Warped Rotors on a F-150

[Tim Wagner]

This IS and ISNT really a trailering thread i guess but Ill take a shot.
Anyone have to replace their rotors every year or so???
I tow a Spectrum 1700. The Escort Trialer has not brakes.
I typically dont feel the truck starting to pulse till after the first few times out in the spring.
I dont know what to expect here now.
I bought a Starcraft Superfisherman 196 and its trailer has surge brakes on it.
Would it be safe to assume that my warped rotor problems from towing are over?
Or is there some kind of beefy "towing" rotors that they make.
My truck has disc's all the way around but its the fronts that get wasted.
The rears have normal wear.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Ford has had some problems with thier rotors over the years, a buddy of mine used to buy fords all the time and had to have rotors replaced on them quite often. If your out of warranty, you might want to check into some after market rotors with cross cuts and drilled. That is what he did and has not had a problem since, they dissipate heat a lot better that most factory rotors.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Warped rotors can be due to a number of causes. One is overheating them repeatedly. Another is when removing wheels for rotation or balancing and not tightening them correctly. Many folks simply bang the first nut on with an air wrench and then zip on the others. Very wrong way to do this. Run the nuts on loosely and snug them. Then use the star pattern bringing them up to the specified torque in a two or three steps. Another good way to warp a rotor is not cleaning the rust and scale off the mating surfaces when doing brake or tire service. The mounting surfaces must be flat and free of debris. Diving into a water puddle with hot brakes does a number on them as well. Lastly, if you are a left-footed brake person, YOU may be at fault. Ever follow someone whose brakes lights flicker or are seeming on more than they should be. This is classic behavior of someone who drives an automatic tranny vehicle and brakes with their left foot. There is a huge tendency for these folks to rest their foot on the brake thinking they are not applying the brakes. Even slight pressure causes the pads to drag on the rotor. Late model cars and trucks tend to retract the pads ever so slightly. Resting ones foot on the pedal simply takes away that advantage.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

What year F-150? 2004 and newer had wheel shimmy problems as well. On my 2004, it was very sensitive to the tire monkeys not torquing the lug nuts by hand with a torque wrench.

 

[Tim Wagner]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

My truck is a 2000 XLT, Short bed with the shorty back doors
Its got a 160K on it. Rotors for the last couple years have been a sore spot.
The repair shop where I get the yearly inspection done is always putting rotors on it.
They are good people, ive been dealing with them for years.
They show me the dead rotors when I pick the thing up and they cant even be cut.
I AM NOT a left footed driver. I may be left handed but I drive exclusively with my right foot only.
Tell me more about after market rotors.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

So..how do you drive? You drive up to lights and then slam on the brakes? Driving habits could be part of the problem. Also, do your rear brakes wear at all? Could be a front/rear proportioning valve that is not letting the back brakes get any action.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Also...warped rotors can never be cut. Once there is a warp in the rotor which is caused by heat, turning the rotors is a temporary fix.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Kind of common on many cars when they are drove like you stole it.
Also common in lightweight read: cheap rotors and probably common on rotors that are turned.
I do a couple brake jobs a month and only use new rotors. Never turn any and and only re-use rotors that are in good/halfway decent shape if that is what the customer wants. But if it shimmies, shakes or dont stop great there is no recourse.

Use to call this problem the F-250 shimmy but many vehicles suffer from it.
Must be to many pigs in the chinese iron.

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

looky here.....
http://www.ssbrakes.com/ssbc-products/truck-stop-program/

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

my guess is might not actually even be warped rotors... outside of extreme heat, they are fairly rare. What is probably more likely is pad material that was unevenly deposited. Get some new rotors/pads, and then make sure to go through a proper bedding process.

One other thing to help, if you know your brakes are hot from lots of stop and go driving, avoid coming to a full stop and holding your foot on the brakes. Instead, let it creep forward a little. Otherwise you are creating an isolated spot right under the pads that will end up forming a little bump of pad deposit material. (the pad bedding process is designed to get a nice even layer of pad material on the rotor so it won't want to form a bump)

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

my guess is might not actually even be warped rotors... outside of extreme heat, they are fairly rare.

Do not agree at all with that statement.

One other thing to help, if you know your brakes are hot from lots of stop and go driving, avoid coming to a full stop and holding your foot on the brakes. Instead, let it creep forward a little. Otherwise you are creating an isolated spot right under the pads that will end up forming a little bump of pad deposit material. (the pad bedding process is designed to get a nice even layer of pad material on the rotor so it won't want to form a bump)

Actually, the reason you let it creep is so that you don't have localized cooling where the pad is touching the rotor. Rotors don't get pad material deposited on them. If you read the original post, the OP is getting warped rotors

There are a few theories floating around the internet about brake pad material being deposited on rotors. These were started by a certain company touting their disc brake pads. If this were true, Ford and other companies wouldn't be replacing their warped rotors under warranty.

 

[Alpheus]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

That trailer should not be killing your rotors. If the same shop has been putting on your rotors all this time I would be looking at them. What brand of rotors are they using? What is there method of installing them?

When I moved here to VA I took my truck into a shop that everyone I worked with recommended. I had new brakes and rotors installed on all 4 corners. I asked the guys what torque they used to install my tires. The owner says "My guys know that the wheels get torqued when they install new brakes." I asked that they recheck the torque for me because I just like to see it for myself. Low and behold, no one knew where the torque wrench was. I do my own brakes now.

I pull a heck of allot more weight with my truck than a 17 foot boat and I never go through rotors.

Try down shifting and using your engine to slow you down a bit before using the brakes and make sure your rear brakes are properly adjusted...

 

[642mx]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

I had a 99 F-150 and lost count of the rotors I put on it. When I was at the Ford dealer, we rarely could turn a set, they are throw-aways. IMO, Ford doesn't let the rear pads have enough pressure... so the front gets cooked.

 

[2300max]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

It's a ford....I replaced rotors on all my ford trucks alot. Check out the ford forum it has a lot of good info if you're a DIY.

 

[Skagit]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Your rotors are warping because it's a Ford. These model years were notorious for brake problems, just look up Consumer Reports for those years.

I have almost the same truck and have had the same problems before I got my boat and never towed anything. Good news is that it's a SUPER easy fix...took me about an hour in the driveway.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

A good article on rotor "warpage".. Myth or not?

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

I've never really been a believer of rotors actually warping, this article sure seems to make more sense, brake pad material transfer to the rotor surface causes thickness variations and therefore, pulsing.

I'll add that I was working a 4 day work week for a couple years, my commute times were not during any rush hour traffic, my brakes were great.. I had to change back to a 5 day work week, commute times were smack in the middle of rush hour making a 27 mile commute take over an hour.. lots of stop and go with hot brakes, lots of jamming on the brakes, within a month the pulsing started..

 

[NYBo]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

This isn't NASA-level science. Larger and/or better ventilated rotors should last longer. The surge brakes on your new trailer will, of course, also help a lot.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Regular on Ford....why I will never own one ....fix them yes lots of cash in the pocket

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

Just my opinion....... but the quality of the rotor makes a huge difference on how long they last.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Warped Rotors on a F-150

This isn't NASA-level science. Larger and/or better ventilated rotors should last longer.

Bingo!! I have a 2000 F350 power Stroke with 300,000 miles on it now, I went through rotors like they were going out of style so I bought a full set of vented rotors and that cured the issue completely. I must have gone through 4 sets of front rotors in 150,000 miles before I got the vented rotors.