My rotors after long braking downhills are really shaking the steering wheel by the time we get to the bottom. Sticking to the subject of the rotors, I'm looking at getting drilled and slotted, or another forum some suggest frozen rotors. These frozen are running $ 225 each or there about. At one point on recent trip I had a garage pull one wheel and check and everything looked OK. Ceramic pads still had a lot of life in them, and by the time wheel got pulled, everything had cooled down so nothing noticeable about the rotor. So who has done what with either the drilled or frozen rotors, and did they really make a difference? When shopping for rotors one of the questions asked is ABS front and or back. I know they are on the front, how to check on the back(drums on the back)?

tarnold wrote:Sticking to the subject of the rotors,If everyone in this thread who replies follows your request, I'll buy you lunch!!! :B

My guess is that the rotors are warped. Only an excessive amount of heat will warp the rotors. Either the piston(s) in your caliper(s) is gummed up and not releasing, the caliper slides are not moving or there is another problem in the hydraulic system causing the pads to keep too much pressure on the rotors when the brakes are released.Slotted and drilled rotors help when there is prolonged and hard braking. They do dissipate the heat better. Before I invested in the costlier slotted/drilled rotors, I would look for the cause of the rotors warping.Ray

Bryan, carringb, an OP here, tried several high-tech approaches like frozen/drilled/slotted and found that late model OEM Ford brakes worked best. Companies convert Ford Vans to 4x4's and this leaves take-off parts which are often new. QuadVan (call John)in OR and Quigley in PA (call Doug) come to mind. They do this mostly on new vans which are then delivered to retail Ford dealers. Another company, U-Joint Off-Road near Asheville NC (call Chris), does one-off's for customers and they too have take-off parts. My Quigley "kit" was the twin axles, bushings, ball joints, radius arms, rotors, hubs, calipers, pads, ABS sensors, and a few steering linkage parts.Be sure the conversion place you call knows you're working on a DUAL rear wheel vehicle. The Front Hubs are different, to allow for the different style of wheels used on Single- and Dual-Rear Wheel vehicles. They're only selling you the FRONT, so it's easy to forget.You can rebuild your front end and gain superior braking for less than many alternatives. Bryan swears by his, and results on ours were excellent.

As J-D mentioned my experiments with high-performance brakes, including cryo-treated cross-drilled rotors, did not end well. I settled on on 2009 front axle from QuadVan for the ultimate fix.This was 6 months into my experiment:

It does not matter what type of rotors you install on the vehicle, the problem as you stated braking down hill instead of using the engine to slow down, going down hill using the brakes only creates heat, prolonged use of the brakes on hills or severe applications on flat ground eventually will overheat the rotors, and they will warp, even the most expensive vented and fancy racing brakes will be damaged.I am going to suggest that you use the engine to slow the decent, at the top of the hill slow down to a comfortable speed 50 to 55 is good, down shift to 2 gear or third if the gradient is not to steep and go down the hill using the engine, with small applications of the brake when needed. navegator

97 e350 front brake rotors | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

tioga28c
Explorer
May 18, 2015
do you drive with both feet as my x did she burned up brakes so bad that the rotors turned blue and cracked . it`s that or you have bad bake lines or calipers like hank 85713 said the flexible rubber brake lines are known to pass pressure but not let back flow when they look good on the out side. or you are running to fast on long down hill. Say what u want about old truckers but loose control one time and we can all learn a lesson if we survive. campers are built on truck frames and should be driven as such . Slow down use your gears to help and be safe please .
j-d
Explorer II
May 16, 2015
Ford has a website that lists E-Series changes by year. I can't find it just now, but I remember that along with the change in rotor size in 2008, they changed the nature of the pad material as well.

I think the conversion companies WILL sell just the brakes or just the axles. At least I had that impression from an OP here who was getting parts from Quigley. A very late model, low mileage, well kept chassis might not need the axles replaced to get new bearings and ball joints, If it has any significant age/miles, only makes sense to change axles as well. Less expensive than parts only later.
klutchdust
Explorer II
May 16, 2015
I have had good results with Hawk brand pads. As a rule of thumb when towing my heavy gooseneck trailer before my C was when going down hills

apply the brakes only as long as you need to decrease to the speed you desire. Riding the brakes warps the rotors and once overheated even cutting

them isn't the answer, they may still wobble. In my C I hit tow/haul mode on a steep hill and let the engine hold it back some. Second rule of thumb, I

never went down a hill faster than I could go up it. As far as slotted rotors and the like? Don't see a need for them.
tarnold
Explorer
May 16, 2015
The owners manual is too generic covers many models and options. There is an ABS light on the dash. There needs to be a book specific to the cutaway van.
Hank85713
Explorer
May 16, 2015
Yes there may be warped rotors but that is because they were over heated. If you redo the brakes, put in new lines (rubber in front) along with new/rebuilt calipers. Do it all at 1 time. The rears I am not sure of ABS, but ford normally only had on rears so check your owners manual. Also R&R complete system back there. The ceramic pads are not recommended from what I have read for towing etc.
Hawk brand (I have never used) have been said to be good for towing but the set must be for the job it is to do. Sintered, semi metallic are the best for this but I dont know what they are selling anymore since the enviros complain about anything that actually did the job it was designed to do.
Oldme
Explorer
May 16, 2015
I will agree on the warped rotors.

We experienced this on my wife previous car.
They would warp when used heavily in traffic and then get in Fl. a rain storm.
I replaced several front sets on that car.
pconroy328
Explorer
May 15, 2015
tarnold wrote:
PCONROY that's the safest bet you will ever make!
Op.

:B
:B
:B

{ I downshift too! :) }
time2roll
Nomad
May 15, 2015
Skip all the fancy stuff and get OEM rotors and pads. Maybe NAPA heavy duty.
The ceramic may have done you in. Stick with premium semi-metallic.
tarnold
Explorer
May 15, 2015
PCONROY that's the safest bet you will ever make!
Op.
navegator
Explorer
May 15, 2015
It does not matter what type of rotors you install on the vehicle, the problem as you stated braking down hill instead of using the engine to slow down, going down hill using the brakes only creates heat, prolonged use of the brakes on hills or severe applications on flat ground eventually will overheat the rotors, and they will warp, even the most expensive vented and fancy racing brakes will be damaged.

I am going to suggest that you use the engine to slow the decent, at the top of the hill slow down to a comfortable speed 50 to 55 is good, down shift to 2 gear or third if the gradient is not to steep and go down the hill using the engine, with small applications of the brake when needed.

navegator