# Putting The Brakes On Things....



## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

I tow a lot with my '03 Excursion 4x4 and I have found that nothing is quite as sure-footed as this beast. About three weeks ago I was towing my 6,000 pound travel trailer (5,200 without provisions, but who ever travels without provisions?). I was cruising down I-75 toward Atlanta and at about 70 mph tapped my brakes to slow to match traffic. Imagine my surprise when my truck tried to jump into the lane to the left. Imagine the surprise of the Corolla already occupying that same lane!

I corrected the wandering and let the X bleed off some more energy until I was in the slow lane. As luck would have it a Rest Stop appeared before me and I pulled into one of the Tractor-Trailer pull through parking spots.

As I tapped the brakes again, again it pulled to the left. It wasn't that it wouldn't stop, it was just the pull that was different. I got out and inspected my tires and as best I could, my brakes but they looked fine. I went ahead and drove the rest of the way home. Once I unhitched the trailer the problem became much less pronounced. Since I don't use the X much in Atlanta traffic (those that live here will understand), I didn't drive the beast for another week and sort of forgot about it.

Yesterday I had to use the Excursion to pick up a package too big for my Honda CR-V. As I drove it I experienced the pull again. This morning I took it to the shop for diagnosis. Well friends, BOHICA.

My right front caliper has seized and of course, ground the pads and Rotor into dust. The heat build up has caused the old caliper piston to melt, literally. The strain on the left side has resulted in asymmetric brake wear that smoked that caliper and rotor as well. The back pads were pretty much gone but I managed to save the rear rotors.

Right now the bill is just over $1,000. I don't know for sure what the lesson in this is, except to suggest I should have paid more attention to the warning sign. I'm not sure it would have saved me any money as the damage was pretty much done by the time I felt the symptoms, but it could have prevented me from operating a potentially dangerous piece of equipment on the highway.

Reverie


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

good thing you caught it before the next trip.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Wow! Could have been bad. Glad you found the problem
Something like that could make one a statistic!

Eric


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

I had a similar thing happen with my Dodge Ram soon after i got it. Luckly I was driving to work when I put on the brakes and heard a squeal and the truck pulled to the left. Checked the pads at work and found that the rotor was toast. Ended up replacing the rotor and caliper at a cost of $500. It's not so hard to check the rotors and pads, just have to remember to do it. something that all of us needs to do before heading out this spring.


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

I experienced the "brake bill" when I took the Magic bus into my mechanic after hearing the dreaded metallic grinding noise. I had to have all four disc's replaced, and all new pads all around. Of course, I was told I needed the "one ton" package, as this beast is 7K, and pulling a 10K trailer w/ family I wanted only the best. While it was on the lift, he checked the rear pumpkin for a faint "moaning noise" while towing. Yup, carrier bearings shot. the total bill, brakes and bearings, was $2500. Ouch. (and that was on the heels of new sneakers all around as well, another $1100). Whereas she's been paid off since 2005, I feel it's pretty short money...equivelent to 60.00 a month for the 5 years she's been paid off. AND a heck of alot cheaper than a new Excursion. IF I could get one!


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

We had a gas excursion and had the same problems. The ambulances we had in 03 also had the same problems. Actually its been an common occurance for the last decade. We found that drilled and cross cut rotors with a high quality kevlar pad helped the overheating/melt the caliper piston problems. Now this is in an emergency vehicle so its pretty extreme use. I would also recommend you replace your brake fluid. See if its brown and ugly and flush it out with some fresh. Im sure they bled the side with the new caliper and topped off the master cylinder but that old junk is still in the rest of the system. We also found old fluid absorbs water very well ( so does new for that matter ) and that can make its way down the lines and sits behind the pistons so water has a much lower boiling point then brake fluid and can wreck havoc on the pistons. Flush out the junk if you havent done it.


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

I am going to chime on this one,as being responsible for 54 vehicles in my fleet most of them Ford F series and SuperDutys.I p&m them every 4,000 miles and rotate tires every other service.I always inspect suspension and brakes at sevice time.The brake fluid takes a beating and breaks down and attracts moisture I powerbleed the brake system once year and have had minimal caliper issues.Battalioncheif knows exactly what can happen when too much moisture gets into the brake system.Moral to the story keep up on maintence and minimize the downtime and cost.Just my .02


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## navycranes (May 29, 2008)

When the brakes are ready to be done on my EX, I was thinking about going with cross-drilled rotors and upgraded calipers and pads.

Anyone got any good aftermarket suggestions for Excursions or Supper Duties?


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## campingnut18 (Mar 11, 2004)

Nick, first of all I'm glad we weren't following you this time but also very glad everything is alright. Second, YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN!! As we have been frequent followers of ye camper, since you have purchased the beast, you are a beast and have been clocked over 75. Be careful out there. We still need you - and the rest of your family. From personal experience from a blow-out on our tow vehicle, there is nuttin more scary and eye-opening than skidding all over the road. Whew!

Carmen


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

navycranes said:


> When the brakes are ready to be done on my EX, I was thinking about going with cross-drilled rotors and upgraded calipers and pads.
> 
> Anyone got any good aftermarket suggestions for Excursions or Supper Duties?


Look at the raybestos line of rotors called advanced technology,the quality is very good.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

navycranes said:


> When the brakes are ready to be done on my EX, I was thinking about going with cross-drilled rotors and upgraded calipers and pads.
> 
> Anyone got any good aftermarket suggestions for Excursions or Supper Duties?


Rob,

Cross drilled rotors are great on race cars that have to dissipate enormous amounts of heat very quickly, but offer little real world advantage on a street vehicle. In fact, they are much more prone to warpage than a solid disc, so a case can be made that they are a disadvantage. More than anything, I think they are a stylistic upgrade.

That said, look into what Brembo offers. Good stuff.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

navycranes said:


> When the brakes are ready to be done on my EX, I was thinking about going with cross-drilled rotors and upgraded calipers and pads.
> 
> Anyone got any good aftermarket suggestions for Excursions or Supper Duties?


I bought a set of these for my Lexus and have had good luck so far and not that we want to cut corners when it comes to brakes, but they are a good deal. Have them on my watch list for the Dodge when it is ready.

99-02 Excursion drilled/slotted rotors and ceramic pads

02 03 04 Ford Super duty drilled/slotted rotors adn ceramic pads

Outside of these, as Doug said a Brembo big brake kit would be the "money is no object" setup for sure. They have some great stuff.

As for the original post, I am glad it just hurt your wallet and all others involved came out unscathed. I rotate my tires every 5k and the brakes get checked each time and flush out fluid when it gets dark.

Jim


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

I wanted to add a couple of things to my original post. As I look back I am almost certain that the damage was done while I was towing that day. I recall having the sensation that it was taking a long time to bring the weight to a stop. It didn't make any extra noise, it was just a feeling. I feel very blessed that Ford saw put to equip the beast with rear discs.

Before I realized the brakes were bad I had noticed that my aluminum rim on the right front had surface rust. Since Aluminum doesn't rust I was intrigued enough to check it out. I discovered I could rub the rust off with my finger. I chalked it up to where I had been driving, an area known to have a high iron content in the soil. That was stupid, stupid, stupid. Mr. Observant didn't wonder why only one rim was rusting. I guess I have trouble focusing on things some........look, a squirrel!

Reverie


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## mena661 (Feb 9, 2010)

$1000????? Did you have all of the calipers, rotors and pads replaced?


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## navycranes (May 29, 2008)

PDX_Doug said:


> When the brakes are ready to be done on my EX, I was thinking about going with cross-drilled rotors and upgraded calipers and pads.
> 
> Anyone got any good aftermarket suggestions for Excursions or Supper Duties?


Rob,

Cross drilled rotors are great on race cars that have to dissipate enormous amounts of heat very quickly, but offer little real world advantage on a street vehicle. In fact, they are much more prone to warpage than a solid disc, so a case can be made that they are a disadvantage. More than anything, I think they are a stylistic upgrade.

That said, look into what Brembo offers. Good stuff.

Happy Trails,
Doug
[/quote]

Just curious Doug.... But doesnt bringing over 16,000 pounds of truck and trailer to a stop generate an "enormous amount of heat"???

Just wondering, I wasn't going for style points, just looking for top performance.


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Squirrel? WHERE!!!


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I would have to disagree with slotted/cross drilled rotors being a style upgrade. We switched to slotted rotors on many ambulances in the county and greatly decreased the replacement time. The stock ones would warp, crack and eat pads every 3-5k miles...yeah really. So we switched and also got a Kevlar type pad and we went up to 10k before they started to crack. Now these are extreme duty situations. Now my wife is hard on brakes too so on her other car I did the slotted disc's and kevlar pads and no more problems with warping...ever. Did the same thing to her new car after the factory rotors warped up. So far so good. Now if you do warp them they cant be turned but with a high quality pad they will last a LONG time.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

So what constitutes a "High Quality Pad"? Ever since the asbestos linings were outlawed we have been plagued with grindstones.

Reverie


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## mena661 (Feb 9, 2010)

I only know about performance car pads. I know Hawk makes pads for trucks too. I use them on my car and they're excellent! They do need a bit of heat for them to perform well. Not sure how the truck versions perform but there are reviews in other forums about them.


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