Rear brake pads January 15, 2009, 08:54:53 am Yahoo Message Number: 98577How about a quick survey?Have any E-450 owners had to replace rear brake pads? If so, at what mileage? And was it before, concurrently with or after replacing front brake pads?I just had a 60K service done on my 2003 E-450. They called me from the shop and said I needed new rear brake pads. I said OK and asked about the front pads, which they said have 70% life remaining. Didn't give it much more thought until after I got the LD home.Then in pondering this I found it unusual for the rears to go so far in advance of the fronts. And I'm wondering if perhaps in changing the brake fluid, which they did, they had some leakage onto the rear pads and decided to have me pay for replacing them.It's not the end of the world but I'd just appreciate any info you have that might help me decide what to make of this.Terry2003 26.5' RBGardnerville, NV 89460
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #1 – January 15, 2009, 07:27:23 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98601Terry, did they volunteer to show you the old pads? I would go back and ask, if you can, and demand the manager show you. If he says he can't then I would be suspicious of anything else he says. Also if they did damage one side then both would have to be changed. Seems weird as your front were still good. Did they "true" the rotors? After 60,000 miles they should have. Are you sure they used the proper pads that are specified by Ford.? Good luck. You may want to take a witness. John Leach. Prescott, Az.__
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #2 – January 15, 2009, 09:53:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98605Day before yesterday, I had a right front brake hang up going through stop and go traffic on I-10 in Tucson. It released but caused some smoke and a burning smell before it did. I stopped at Lawley Ford in Benson, AZ, and had it checked over. Today I had the rotors, calipers, and seals replaced on both fronts and the brake fluid flushed and replaced. I had them check the rears and they said they were fine. This is at 32,000 miles. This is a case where the fronts went long before the rears will need anything.Gary Gemberling 2001 30TB
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #3 – January 15, 2009, 10:36:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98607Terry, I would find it hard to believe though not impossible that the front brakes have 70% left at 60K. Normally the rear pads last longer than the front pads under normal circumstances. Many things can cause premature wear and not knowing the maintenance history it would be hard to say without the old pads to look at. With that said if you did not ask for them to save the old brake pads/parts the shop most likely has dumped them
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #4 – January 15, 2009, 10:41:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98608Quote How about a quick survey?Have any E-450 owners had to replace rear brake pads? If so, at what mileage? And was it before, concurrently with or after replacing front brake pads?... Good question. I assumed I wouldn't have to do the LD's back pads until after 200k on my 2001.My reasoning is that I do the back pads on my cars at about 100k in city driving. It works out to 2 to 1. 50K on the fronts, 100k on the backs.I don't city drive the motorhome, so I figure 200K on the backs is about right.Will be interesting to hear the responses.-gary
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #5 – January 15, 2009, 11:36:18 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98612I will chime in a bit. I spent most of my working life for a manufacturer of OEM Foundation Brakes (Kelsey-Hayes, Lucas-Varity, TRW), and have been to the factory that makes the brakes on the E450's.On trucks (1-ton+) the rear brakes typically do more work than the front (which is typical of a car) because so much more weight (hence traction) is on the rear. Most small, front-wheel-drive cars are weight biased towards the front when stationary, and then when you add in the dynamics of weight transfer under braking, you can see how 80% of the traction is on the front, hence the need for bigger front brakes. But on a 14k/lbs truck, where 60+% of the weight is on the read, and there is relatively less weight transfer under braking (because of the longer wheel-base), you can see how the rears take on a larger % of the braking. Now add in the factor that the rear brakes typically do not get as much cooling air, and it gets even worse. I would expect the rear brakes to be consumed quicker than the comparatively sized front, but not THAT much sooner. When they told you that 70% was remaining on the fronts, did they actually remove a pad and use a micrometer, then compare it against a book that lists new pad thickness? (highly doubted), or did they do a basic, unscientific ocular investigation and guess (my bet)?Also, another member made a comment about utilizing a Ceramic pad on these. NOT recommended. Ceramics are typically utilized in lighter duty applications, and do not offer the longest pad life under high-heat applications such as this. True, many race cars utilize Ceramic brakes, but that is totally different.There are many high-quality Severe-Duty pads that will work in these trucks. And there is also lots of junk.And another member brought up flushing, also an excellent point, however it can be a bit complicated. Many mechanics utilize a 'pressure bleeder', and there are a couple of drawbacks: * They usually have a large reservoir of fluid, how fresh is that fluid?* Quality of the fluid (from an unopened container only, please)? * Can potentially cause a problem called 'localized boiling', meaning that the fluid is forced through the tiny orifices so fast that it can actually boil the fluid. I wouldn't be so concerned with this though. Biggest point with flushing the system is ensuring that fresh fluid is utilized. I am not sure how often Ford recommends a flush, but I would follow that (usually time before mileage on an RV).Hope that helps a bit.kenwannabe in SoCal[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #6 – January 16, 2009, 01:15:36 am Yahoo Message Number: 98614As a reminder to all, there is a service requirement to lubricate the sliders on the rear calipers at 15,000 miles with high temp disc brake grease. I did mine at 37,000 miles / 4 years and they were in good shape. The FORD owners manual specifies this service. A sticking slider would cause premature brake wear. Rear wheel removal is required to perform this task.Lon in Nor Cal 2003 MB
Re: Rear brake pads Reply #7 – January 16, 2009, 11:11:06 am Yahoo Message Number: 98617Just wanted to say excellent response to this topic. This is why I enjoy being a part of this group. Thanks Ken!
Topic: Rear brake pads (Read 7 times)
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Topic: Rear brake pads (Read 7 times)
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