I wasn't sure who to respond to first, you or mitchman. I don't know how much stronger Ford could have made the brakes without driving up the cost. Ford put 2 piston calipers on the front, single piston on the rear with a separate drum style parking brake (that way it's not affected by the wear on the service brake).

The master cylinder is designed to allow for the play your feeling. This is how Ford avoids an overly touchy pedal. It allows the pressure to build within the system and apply the brakes smoothly without prematurely activating ABS when it's not needed.

 

Thought I would add my experience here-

I have a BrakeSmart trailer brake controller that Ts right into the master cylinder. The unit has a readout that shows fluid pressure in the cylinder, as you apply the brakes more the pressure readout increases.

I have noticed that when I start to apply pressure to the brakes the readout increases but it does seem to take a second or so before I "feel" the truck braking. There isn't much brake pedal "travel" between applying the brakes and when I "feel" the truck braking but there is a short lag.

 

Blue G: can you email me? We're interesting in purchasing a Brake Smart brake controller. Thanks! mitchlewis@charter.net
--
Mitch
'05 SuperCrew FX4

 

Brake Play Update:

Thanks for all the responses, it truly helped me understand the issue better.

Picked up the truck today, my service technician said the brakes were normal and they should get better with time, said there was Armorall on the rotors.

Magically however, the brakes have lost their play and have almost instant stopping power. What a difference a day makes!

To a few of those who replied, I wasn't unhappy with the stopping power, just the travel in the pedal.

We'll see if the magic lasts. Thanks all!

 

mitchman,

Sent you an e-mail. You can respond back to blueg@softcom.net

I highly recommend the BrakeSmart Controller, it is like night and day from an inertia type.

 

efexfour

Are you using Rancho Ford for service?

Also, give me a shout if you want to "compare" issues with our trucks. Just down the road...

KE

 

my 2 cents...try this and tell me what is going on....at a stop light press brake pedal with lite pressure like your stopping.now press the pedal harder ,harder. pedal will continue to sink until you hit something hard...now release.....be careful at next stop light because they will throw you thru the windshield...or try bleeding back brakes...this will give you your sensitivity and stopping power ...for about 4 days......yes ..the brakes do suck but what can you do when everybody says" its a big truck, there is nothing wrong". i urge all of you to try this that have spongy brakes and then tell us there is nothing wrong. oh btw...i hav 49k on mine, ceramics helped somewhat, but i fear the day when the neighbors kid come flying into the street, cause the peddle travel + slack in master cylinder = slow response also equal to front end damage.....