Maybe forgot to lube the caliper slide pins?

 

Hey guys

me, Mike and Nathan got the front brakes done yesterday

Congratulations on your first brake job. Now doesn't the money charged by mechanics seem more reasonable? (not joking)

When I hold the brake 10 mph and lower the brakes will grab you can feel the truck shaking.

Are you absolutely sure the rotors are straight? I know, I know, you used new rotors. I don't care. DID You Check Them? Even brand spankin' new rotors have been known to be warped. One shop I work in had a standing policy to turn brand new rotors to keep that from making more problems on the vehicle.

Also their is a grinding noise under those conditions.

the last thing is that their is a whining/ humming noise that is coming from under the dash and when you press the pedal is becomes louder.

Possible that the ABS is messing up? Disconnect the sensors on the front wheels and test drive. If it fixes the whinging/humming, the sensors are probably bad.

Did you have the drums turned while you were doing the fronts? I've seen quite a few vehicles (cars, trucks, vans) that the vibrations from warped drums was not noticable because the front brakes were soooooo bad. Once the fronts are fixed, the customer is furious because not all the braking vibrations went away. And remember, rear brakes wear out too. So they could be grinding.

BTW, I applaude your use of 'brake', instead of 'break'. Maybe your not as dumb as you sound.

 

caliper slide pins are lubed

yes I am sure the rotors are straight

the humming is still somewhat noticeable even when you are not touching the brakes.

It is possible that the grinding is coming from the rear brakes as we did not have enough time to change them. (but it sounds like its coming from the front) I am coming back next weekend to his house to get the rears done.

Is it normal for the front brakes to grab while they are getting broken in?

thanks,
Andrew

 

caliper slide pins are lubed

yes I am sure the rotors are straight

the humming is still somewhat noticeable even when you are not touching the brakes.

Tire noise, possibly? Or bearings going bad?

It is possible that the grinding is coming from the rear brakes as we did not have enough time to change them. (but it sounds like its coming from the front) I am coming back next weekend to his house to get the rears done.

I can't count the number of times I've seen someone mis-diagnose where a noise is coming from. I've done it, I've seen 30 year mechanics do it, and I'm sure everyone here has done it sometime or another. Some vehicles are worse about it than others.

In general, grinding noises are not good. doh:, I know, but still needed to be said) If you are absolutely, 100%, positive the fronts are done correctly, then move on to other moving parts. Starting with the rear brakes.

Is it normal for the front brakes to grab while they are getting broken in?

Sometimes. It depends on the vehicle, rotors, pads, calipers, slides, phase of the moon, and your zodiak. (joking about the zodiak)

 

Well, couple questions from me.....

The grinding noise..... describe it.... Is it a low freq noise or high pictched metal to metal shreaking? Sometimes new brakes will grind a little at first while they are fully seating, but I would think after 60 miles they would be done with that.

The brakes grabbing below 10 sounds like an ABS issue. It is possible that the rotors might not have the correct ABS rings. I didn't look at the back of the rotors before we put them on. You might call the rotor manufacturer and verify that the part number is correct for your truck.


In response to Cowboy_dan...... The front brakes on the 250/350 are worth doing on your own, at least the fronts. I've done mine once and they were cake. The brakes on Andrew's 550 on the other hand.... Maybe worth doing after a second or third time. They were a much bigger pain in the @$$ than the lighter trucks!

 

In response to Cowboy_dan...... The front brakes on the 250/350 are worth doing on your own, at least the fronts. I've done mine once and they were cake. The brakes on Andrew's 550 on the other hand.... Maybe worth doing after a second or third time. They were a much bigger pain in the @$$ than the lighter trucks!

I know. I was pointing out that there is a reason the larger truck cost more to have repaired: They're a whole lot harder! I've done a bunch of car, suv, van, and 150/250/250 size vehicles, a few of the larger trucks (450/550/650), and assisted on 18wheeler brakes. Talk about a PITA! Those drums are HEAVY!

 

Andrew, what brand of pads and rotors did you use???

 

Nathan

it sounds like a low freq grinding not the metal (the metal on metal is a lot louder iirc)

It is def not tire noise and I dont think its a bearing issue


I am going to call Powerslot right now

 

Ok...after you call powerslot, go out and take a look at your rotors, take a pic if you can and post it, just want to make sure there aren't any grooves forming. If it is low freq. then I would say it might just be the rotors and pads seating themselves. I was told by a Ford tech that this can happen, and will go away with time. Aside from the "grinding" and "grabbing" are you getting any vibration/shuddering/shaking?

Let us know what Powerslot says, if they are open today, about the part numbres. The ABS sensor and rotors not matching is the only thing I can think of and have heard of people have problems with when their trucks were grabbing below 10mph.

 

I talked to the guy at powerslot

he said that I should have drove 30-40 miles under light braking before I did the break in procedure however it did not say that on the instructions.

he said that it shouldn't shake at low speeds when about to come to a stop.

Also he said that we should have done a rotor run off test to make sure its within a 3/1000ths of an inch.

he said to drive another 40-50 miles under light braking and report back to him

also he said the Superduty pads are going to be a little noisy with no load on them.

 

I've never heard of that much light braking before bedding the pads/breaking in the rotors. HHHMMM

Did he verify the part numbers for your truck with 2 or 4 wheel ABS? Do you know if you have 2 or 4 wheel ABS?

I'm not surprised about the pads making a little noise. I would still go check your rotors just to make sure nothing is "grooving". If they look like they have even wear, then I'd do some more driving and just keep an eye and ear on what they are doing.

 

He said the fronts are correct for the F550 but he couldnt tell me if that had ABS or not. Then he said their are 2 versions for the rear one with an ABS ring and one without.

I told him that my parking brake is on the rear rotor and the rotors I was sent have an ABS ring he said that rear rotors I got are not correct but the way he talks is a little hard to understand.


If my parking brake is on the rear rotor do I need to have an ABS ring?

thanks,
Andrew

 

Parking brake doesn't have anything to do with the ABS. Parking brake is always on the rear.

 

he said that the parking brake could either be mounted onto the transmission or on the rear axle.

how do you tell if you have a rear abs?

 

he said that the parking brake could be mounted onto the transmission
QUOTE]

Thats a new one on me!
Can anyone enlighten me

 

There would be a wired and sensor at the wheel, but harder to describe than to show. You can also call a dealer and have them run your VIN.

 

I thought the ABS stuff was on the rear. The vibration I felt when on a test drive with Andrew was just like new pads on new metel. That should go away.Yes these were a bit tougher them most but also did a visual after our drive and all looked good physically. I will need to learn more about ABS to help there. When Andrew came back while bedding the brakes they were pretty hot. My bet is the little grabbing will go away.

Let's makes sure we have all of the right parts for the rear. I still think the caliper bolts will be tough on the rear as they will not be as accessable. Too much locktite on them as well.

I think mechanics earn every penny they get. Being a good wrencher takes a lot of time, learning and patience.

 

I still think the caliper bolts will be tough on the rear as they will not be as accessable. Too much locktite on them as well.

And make sure the breaker bar is going the right way before "we" destroy another one.:doh:wned::hehe::hehe::hehe:

Oh and before anyone asks....it wasn't Andrew....

 

on the grinding part check the dust ring on the front axel's as they are metal and could very well make a grinding noise if loose

as for the grabing Im thinking ABS but then again
have you checked the fluid level??????
low fluid could cause this prob

I just wanna know WHO's left handed???
Righty Tighty Lefty Looseyoke:

 

I thought they done away with that ch!t a long time ago... :shrug:

 

only ever seen a ebrake on tranny in a big rig

 

Sounds like a rear brake problem to me. Just double check everything.

 

And another "Carnage Thread". :doh: It seems no matter what job Andrew is behind it always seems to get messed up. oke: And here we go on over 3 pages of questions and instead of trying to figure things out while he's there in front of his truck. He's trying to go off of what he remembers! ostwhore2:

 

Easy, everybody is trying to help.

 

I know...was just trying to poke one last fun before the New Year!

 

Okay don't laugh because I'm going to be serious here.....Did you install the pads backwards? I've seen it before on a truck, the pad itself was still pretty much new just the outside was a little scrached. oke: Flipped it around & was good to go.

 

Good advice. Check it out. Did not think you would be sober enough for that CAT

 

OK, that's fair,

 

Could that humm have anything to do with yout exhaust brake? Just a thought.

 

That humm is there when you are not moving. Press on the brake and it humms a little, press harder and the humm gets a little louder.
Perhaps this description will help if someone has experienced this before. I hve not ever heard that kind of humm.
If not the exhaust brake perhaps someone here can enlighten us on the ABS system. I will go read the shop manual after while.