazda3 work car and started to do a bit of "excessively critical" diagnosis; the common theme between the Merc & the Mazda...Raybestos brake pads. Swapped different rear pads into the Mazda and no more dragging. So I pulled the pads off the Merc and put stock ford pads back in and problem is gone. So much for buying "Name Brand" parts.