looking for new brake pads

[kmartin]

So what do you mean: best OEM pads? Part number? I saw some other severe duty say, "Steel Piston". Does that mean you can only use with metal pistons?

 

[Scott alamprese]

So what do you mean: best OEM pads? Part number? I saw some other severe duty say, "Steel Piston". Does that mean you can only use with metal pistons?

You have to verify Heavy Duty or not, they are different ,

 

[kmartin]

Those listed under Heavy Duty at rock auto about all say Steel piston.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm not familiar with the pad choices of the 01-05 Sport Tracs. The calipers should be the same(swap for any of those and the 01-03 Sport models. The pads should also interchange for all of those, someone correct me if that's wrong.

Steel pistons are better for severe duty use, but in normal use those or phenolic pistons are equally good. I've had phenolic pistons crumble(become brittle and come apart around the edges) in my old 86 Crown Vic P71 car, under severe duty. The high high heat will kill the phenolic pistons eventually.

The question is are the calipers the same given the different piston material. I think they are the same, but parts books won't tell you that. If no one knows, you might find out at a parts store which carries both caliper types, and pads for each application.

 

[swshawaii]

I'm certain 2004-05 Sport Tracs have phenolic piston calipers front and rear. 2003 was the first year for rear disc brakes on ST's. I also had accelerated front pad wear using OE pads followed by Wagner TQ ceramic pads on relatively flat terrain and never towing. I switched to the Wagner severe duty (SX833B) metallic front pads that seem to be wearing much longer with dramatically improved braking using stock rotors.

 

[CDW6212R]

So what do you mean: best OEM pads? Part number? I saw some other severe duty say, "Steel Piston". Does that mean you can only use with metal pistons?

MOTORCRAFT NBR833 looks like a good OEM pad for the front, listed on eBay for Rangers through 2011. I see the Motorcraft pads only listed in the daily driver section of Rock Auto, not in their heavy duty listings. That grouping isn't always correct for the application, lots of aftermarket brands will call their products heavy duty, and the sellers will group them by the advertised descriptions. So you need to be able to decipher the seller listings, average employees create those groups, thus they are not always correct.

It looks like only some rears had phenolic pistons, given that the pads saying for steel pistons are all rear pads. Those mean that other pads were for phenolic pistons. What's on your truck should be connected with the VIN number, dealers like to select parts by the VIN numbers.

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm certain 2004-05 Sport Tracs have phenolic piston calipers front and rear. 2003 was the first year for rear disc brakes on ST's. I also had accelerated front pad wear using OE pads followed by Wagner TQ ceramic pads on relatively flat terrain and never towing. I switched to the Wagner severe duty (SX833B) metallic front pads that seem to be wearing much longer with dramatically improved braking using stock rotors.

That's great first hand experience with a part and application. I'd try those or the Ford pad I listed above. Both are not expensive, and good brands.

 

[swshawaii]

BTW, steel pistons have MUCH larger bores, so the inner pad spring clips will not fit phenolic piston bores. (Rear only)

 

[swshawaii]

Thanks Don. Ordered from R/A for about the same price and the SX pads were my best braking bang for the buck ever.
$150 Deerfield Precision front and rear stainless steel hoses didn't come close. But they look cool. LOL

 

[kmartin]

MOTORCRAFT NBR667 good ones for the rear then? What about the MOTORCRAFT BR1400?

 

[CDW6212R]

BTW, steel pistons have MUCH larger bores, so the inner pad spring clips will not fit phenolic piston bores.

That's wise information. I forgot that the phenolic pistons did have smaller holes in them, they had to be thicker construction than steel pistons. Getting the pads made for steel pistons to fit may be possible, but bending those inner pads tbs in isn't always easy.

MOTORCRAFT NBR667 good ones for the rear then? What about the MOTORCRAFT BR1400?

If you can confirm that your calipers do have phenolic pistons instead of steel, then you can select pads correctly. Ford used to be bad about mixing parts in the same models and time periods. It may be that every 04-05 Sport Trac has phenolic piston calipers, it sounds like they should.

 

[kmartin]

What way is it to check? It seems that I would have the phenolic calipers. It seems the parts people only mention then on the rear, but not the front.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, we are going by word of mouth by what others have seen or heard from parts people, parts books etc. Do you have any service records of the past brake work done? If so, those might have part numbers that can be referenced to learn what pad type the truck needs.

 

[Turdle]

For excessively fast rear brake pad wear check the rear axles are not bent causing runout like this

note the side to side movement of the caliper. was not a bent rotor.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's cool Turdle, what truck was that? My 99 I rebuilt was a roll over. When I spun the back tires the first time by hand, I learned both axles were bent badly. I bought a whole rear back then just for the axles, and sold the brakes later.

 

[Turdle]

That's cool Turdle, what truck was that? My 99 I rebuilt was a roll over. When I spun the back tires the first time by hand, I learned both axles were bent badly. I bought a whole rear back then just for the axles, and sold the brakes later.

It's in Betty's thread ( 2000 mountaineer in my signature)

 

[swshawaii]

What way is it to check? It seems that I would have the phenolic calipers. It seems the parts people only mention then on the rear, but not the front.

Phenolic or steel caliper pistons only applies to 2003 Sport Trac REAR calipers. 2001-05 ST front calipers ALL
have phenolic pistons. If you want to check for yourself, remove one front tire and use a magnetic pick up tool.

 

[CDW6212R]

The dealers all require a VIN number to process almost everything now in service dept. I'd call the dealer and let them show their worth. By their system, they should be able to use the VIN to identify every part, including the brake pads.

By that, the fronts should be pads for phenolic pistons, and the rear pads are the only question. I have a spare pair of calipers that I got with the 4WD spindles I put on my 99. I don't recall what pistons they were, but I thought they were from a Sport Trac(JY said). This is the only picture I have of it, thought it might not have pads in it.

 

[kmartin]

On 4-3-12 at a garage, 63014 miles. The part number was a Raybestoes PG-D667AM. I don't believe it was a Raybestoes Rotor. This number lines up with there current Element 3. I guess I should consider a different brand than Raybestoes.

 

[CDW6212R]

Interesting, that Raybestoes PG-D667AM rear pad set is listed for all 03-05 Sport Tracs, and also all 2001 Explorers built in 2001, not counting the Sport model(2dr's). Does that mean the late 01's had rear calipers with phenolic pistons?

Your rear brake pads should be no problem, if the calipers are not dragging. Any pad should last for many years on the back if the calipers work properly. The front pads are very important, they do about 75% of the braking work. So concentrate on the quality of the front pads. Those need to be very good, the lesser pads will wear faster, and are prone to make more noise.