Ford Brakes, how hot is to hot?

When is the temperature taken? Right after a long downhill or just normal driving?

Brakes get well over 1000 degrees while in use, I forget the exact numbers. If you don't feel them fading then you are likely ok. Obviously make sure your trailer brakes are adjusted correctly. Use your exhaust brake as much as possible. Stock brake pads aren't the best so you could switch to better pads when you change them.

Coming down from Pikes Peak my daughters didn't get much over 100.
The ranger measured and was looking for over 300. If so had to wait to cool off before continuing.
Always downshift when going downhill.

MR MAC wrote:
Brakes on my Coachmen 18K seem to be hot, to hot,and sometimes make noise, temp on right side 250deg, and almost 300 on left. no burning smell. Going in to Ford to check out, But they will not give me any info. on warranty, unit is under the three yrs, and has 20,000 miles. Called Ford they connected me to three different people but no info what was covered, same with ford service dealer. I got the
temp. readings right of the roters with heat gun.

Depends and especially with how hot the fluid gets. Brake fluid will boil at 212F if it's old enough. Whatever the case, you need it checked out, but normally if there's no real difference between them, then most likely they're operating normal or they're being abused in some way.
You didn't give much info, as to traffic on level or at the bottom of a 5 mile 6% grade.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
When is the temperature taken? Right after a long downhill or just normal driving?

I was driving on a 40 mph road. winding, with some stop and go, and slowing on turns, for about50 miles. == Cape cod.
thanks

MR MAC wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
When is the temperature taken? Right after a long downhill or just normal driving?

I was driving on a 40 mph road. winding, with some stop and go, and slowing on turns, for about50 miles. == Cape cod.
thanks

If you have DOT 3 brake fluid, the boiling point is 284 degrees, assuming it has absorbed 3.7% water. It may also be DOT 4 brake fluid which raises the wet boiling point to 311 degrees. The rotors will get much hotter and they are designed to shed heat once you let off the brakes.
Since your fluid is 3-4 years old, it may have absorbed more than 3.7% moisture and the boiling point would be lower. The first indication of this would be brake fade where you continue to have to use more and more pressure on the brake pedal to slow down. When it gets too hot, you lose your brakes completely when the moisture in the brake fluid boils and the steam is not compressible. This is a scary situation and you would have noticed it right away.
It sounds like you brakes are not overly hot for the conditions but it may be a good idea to have the brake fluid FLUSHED, which means to have every drop of fluid replaced, not just what fluid would be replaced by bleeding the brakes.

I'd make sure your calipers aren't hanging on the slide pins as well. Ford front dual piston (Girling style) calipers have a habit of hanging and creating excessive brake heat. Might be to your advantage to change out the calipers and rotors, it's not that expensive and fairly easy to do. I typically replace everything when doing a brake job.

Your vehicle is low miles but corrosion never sleeps.

Ford Brakes are notorious for being too small and warping second trip down a hill so to speak. It would help,if they were re heat treated before machining.
The Big F350s, I don't know about 250s were some better but I replaced the rotors with chill tempered drilled rotors and matching pads. Don't want to hard of a pad with a soft rotor or the reverse. I got them from Breembo, I seem to remember. That was 23 years ago.

SidecarFlip wrote:
I'd make sure your calipers aren't hanging on the slide pins as well. Ford front dual piston (Girling style) calipers have a habit of hanging and creating excessive brake heat. Might be to your advantage to change out the calipers and rotors, it's not that expensive and fairly easy to do. I typically replace everything when doing a brake job.

Your vehicle is low miles but corrosion never sleeps.

YUP!

Particularly if operated in salt on road conditions, you need to pull the calipers, clean and use caliper slide lube on the caliper slides.

Very common issue with sliding caliper (vs fixed caliper) brakes that sit for awhile. They work OK if used all the time, but do not do well if allowed to sit (the slide area rusts and freezes up, keeping the lazy pad on the rotor.

down home wrote:
Ford Brakes are notorious for being too small and warping second trip down a hill so to speak. It would help,if they were re heat treated before machining.
The Big F350s, I don't know about 250s were some better but I replaced the rotors with chill tempered drilled rotors and matching pads. Don't want to hard of a pad with a soft rotor or the reverse. I got them from Breembo, I seem to remember. That was 23 years ago.

That's not the case anymore. I have owned 8 Ford trucks (including 2 motorhomes built on the F53 chassis) since the 1980's. None had to have a brake job until at least 75,000 miles.

The 1999 F150 and the 2010 Expedition both needed rotors. Not because they were warped, but rather because they were worn to near the minimum thickness. Most new car and truck rotors aren't much more than .030" thicker than the minimum required to absorb the heat and provide adequate braking. After 75,000 miles or so they're so close to the minimum thickness that it's time to replace them.