'01 S-Crew went 24k on the original fronts. Went 6k on the replacements. No more cheap break pads.

 

2001 SuperCrew

I stopped by Just 4 Brakes the other day and they said I needed pads, rotors, and calipers all the way around (at 51K). I sensed that I was about to get screwed so I went 100 yards down the road to a City Garage (Plano, TX). They told me that guy was full of it and was definitely trying to screw me.

So I got the front pads changed and the rotors turned at 51K.
Rears are still good to go for awhile.

Can anybody point me to a link (or a good book) where I can learn how to do it myself? Thanks!

 

Brake wear is soley dependant on the style of driving you do. You should rotate your tires every other oil change or 6,000 miles so it is very easy to check your brakes at the same time. Typically pads should be replaced when they get to around 3mm thickness. During braking your front brakes do the majority of the work so they typically wear out faster then the rear. You should turn or machine the rotors evry time you change the pads. Warp rotors, even slightly warped, will cause your pads to wear faster and will cause a pulsation feel in the brake pedal. Alot of people have complained that their rotors warp sooner every time they have the rotors turned. This is due to the fact that every time you turn your rotors your removing material from the rotor causing them to be thinner. The thinner the rotor the less heat dissippation the rotors have thus causing them to warp faster than before. Rotors are wear items just like pads and should be replaced when they reach minimum thickness.

 

Just over 80,000 miles on my 2000 F150 and still have the origanal brakes and they still got plenty of life in them yet.

 

I changed all four of mine two weeks ago at 82k miles. The front pads had about 10k miles left on them, and the rear drums had another 25k miles on them.

 

I replaced my front pads at 50k miles on my 2000 F150. They were as low as they could get before getting into the rotors. The back pads were fine. Not sure if the front pads were original. I bought it used and don't know how the previous driver was on his brakes. On all of my other vehicles I have always gotten well over 50k miles before I changed brakes that still had meat left on them.

I don't hit my brakes hard racing red light to redlight.

Now if I could only get it in my GF's head to stop waiting til the last second to hit the brakes and to quit pumping the brakes going down a hill because someone told her that you should then maybe her brakes wouldn't have been worn in 15k miles and rotors warped.

For any vehicle it comes down to two things. How you drive and buying the more expensive version of a brake brand will last longer.

 

The brakes on my 150 were done at 85000k I was told by the dealer...They work great...

I just had the rotors turned on the front of my 2002 ford windstar...The dealer told me it was warped some but the pads were only wore down to half and they said it was fine to keep using them...I was wondering about that as this was done on warranty...Any opinions...40.500K on the van...

 

Well, I too have heard that rotors warp after turning simply because they are thinner. Too me, this is as good an excuse as any for NOT TURNING otherwise true rotors. I don't really believe that making them thinner causes them to warp since I have never had my rotors turned in on 3 vehicles I own and they are not warped one bit, even though two of the vehicles are worn to under specification for thickness (thinner than any brake guy would turn them - that's certain) and they get used just a hard as ever. Just this last weekend I pulled a 2 ton trailer 600 miles and had to brake hard several times on rotors that have almost 200,000 miles on them. Since I stopped having rotors turned with pad replacements in my last 3 vehicles (last 10 years) I've never, ever, warped a rotor. Previously, I bought a lot of rotors with brake jobs and every single case, once they were turned they warped within 10k miles.

In my opinion, its the turning that ruins otherwise good rotors. You can speculate why this is, I don't know. I just know what my experience has been. I also find that brake warranties don't mean much, if they warp after turning the brake guys just shrug and say,"lets grind them again" unless there isn't enough material, then they like to sell new ones. Might as well as leave them alone in the first place.

Anyway, I'm trying to work up the nerve to handle knocking off these OEM rotors that have never been off in 7 years/197k miles. I like the idea of just cutting and splitting them, all that banging with 20lb mauls seems like it might be hard on the front end? No?

 

New front at 70, back at 75 w/ rotors.

 

Purchased my '97 F-250 in '99 with 52K on it. Shortly after I found the rear pads were almost down to steel. Fronts were passible.
Following summer I replaced the fronts. There was still a little life left in them but wanted all 4 corners the same.

I've never figured out why the rears went first. Hasn't happened since. Truck now has 114K on it and still has the pads I installed and all 4 rotors have yet to be turned. I also tow a 4500 lbs. load almost every weekend.

 

Iggy : your rear disk pad wear sounds about right if the truck was used in stop and go driving. My 2003 expedition has half worn rear pads at 29000 miles, when my fronts needed changing. So at 52k your rear disk pads could be gone. Otherwise I would check to see if the odometer is correct/ not tampered with before you got the truck.

 

All the disc pads I removed were the original factory installed components. I'm very sure I was the first to tear the brakes apart. I just never worked on a vehicle where the rear brakes needed replacing before the fronts.
My old '87 Bronco 4x4 went 100k+ on the original rear shoes. I belive I went through 3-4 sets of front pads during the 155k miles I owned it.

Odometer tampering is possible but in this case no.
I bought it before the dealer could clean it up. In the glove box were recipts for warranty repairs, oil changes and tire purchase. Each one had the milage written on it. It all added up correctly.
I figured the 52k miles in a 1.5 year period ( new in fall of '97, I purchased it in Feb. '99) was from extensive highway driving. In 5 years of ownership I've put another 62k on it. Vast majority of the driving I do is local and towing the boat on weekends.

 

I think it also depends on if you have an automatic or manual tranny. I had a Ranger with a manual. I didn't change the fronts until about 90K miles. I traded it on my 2000 F150 with about 120K miles, and the rears still had a lot of life left.

My F150 has an automatic, so I wouldn't expect to go as long (and I sometimes drive hard on the country roads here, even sideways!). I changed the fronts at about 53-54K miles (my original Goodyears lasted that long too). I changed the rears at about 70 - 72K miles. I say "about" because my records are in the glove box in the truck, but I think that's fairly accurate. I just changed the pads; the rotors looked great, and I don't have a pulsing in the pedal like a warped rotor would give. I rotate my tires every oil change (3K miles) mainly to keep the inside of the wheels cleaned off, so I get a lot of chances to inspect the brakes. I usually figure 2 sets of front pads to one set of rears, but it looks like my F150 is going to have a little better ratio. I also opted for the top of the line pads for mine. A little expensive, but I think it's better in the longrun.

 

I have a 2001 SC 4X2 ....Just found out I need new rotors and pads at 25000 miles...........

 

I'm at just under 12,000 miles on my 2002 4x4 Screw and just had fronts done, rotors and pads as they were shot! Service manager stated he's seen a few come in earlier!! At least my dealer is GREAT!