1997 F53 460 and Rotella R6 5w40

If done correctly, those older F53 brakes will perform correctly for 2 year. Then it's maintenance time. First thing to do is exchange the calipers for ones with metal pistons. The phonetic in the OEM pistons will swell over time. Before you clamp the outer pad in the caliper, check the fit in the caliper bracket. I usually find the metal on the pad too long and it won't float loosely in the caliper bracket. Once the outer pad metal is shortened a little the caliper and pads will float back and forth with out dragging. I like to clean the surface on the caliper bracket, where the pins slide, with a file to get rid of all the road crud. Same goes for the caliper if not replacing. Use the special synthetic caliper grease on the pins and surfaces and your brakes will serve you well. So every 2 years clean and grease the caliper pins and mount surfaces and change the brake fluid. Check the caliper boots for tears and replace as necessary.

Richard

MH's sit more then they move and those calipers love to stick. I could never figure out what it was that made them do that. What I did figure out was if I put the rig in reverse and back up 50-100 feet while pumping the brakes I could usually free them up.

Even when the rig is moving daily they can stick. I was driving from the north to south and was in Florida near Destin when two bikers cut in front of me and hit the brakes to make a right turn. I slammed on the brakes and thought I was going to kill them. Luckily those brakes held. About 4 miles down the road both front calipers stuck shut.

Limped into the park for the night. They did free up just enough in the morning to make it to a truck stop for repairs. For me the brakes were a constant battle, and I had to always be on top of them to avoid problems.

BTW, I had all new top line loaded calipers by the time I was done and still had issues from time to time. Taking the temps will tell you when one is starting to stick before it becomes a bigger issue. Changing the fluid every couple of years will help with that soft pedal feel. Ford even came out with a special brake fluid for that F53 which had a higher boiling point trying to fix the problem.

John&Joey wrote:
One last tid-bit and I'll let you go. Get a cheap thermal heat gun and shoot the hubs and/or calipers after each good run (after you greased the slides, and swap out the brake fluid every 2 years.) For a long while you'll wonder why, then one day you'll say "dang, guess that guy knew something."

Thanks for the tips I appreciate any and all you can give me!! Out of curiosity why do you say that? I do have those temp guns though and will do that

One last tid-bit and I'll let you go. Get a cheap thermal heat gun and shoot the hubs and/or calipers after each good run (after you greased the slides, and swap out the brake fluid every 2 years.) For a long while you'll wonder why, then one day you'll say "dang, guess that guy knew something."

John&Joey wrote:
In this case I would stick with OEM spec's (also I would even buy it from Ford and pay the devil his toll make sure you state F53 or even Super Duty.)

Remember the thermostat is for the engine (and for cab comfort,) not the fluid in the radiator. If all you did was run the engine without it, the fluid would not have enough time in the radiator to cool down properly.

What you want to make sure is that the fan's thermostat is working correctly. As I remember it is a bi-metal coil that when it heats up it grabs the fan and spins it. That will bring down the temps right now. If with those few miles and those many years that coil is corroded, well you're a street smart guy.

Thanks! I actually just ordered a Robertshaw balanced thermostat which is supposed to be the best. As for the fan thermostat it definitely works it kicked in the other night when the temp went up and cooled it right off like you said.

In this case I would stick with OEM spec's (also I would even buy it from Ford and pay the devil his toll make sure you state F53 or even Super Duty.)

Remember the thermostat is for the engine (and for cab comfort,) not the fluid in the radiator. If all you did was run the engine without it, the fluid would not have enough time in the radiator to cool down properly.

What you want to make sure is that the fan's thermostat is working correctly. As I remember it is a bi-metal coil that when it heats up it grabs the fan and spins it. That will bring down the temps right now. If with those few miles and those many years that coil is corroded, well you're a street smart guy.

John&Joey wrote:
FWIW, sounds like you got yourself a great rig and the prior owner was on top of things. Two things that are issues on that rig that get overlook are the rear sway bar bushings, and the brakes.

Brakes are the weak link to that rig. You need to keep the slides greased, and the fluid changed with the highest temp you can afford.

If you still have an issue then look at the flexible brake lines. Sometimes they would flake off inside and stop the fluid from moving. That's a PITA to find that one.

Glad to hear! I do notice the brakes squealing. I will start checking into them. I am wondering what do you think is the best thermostat temp? 192 is stock, I always thought cooler was better to an extent. I’m between 160 and 180... I am in So Cal so I’m not somewhere that is usually very cold.

FWIW, sounds like you got yourself a great rig and the prior owner was on top of things. Two things that are issues on that rig that get overlook are the rear sway bar bushings, and the brakes.

Brakes are the weak link to that rig. You need to keep the slides greased, and the fluid changed with the highest temp you can afford.

If you still have an issue then look at the flexible brake lines. Sometimes they would flake off inside and stop the fluid from moving. That's a PITA to find that one.

John&Joey wrote:
That's fantastic. Looks like the prior owner knew what they were doing. Watch out about that temp thing. As memory serves me correct that thermostat was some sort of a high performance one. Not the China cheapy you get at the stores.

Other thing you need to pay attention to is the fan. That was a thermostatically controlled fan and you should hear it "roar" when it engages. If you don't hear it roar then do some due diligence. If you do hear it roar and the temp goes down then it's all good.

Old school trick is to put some tape to it and then something that doesn't move. If the tape is broken then you know it engaged and you just couldn't hear it.

Thanks for the info I believe the thermostat is a balanced one. And actually the fan did kick on the other night when it got up there and then cooled right off so that’s good!

That's fantastic. Looks like the prior owner knew what they were doing. Watch out about that temp thing. As memory serves me correct that thermostat was some sort of a high performance one. Not the China cheapy you get at the stores.

Other thing you need to pay attention to is the fan. That was a thermostatically controlled fan and you should hear it "roar" when it engages. If you don't hear it roar then do some due diligence. If you do hear it roar and the temp goes down then it's all good.

Old school trick is to put some tape to it and then something that doesn't move. If the tape is broken then you know it engaged and you just couldn't hear it.