Powerstop Brake kits.

[Tim Wagner]

Merry Christmas all!!
Does anyone have an opinion on these kits?
Im into the rotors on my F150 4X4 yet AGAIN!!.

Powerstop Front Brake Disc and Pad Kit - Cross-drilled and slotted


Im tired of what Ive been using. I do brakes and rotors every 12-18 months and its really starting anger me.

Ive put them on and the repair shop has put them on and it hasnt improved.

It looks like I can get the 2 rotors and the pads for like 150 bucks with free shipping
These rotors are drilled and slotted too.

Its cheaper than the route Ive been going in the past.

Ive made a past post on Ford F150 Rotors but now this is for real.

 

[1fishbone]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

I don't have any experience with the Powerstop but how many miles are you getting in 12 to 18 months?

Heavy hauling?
Sounds like you might have a couple of hung up calipers.

I got about 60,000 miles on my 3/4 Suburban (about half as a light tow vehicle) on the brake/rotors. I also use GOOD brake pads...dust free.
I've cut/turned the rotors twice (total over 90,000miles) and the next brake job I'll replace them.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Tim,

I put them on my Jeep Grand Cherokee a little over a year ago and have been very happy with them, I have them on all four corners as I have 4 wheel discs on my Jeep and I used Ceramic dustless pads that came in their kits. I just had my wheels rotated about a month ago and they showed virtually no wear, I would not hesitate to use them again..in the last year, I have traveled close to 50K miles, and really expected them to show way more wear than they have..

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

I don't have any experience with the Powerstop but how many miles are you getting in 12 to 18 months?

Heavy hauling?
Sounds like you might have a couple of hung up calipers.

I got about 60,000 miles on my 3/4 Suburban (about half as a light tow vehicle) on the brake/rotors. I also use GOOD brake pads...dust free.
I've cut/turned the rotors twice (total over 90,000miles) and the next brake job I'll replace them.

If I got miles like that, I wouldnt be whining!!
I get about 10-12K out of them maybe 15K tops.
Heavy hauling?? Nope. Maybe 25% of them miles are towing a 17 foot runabout.
Hung up calipers? The mechanic said that back in March.
So he took extra care in making sure they were cleaned, lubed and anti-seized.
I know this guy. We went to high school together.
The pads cost 95 bucks a pair. They are ceramic.

To the other fella that said he's had good luck with them, I assume the pads will fit on the stock calipers??
For what they cost for the kit which will do both sides compared to what Ive been paying for pads and rotors is kinda unbelievable.
Its like at least half the price of what a set of pads and 2 standard rotors would cost buying them outright.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

If I got miles like that, I wouldnt be whining!!
I get about 10-12K out of them maybe 15K tops.
Heavy hauling?? Nope. Maybe 25% of them miles are towing a 17 foot runabout.
Hung up calipers? The mechanic said that back in March.
So he took extra care in making sure they were cleaned, lubed and anti-seized.
I know this guy. We went to high school together.
The pads cost 95 bucks a pair. They are ceramic.

To the other fella that said he's had good luck with them, I assume the pads will fit on the stock calipers??
For what they cost for the kit which will do both sides compared to what Ive been paying for pads and rotors is kinda unbelievable.
Its like at least half the price of what a set of pads and 2 standard rotors would cost buying them outright.

No, I did not have to replace the calipers, it was a pure 100% bolt on process with mine, it took me about 1.5 hours to change everything over and have not done a thing to them since putting them on..no squawks, no squeals, just good stopping power, and little wear showing at all..

I actually bought my kit off ebay from a seller on there that has an extremely good feedback rating, the shipping was free and I ordered them while at home in Montana and he delivered them to my Dad's house in WA so it worked out great..

What year is your Ford?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

I've used drilled/slotted or just drilled rotors a couple times and was happy with the results. On our Durango I swapped stock rotors 2 times because of warped rotors (towing), then put on a set of drilled rotors and haven't had a problem in 2 years. A hung caliper could cause problems like you are having, but cheap rotors that warp easily could do it too.

I don't use ceramic pads as they are not suggested for towing, good for low dust, but not good for towing. I just use a heavy/severe duty name brand pad.

I always bed the pads when they are new, run it up to speed and brake heavy to 10 MPH, back up to speed, allow brakes to cool a minute, then brake heavy again, backup to speed. Do this 10-20 times, but don't brake heavy and let the vehicle sit at a dead stop. If you live in a heavily populated area, you probably won't be able to do this as it's too dangerous in traffic.

 

[Bubbles Up]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

I have used these on my buddies F150 4x4 he had the same issue,warping rotors. One thing that I noticed was his driving habits he was always a heavy on the brakes and towing made it worse including brake fade. His fave thing to do is his puddles hot rotor/cold water instant warp He had the stock wheels on it the truck of which he agreed to get some more open patterned wheels ,he got a new tire and rim package from the local tire guy.It helped about 25% as he got a few more miles before they warped. I got him the Powerstop kit including new pads/calipers, that was 40,000 miles (60,000 km to us Canadians) he loves the savings,he likes paying my labour a day fishing!

One tip cool the brakes naturally before launching boat.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

If your F-150 was anything like my '97 Expedition, Rotors and pads were an almost annual thing. My suburban doesn't got through them or warp the rotors anywhere near as often.

I would make sure to coat the back side of your rotors with anti sieze compound to make it easier to remove them as I had to have the pressed off of mine due to the rust bond they had to the hub.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Oh yeah, make sure your rear brakes are working and adjusted properly. If the rears are not adjusted properly, the front brakes could be doing 100% of the work,,, not something they are meant to do.

I always use the parking/emergency brake when I park and don't have a problem with the rear brakes going out of adjustment.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

One thing nice about the powerstops is they are coated so they don't rust, even living in Montana with a lot of snow and deicer on the road, the rotors are not showing any signs of rust after a year, when we rotated the tires , the rotors were just a free as the day I put them on..

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Oh yeah, make sure your rear brakes are working and adjusted properly. If the rears are not adjusted properly, the front brakes could be doing 100% of the work,,, not something they are meant to do.

I always use the parking/emergency brake when I park and don't have a problem with the rear brakes going out of adjustment.

I agree, with any drum brake application, make sure they are adjust properly and well as make sure the self adjusters are not froze or broken, makes a big difference in wear..

 

[Guest]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

As an x mechanic the only way I have seen that happen to brakes is that the driver is either riding them with a left foot or when you slow down at a corner you drag your brakes on too long before you get to the stop. One other way they go down too fast is if they get a lot of gravely dirt in them from the roads you drive on and it acts like sand paper wearlng them down when you are just driving along. Good luck.

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

My truck is a 2000. It has 161K on it.
This is like my 5th set of brakes/rotors.
Probably 3 of them in the past 5 years.
I drive with my right foot only.
I never, ever ride the brakes.
My rears are disc too so I really dont know how to adjust them.
I get 3 times the life out of them so they are at least doing something.
My new boat, A Starcraft Superfisherman 196 has surge brakes on the trailer.
My other boat didnt and this new boat is a giant compared to the old one.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Of course it is a given, that you will need to replace the fronts, but you might want to have a good brake shop look at your system and check the proportioning valve in your system to see if you would benefit from and adjustable valve to even things out, especially with 4 wheel discs. May be a worth while upgrade for your situation.

Take a look at this article...

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_proportioning_valves.shtml

 

[rbh]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Do they lock up at all, even with a minor brake application????

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

As an x mechanic the only way I have seen that happen to brakes is that the driver is either riding them with a left foot or when you slow down at a corner you drag your brakes on too long before you get to the stop. One other way they go down too fast is if they get a lot of gravely dirt in them from the roads you drive on and it acts like sand paper wearlng them down when you are just driving along. Good luck.

Eric I have to respectfully disagree, I love my 2000 Ford F350 PSD but until I put cross drilled/vented rotors on it I had the same issue as Tim, I have 4 Ford 3/4-1 ton trucks in my fleet (6 Dodges after the 7.3 was upgraded) and all the Fords have needed new rotors. If you Google Ford Brake issues you can clearly see that this is not an isolated issue, the problem is that Ford doesn't want to deal with it and that's the only knock I have for Ford.


P.S. the Dodges are pre-government bailout trucks we have yet to purchase another vehicle since the market crashed.

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Thanks to all replies.
RBH, my brakes seem to work normal. The fronts just wear out too freekin soon.
The ABS system is working. I know that. Even more now with the snow and ice here on the roads.
All that seems fine.
Im gonna order the brake kits and see what happens.
Its half the price of what Ive been doing so if they last 6 months, Im right back where I started.
Nothing ventured, some knowledge gained.
Ill update this when I have some results

 

[DJ]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Use your parking brake, that adjusts the rears, as mentioned.

I never use anything but OEM. Motorcraft makes a "Super Duty" pad for your vehicle. That may be a best choice.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Were as, I replace all of my OEM stuff I can when the service life is over on the OEM parts, I always upgrade to better quality parts when available, I am not saying OEM is bad, but I feel there are better parts for less money available and over the years have found this to be true...I directly relate the fact that I get many more miles out of my vehicles using under extreme conditions to the fact I do upgrade over OEM...

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Powerstop Brake kits.

Use your parking brake, that adjusts the rears, as mentioned.

Are you serious??
I have rear discs. Thats new to me.