New Owner but Bad brake problem!!!!

[joe4]

Hi all ill officially be an 1999 Explorer sport owner tomorrow but i have a prob. The car is for a nice price from a private owner and has 149,x.. on it. but the only problem the truck has is when u press on the brakes the car vibrates and the brake pedal pulsates and thats all the time. the guy im buying from says that it needs rotors and im hoping for that to check out true. but as far as driving its really smooth for a one owner truck. but iwant to get the brake problem fixed asap.there are no abs or check engine lights on either.please help.

 

[snoborder42]

I think that the owner is probably right. Have the rotors turned or get new ones if you have to. Warped rotors will usually cause what you are describing.

 

[joe4]

can some more people confirm that thats most likely the problem. i just want to be sure that its not a major prob. and the other problem i remembered that just came to mind. the drivers side door is really gay when it comes to unlocking it. the key wont turn and the remote just makes the lock wiggle but it wont come up. u have to climb in and open it from the inside. that is completely gay. i did a search and i dont see a specific solution. could someone point me in the right direction. i conssider my self a good diy'er so please help.but the brakes working is a more serious thing.

 

[Limited96Canada]

From what you said it sounds like your rotors are warped or worn... welcome to ford's hehe. Me and my father have now replaced rotors on my explorer, our t-bird supercoupe, Aerostar van (twice)... The stock brakes just arent up to the task. There are two options - replace rotors i suggest not being stingy on the type either or 4 years later you will be in same place, or if they are not to bad you might be able to have them machined

 

[joe4]

is there a way to tell if they are to far gon to be turned?

 

[DBray6]

A start for your door lock problem, try lubing the heck out of your door latch. This worked for me. If you do a search of the forums you will find some threads about a broken spring. This was NOT my problem. Hopefully an easy fix for you too.

Replace your rotors and pads. It's easy and sounds like that would solve your problem.

Good Luck

 

[Josh]

I had a similar problem with my 92 F-150. It turned out to be the drums. They were out of shape. If you have the money, do it all not just the front. If not then definately the rotors.

 

[joshfig]

The rotors and pads are a pretty easy job. I just did my front's this past weekend. It took about an hour and the total cost of the parts was $80. It may even be worth doing the brake job before you buy it if he'll let you borrow it for a few hours.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I would suggest that you read this thread on repairing front brakes on an Explorer with 4X4: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122696&highlight=1st+brake+job By the way, what year is your Aerostar that you replaced the rotors twice?

 

[joshfig]

BrooklynBay - fyi, that is on a Gen 1. The Gen 2 is much much easier. Pretty much all there is to it is removing the caliper bracket and the rotor comes off. No need to touch the hub.

 

[Limited96Canada]

It was a 97 Aerostar sport..

 

[joe4]

well i got the brakes done today. no more vibration. it turned out that the front rotors were really warped. so i got new rotors and pads and now all is fine except i have another brake problem now. when im slowing down from a speed of say 15mph or more when i press the brakes it is normal.. but when slowing down from say 10mph or less i get the abs pulsation. i would think that it would be vice versa. and thats even if i bare tap the brakes going that low of speed.tell me this is another cheap fix.
and when u say lube the latch are you talking about the door handle or the latch in the door jamb so that im focusing on the right thing. i see already that opening the drivers door from the passenger side is about to get really gay soon.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you feel the ABS kicking in before? Maybe the sensor is out of alignment, or defective. The catch mechanism is the thing that has to be lubricated. It is the part with all of the springs, and latches to the strike bolt.

 

[blluebear]

A lady I work with has the same problem with the door lock on her 01 Sport. After looking at her door jamb, I found the rivit for the door lock actuator was broken off. Now the actuator is moving but it is not secured to the door to allow the unlock action to happen. Look at the side of your door and see if you find an empty hole. The rivit will be black and about the size of a 1/4" washer. The Ford dealership told me that we would have to bring it in to get it fixed. Hope this helps.