I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I have a 2001 F150 Supercrew 4WD. The right rear disc brake is dragging.
Initially I thought the caliper was siezed and I replaced it. The same symptoms are back. There is a burning smell of brake pads overheating and the wheel is hot to the touch, so the problem is still there.

No fault lights are coming on and the ABS system appears to be working normal.

What other things could be causing this. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Northcrew

 

First thing that comes to mind is a bad hose. They can collapse on the inside and act as a check valve not letting the fluid release.
The same thing can happen with a banged up metal line.
Been off road lately?

I"d look at the brake line 1st. If nothing is crushed or twisted I'd bet on the hose.

Quick check jack up the wheel that is dragging crack the bleeder open and see if that lets the wheel spin. If it doesn't the problem is in the calliper (stuck piston, uneven or binding pins). If it does then it should be the hose.

This is only good if it is ONE wheel dragging.

 

When I drove into the garage this afternoon I noticed the brake burning smell and the hot to the touch wheel. This was exactly the same situation two days ago.

The problem started on my way home from work in a snow storm two days ago. I was in 4WD and was making a right turn. I heard a loud clunk in the right rear. Initially I thought someone hit me or I ran over a large rock. As I gave it gas my rear end fish tailed out and then I thought I had poped out of 4WD. I let up as I was not going anywhere and tried again , then another clunk and I was OK. I got home 10 miles later and smelled the burning brakes. I assumed bad caliper as this one would stick ocassionally after a winter car wash. Last night I replaced the caliper. Today the same problem with a new caliper.

I just took a look at everything again. The wheel had cooled down and I had someone apply and let up on the brake pedal. As I watched the caliper with the wheel off. I could see the piston moving in and out. I took it out for a test drive for about 2 miles and noticed nothing unusual. No smell or heat either.

In tracing the brake lines coming from the ABS sytem, I see 3 lines exiting, one going to the right front brake, one to the left front and a single line heading towards the back. On top of the rear axle there is a tee junction that splits the single line into two metal lines one goes to the left rear and one to the right rear. Everything looks in good condition. Seeing that a common line goes to the rear I would think if there were a problem with a proportioning valve I would see it in both rear brakes. The short rubber flex line looks good on the outside but I suspect you could not detect an internal colapse visually or by feel. As you said I think I may try replacing that line. The only other possiblity I can think of is that I got a bad new caliper.

 

One other thought came to mind. What sort of e-brake setup do you have? I have drums on my 98 so I'm not sure if the e-brakes works thru the caliper or those tiny brake shoes inside the rotor hub. Either way be sure that the e-brake is releasing. Let us know how you make out.

 

My e-brake is a small drum brake setup that is behind the rotor. I checked it out and its working ok, no drag on it.

I just replaced the brake hose today.

To maybe help someone out in the future here is the story with this brake hose.

It was a real pain finding the hose. Even the Ford dealers were confused. I kept getting a brake hose that had a tee type fitting in it, set up to receive two brake lines. My local parts place cross checked the part numbers and this is what kept coming up. We went diectly to Ford and they sent the same thing over also, even with the VIN# from the truck. Finally my parts guy talked directly with someone from Ford and we got it straight. The correct part comes as one assembly from Ford, the rubber line, about 8" long, connected to the steel line, with a mounting bracket where the two meet. The steel line portion is about 3' long and travels over the rear axle to a tee junction.
Why they don't just sell the rubber hose portion I don't know.

I got it togther, bled the lines and took it for a test drive. So far so good but I need to gain some confidence in it.

One other note, make sure you have the correct copper crush washers for the banjo bolt else you will not get a good seal where the hose mounts to the caliper.

Peppermrj, thank you for your advice. I will post again with an update.

 

I stand corrected on the e-brake theory. My first inspection of the system just insured the lever going into the e-brake engaged and disengaged correctly upon application. On the first over 10-mile trip with the new brake hose my right rear was overheated again. I did a little more research on the e-brake and tried a few things.

1. Applied the e-brake slowly while driving to clean any rust off the shoes, did this going forward and reverse.

2. Tried to move the e-brake adjuster, initially it was frozen, with a little persuasion and pin pointed wd-40 got it to move freely in both directions, expanding and contracting the brake shoes.

3. Tried to get the rotor off to really inspect the e-brake and so far no luck, even tried the jack stand, put it in gear trick to free the rotor. It was getting late so I gave up for now.

Since that time no more overheating has occurred. Maybe between the banging of the rotor to attempt to remove it, moving the e-brake adjuster and applying the e-brake while moving, something freed up. I have been guilty of not using the e-brake and from what I have read that can cause problems.

I've been driving for a couple of days now. Each time I drive it I check the temperature of the wheels and they have been equal on all 4. I still want to get the rotors off and get a good look at the e-brake though.

Any other ideas on removing the rear rotors?

 

Removing the rear rotor is very similiar to removing a drum that has been on for a long time. You get that rust ridge on the edge of the drum section. See if there is any way to back of the adjuster for the shoes. Forcing it off can bend and stretch stuff that you may need. Not to mention that those shoes are a real pain to install due to the fact that they are behind the hub so to speak. Very tight quarters. When you do get it off be sure to take your hand grinder to that ridge before you reinstall.
Sorry I missed on the hose.

 

Final Update. I got the rotor off and found the e-brake linings had seperated from both shoes. This explains the overheating and binding especially during cold damp weather. The left rear was OK. Replaced both sides and everything is ok.

To remove the rotors, I took a 2x3 about 18" long and put it up against the back side of the rotor in the area where the caliper was mounted. The 18" length got me beyond the leaf spring so I could really swing a hammer against the 2X3. A couple of good pops and rotations of the rotor and it broke free from the axle. All the E-brake hardware remained intact, which was a nice suprise. All I had to do was clean out all the rust, lube all the shoe contact points and install the new shoes. There is an adjuster in the e-brake system simular to what conventional drum brakes have which you can use to retract the e-brake shoes to help with the removal of the rotor, however if everything is rusted up it may not function.

Lesson learned: Use your E-brake to help keep everything in working order,

Hopefully this post can help someone else out in the future.

 

Good deal Bro. Thanxs for the info and update.