Brakes are in trouble i think!

[evoq007]

Alright guys. My front right brake has been making a significant more amount of brake dust than all the others. I noticed last night that there is a faint grinding noise coming from the front. Any i felt the rotor and it seems to be alot more grooved and pitted than the left side. Do i need no pads and rotors? Should i get a quote on the work from my local mech? Or is this easy enough for me and a friend to tackle. ive changed all my shocks before by myself, so im pretty mechanically inclined. Thanks for the help guys.

Scott

 

[Billy177]

they are very easy to do yourself just 2 bolts i would see if you can get the rotors resurfaced and if not then just get new ones. get the carbon metalic pads they are great and don't forget to lube the slidepins and use blue locktite on the bolts

 

[Hartman]

First pull out the pads and see if they are wearing evenly. If you have grooves in your rotors, that probably means yuor caliper is either sticking or not pressing evenly against the rotor. Brakes are very easy to do on an Explorer.

 

[SteveVB]

I would guess you have a sticking caliper if one side is more worn than the other. Like Hartman said, pull the wheels and check the rotors.
Loaded calipers are available from NAPA and others that have all new hardware, seals and pads(loaded), which is a good deal if you have a bad calpier. The Application Enginered series at NAPA. If you have more than 75k miles I would replace the hoses also.

If you can bleed the brakes I would try it with a friend- just pull the wheels- remove the calipers and pads-check the rotors and take them to be machined, or replace them as they need it, install the new hose and caliper, bleed and you are done- nothing to worry about since everything was replaced, and shouldnt take more than a morning. Get a Chiltons manual, Haynes or something along those lines- they cover brakes, and it will give you a good idea of what you are getting into, and a heads up on any specialty tools.
If you plan to keep the vehicle for a while, I would buy new rotors and install them, take the old ones to be measured, and if possible use them next brake job. Then you have two sets of rotors, one set on the vehicle, one set mach8ined and ready for next brake job- 50k miles from now. No waiting for the machine shop to get the rotors back to you so you can do a top of the line home brake job in a couple of hours for a fraction of what you would pay a shop- and most likely get a better product.

 

[SiLenZe]

those two bolts are very hard to get off with hand tools. they have some type of lock-tite on them. its also recomended to put lock-tite back on when reinstalling.