Brake job on E450

[suprz]

Just got a quote from the local Ford dealership... New pads, rotors, and seals. $1,900.00 My pads seem to be fine to me. They just squeak sometimes when in stop and go traffic. If you press the brake pedal it goes away. I'm thinking that the anti-squeal coating on the pads is dried up. Any suggestions?

[j-d]

Class C RV is an odd sort. It's a local delivery chassis carrying a heavy load. So, for things like oil changes, it's "severe duty."

But in my opinion, they aren't that hard on brakes. Oh, then can be, downhill stops in the mountains and stuff like that, but how many of us are doing that? We drive a few miles on local streets and secondary highways. Then a couple hundred on limited access interstates, turnpikes, freeways, before a few street level miles to the campground.

So I'm with the group that says "Probably NOT Worn Out." Our pads weren't bad, 35000 on the coach, when a caliper stuck and overheated a front brake. This is a big plus for Class C: Local chain store auto supply had Pads, Calipers, Hoses, all on hand. I changed the offending corner at the campground and the other when we got home.

But... Several trips later, I noticed the rust pattern that forms on rotors overnight, was NOT being uniformly burnished off by the new Pads. I also hadn't taken the rotors off (caliper mounting bracket bolts called for a breaker bar I didn't have along) and had them re-surfaced.

Most of the time, I don't replace or re-surface rotors that "look good." A previous Class C on E350 didn't stop well at all and I decided on new rotors hoping they'd help and did not.

If a Class C on a Ford E-Series chassis 1992-2007, late model 2008+ brakes are THE WAY to brakes worthy of that 14050 pounds. We just drove I-4 from Daytona to Disney. With lane shifts, traffic, inattentive tourists and aggressive locals, we used all the brakes we had. The new brakes are not only bigger diameter. The pad material is thicker, tougher, rotors thicker with bigger vents, and calipers of course have bigger pistons.

Those "new" Ford brakes work better than upgraded Pads. Better than Frozen, Drilled, Slotted, whatever, Rotors.

[suprz]

I understand folks getting a lot of miles from their brakes. BUT this is a 14,050 LBS (7 tons) rolling brick. A lot of folks are talking about their F250, F350, ford trucks or vans. ( what do they weigh? ) There is a definite weight difference. I like to be proactive, about maintenance when I can. I take the safety of me and my loved ones as well as those on the road with me very seriously. I think we can all agree on that. 2000.00 is nothing if it prevents a accident

[Dave_H_M]

Back to the OP. I amazed at how money is made and spent.

My first E250 had just over 100K when I changed the front rotors for the first time.

I sold it at 176K miles and it never did have a rotor turned or replaced on it. :h

[suprz]

SidecarFlip wrote:

suprz wrote:
My wife's jeep liberty had phenolic pistons in the calipers and we had the same issue. **** stupid design. We finally traded it in for a new grand Cherokee

Probably has the same pistons, Fiat Chrysler like phenolic pistons.IO( could tell you stories about Jeep but I won't. I'm very familiar with the plant on Stickney Avenue in Toledo where they are put together.

Worst thing was when I went to Jeep to get a new rubber brake line that goes to the caliper... No one carried it but the local Jeep dealer, it was 40.00 bucks! The guy behind the counter go to get it and comes back with the entire hard line with the rubber line attached! It is all one piece now! The rubber hose is pressed onto the hard line! I almost died!

[aruba5er]

I would guess that you don't need any work done on those brakes. At 32k they are just getting broken in, unless you don't know where to place your left foot. My 2500HD has 93k and the brakes look and feel and sound just fine. Pull a front wheel and look at them. The inboard and outboard pads should look about equal. For $1900 I can live with a little noise. And I would never spend any money to turn the rotors. If they need work replace them. I know my old F350 needed work and they tried machining them twice and ended up with new rotors. Should have saved the money the machanist wanted.

[Weldon]

I will bet you don't need a brake job at 32,000 miles. I put 50,000 on a F-250 and there was still pad left. Get an independent shop to check and see for sure.

[SidecarFlip]

suprz wrote:
My wife's jeep liberty had phenolic pistons in the calipers and we had the same issue. **** stupid design. We finally traded it in for a new grand Cherokee

Probably has the same pistons, Fiat Chrysler like phenolic pistons.IO( could tell you stories about Jeep but I won't. I'm very familiar with the plant on Stickney Avenue in Toledo where they are put together.

[suprz]

My wife's jeep liberty had phenolic pistons in the calipers and we had the same issue. **** stupid design. We finally traded it in for a new grand Cherokee

[CharlesinGA]

My old Ranger uses the wedges on the front calipers, and I can get them out in about 30 seconds flat. They are quite easy to remove. Biggest problem I have had is the calipers have phenolic pistons and they tend to seize when hot after they have many miles on them. Had this happen twice now.

Charles

[Chum_lee]

suprz: Am I missing something here? If you have a current third party extended warranty on your RV and THEY are willing to pay for your brake repairs at the Ford dealership, why is this an issue? Why not take it in and say, "Have at it guys!" As long as they replace everything with factory parts or better, chances are you have already paid for the repairs in advance. There may be issues with the deductible, if there is one.

Chum lee

[jyrostng]

Brake squeal without worn out pads might not be covered under a warranty, Just saying. 32,000 miles on a RV that gets most of it's use on the highway shouldn't have worn out brakes.

[suprz]

SidecarFlip wrote:

....."I have a aftermarket warranty and I checked with the Ford dealership and they will honor it. I had to ask because it covers A LOT of the chassis components. (engine,transmission, etc... ) as well as the coach parts".........

Good deal. I have the Ford extended warranty on my car. I figured with all the electronic stuff (that I have no idea how it works) that an extended warranty would be worthwhile.

I do all my own maintenance including brakes and tires but electronics befuddle me. Part of being old I guess.

Well, I agree with you. And one of the few good things about being old is having the wisdom of knowing that a warranty let's you have qualified people fix it, instead of yourself PRICELESS..... But being an old mechanic is a double edged sword, on one side, you know how to do stuff and want to, but your body tells you different. The other side is glad that you don't have to worry about it BUT... You worry about having it done right. That's why I get a little crazy researching things before I take my RV anywhere to be repaired. I wouldn't take the RV anywhere other than Ford, to have the chassis components worked on. I also trust the RV dealer I bought the RV from to do the coach work. ( they have been in business for over 40 years. ) these days, trust is something I don't have in many things / people

[SidecarFlip]

....."I have a aftermarket warranty and I checked with the Ford dealership and they will honor it. I had to ask because it covers A LOT of the chassis components. (engine,transmission, etc... ) as well as the coach parts".........

Good deal. I have the Ford extended warranty on my car. I figured with all the electronic stuff (that I have no idea how it works) that an extended warranty would be worthwhile.

I do all my own maintenance including brakes and tires but electronics befuddle me. Part of being old I guess.

[jyrostng]

If you can remove the front pads, inspect them, if they don't need replacement, use this on them and put them back on. Brake quiet