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Old 05-31-2016, 10:41 AM   #1
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Truck brake recommendations?

Hello, I need to replace my brake pads on my F150, any recommendations? I have close to 20k miles towing and want to be safe, and those I share the road with safe too. I could have done this in a truck forum, but since everyone here pulls travel trailers, I figured you are the experts for towing.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-31-2016, 02:22 PM   #2
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20K towing is not a lot. How many miles on the truck? Most, if not all, of the newer trucks can go a long time without replacing brake pads. Have you had the brakes inspected - are they really worn? To answer your original question, I go with original manufacturer. Especially if they have worn well and no dust (I hate brake dust on the rims). My GM pads give off VERY little dust and have performed great - many report 150,000 miles before replacement.
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Old 05-31-2016, 04:38 PM   #3
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My last GMC had 176k on the original pads & were still more than a 1/4" thick. If you need pads at 20k something is wrong (other than the truck brand), either you got sticking calipers on the truck or your trailer brakes are doing nothing to help in stopping both. Back to what brand of pads, I usually go with whatever parts stores premium pads, most are guarnteed for a lot of miles, OEM replacements just usually cost more than those premium.
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Old 05-31-2016, 05:39 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
My last GMC had 176k on the original pads & were still more than a 1/4" thick. If you need pads at 20k something is wrong (other than the truck brand), either you got sticking calipers on the truck or your trailer brakes are doing nothing to help in stopping both. Back to what brand of pads, I usually go with whatever parts stores premium pads, most are guarnteed for a lot of miles, OEM replacements just usually cost more than those premium.
I agree: 75,000 on mine and still fine.
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Old 05-31-2016, 08:03 PM   #5
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Just put these on my F150.

Premium Cross Drilled & Slotted Brake Kit

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Old 05-31-2016, 11:17 PM   #6
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On the F250 and F350 trucks, the factory Ford pads are seriously very good. Very little dust and wear extremely well. I tow over 6,000 miles a year. Have 140,000 miles on my truck and rear pads were done at 110,000 miles and front pads at 130,000 miles. Original rotors are fine. Both were original Ford pads that I replaced for the first time. Front ones even had a little life left in them. You need to check for thickness and wear as they shouldn't need replacing yet unless you have much higher total mileage on the truck. Again I can't speak to the F150 directly but the Super Duty brakes are impressive right from Ford.
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Old 06-01-2016, 06:14 AM   #7
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20K towing is not a lot. How many miles on the truck? Most, if not all, of the newer trucks can go a long time without replacing brake pads. Have you had the brakes inspected - are they really worn? To answer your original question, I go with original manufacturer. Especially if they have worn well and no dust (I hate brake dust on the rims). My GM pads give off VERY little dust and have performed great - many report 150,000 miles before replacement.
My truck has 71,000 miles total, I am not sure the brakes worked too good in my old Jayco tt. My brake pads on drivers side look good, but on the passenger side pads don't look bad but I am getting 2 grooves. Also the pedal seems spongy. Again it might be me just being paranoid but better safe than sorry.
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Old 06-01-2016, 09:05 AM   #8
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If the pedal is spongy that's not pads but master cyclinder, caliper, or fluid issue.
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Old 06-01-2016, 02:46 PM   #9
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If the pedal is spongy that's not pads but master cyclinder, caliper, or fluid issue.
Possibly. But they might also need a little self adjust. Lol. Fast way to determine whether or not your sponginess is due to wear, bad cylinder, etc or possibly just needing to do a little setup of the brakes is to find a highway / paved road with no traffic. Drive 70mph and then hit the brakes like you would if a deer ran out in front of you and take the truck to full stop as fast as you can. If the truck stops fast and the pedal comes back at you hard and feels firmer/higher after that you just self-adjusted your brakes and your pads, master cylinder, etc are fine. If your stopping distance seems long and your pedal remains spongy you need to check your fluid first, master cylinder second. Unless you ran your fluid out they shouldn't need bleeding if they are still oem factory pads unless air got in the system at some point.

This may seem odd, but it's a quick check especially for drivers who do not use their brakes hard, stop slowly, etc. believe it or not your brakes can start to feel lazy if you don't use them hard once in awhile.
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Old 06-02-2016, 04:11 AM   #10
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What color is the fluid? Ever changed it? Might need to dump it and replace it.
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Old 06-02-2016, 06:13 AM   #11
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Possibly. But they might also need a little self adjust. Lol. Fast way to determine whether or not your sponginess is due to wear, bad cylinder, etc or possibly just needing to do a little setup of the brakes is to find a highway / paved road with no traffic. Drive 70mph and then hit the brakes like you would if a deer ran out in front of you and take the truck to full stop as fast as you can. If the truck stops fast and the pedal comes back at you hard and feels firmer/higher after that you just self-adjusted your brakes and your pads, master cylinder, etc are fine. If your stopping distance seems long and your pedal remains spongy you need to check your fluid first, master cylinder second. Unless you ran your fluid out they shouldn't need bleeding if they are still oem factory pads unless air got in the system at some point.

This may seem odd, but it's a quick check especially for drivers who do not use their brakes hard, stop slowly, etc. believe it or not your brakes can start to feel lazy if you don't use them hard once in awhile.

I will try the self adjusting described above. I almost hit 3 deer on Monday running across the road, which is odd this time of year, normally don't see them. I didn't do a brake check though.
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Old 06-02-2016, 09:59 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Labbie View Post
My truck has 71,000 miles total, I am not sure the brakes worked too good in my old Jayco tt. My brake pads on drivers side look good, but on the passenger side pads don't look bad but I am getting 2 grooves. Also the pedal seems spongy. Again it might be me just being paranoid but better safe than sorry.
"Getting 2 grooves" is not a good thing. If you have worn out those pads and are at metal to metal, creating disc grooves, you will get a spongy feeling when applying the brakes.
I Would Not do that test WWW suggests, with one side possibly not operating properly, sending you promptly to the other lane and/or ditch.
Pull the calipers off, remove the pads and inspect. Remember, if you have a stuck pad on one side, it may be totally good looking from the top, and almost gone from the bottom, hence, remove and inspect. No flashlight checking here.
I've used the top of the line HD Wagner pads.

And btw, I'd love to hear the rational of how the concept of "lazy" brakes work, when not using them hard?
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Old 06-02-2016, 10:19 AM   #13
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"Getting 2 grooves" is not a good thing. If you have worn out those pads and are at metal to metal, creating disc grooves, you will get a spongy feeling when applying the brakes.
I Would Not do that test WWW suggests, with one side possibly not operating properly, sending you promptly to the other lane and/or ditch.
Pull the calipers off, remove the pads and inspect. Remember, if you have a stuck pad on one side, it may be totally good looking from the top, and almost gone from the bottom, hence, remove and inspect. No flashlight checking here.
I've used the top of the line HD Wagner pads.

And btw, I'd love to hear the rational of how the concept of "lazy" brakes work, when not using them hard?

I'm gonna hazard a guess and say it has to do with the frequency heating the rotors and the glazing effect pads can experience.
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Old 06-03-2016, 11:32 PM   #14
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I'm gonna hazard a guess and say it has to do with the frequency heating the rotors and the glazing effect pads can experience.
Here's a definition from one website on brake glazing. That would occur when someone over uses their brakes, not under uses them. Still have never experienced brake loss due to under using my brakes.

"Brake pad glazing is caused when the brake pad friction material is overheated. This results in crystallized friction material on the pad surface and the brake disc. Typical symptoms of glazed brake pads include: Poor stopping performance, vibration or brake judder"
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Old 06-06-2016, 05:58 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r2millers View Post
"Getting 2 grooves" is not a good thing. If you have worn out those pads and are at metal to metal, creating disc grooves, you will get a spongy feeling when applying the brakes.
I Would Not do that test WWW suggests, with one side possibly not operating properly, sending you promptly to the other lane and/or ditch.
Pull the calipers off, remove the pads and inspect. Remember, if you have a stuck pad on one side, it may be totally good looking from the top, and almost gone from the bottom, hence, remove and inspect. No flashlight checking here.
I've used the top of the line HD Wagner pads.

And btw, I'd love to hear the rational of how the concept of "lazy" brakes work, when not using them hard?
I disassembled, pads on passenger side were cracked, so I cleaned, lubed the slides and replaced the pads. Thanks everyone!
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Old 06-06-2016, 06:56 AM   #16
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Labbie,
So glad you found the issue sooner then later. Based on your mileage, I'd expect the pads to be OEM?
When I see others that have run their original pads way over 150k, or let them run until 10-15% of the pad remaining, it makes for concerns that something similar might happen...especially towing and on the road.
Better to be safe.
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Old 06-06-2016, 07:01 AM   #17
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Labbie,
So glad you found the issue sooner then later. Based on your mileage, I'd expect the pads to be OEM?
When I see others that have run their original pads way over 150k, or let them run until 10-15% of the pad remaining, it makes for concerns that something similar might happen...especially towing and on the road.
Better to be safe.
Yes pads were OEM, and without taking them out I would not have known they were cracked. The flashlight test wouldn't have done any good.

Maybe it was my paranoia but better safe than dead or killing someone.
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Old 06-06-2016, 07:19 AM   #18
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Yea always safe to check if you think something could be wrong. Glad you figured it out. Safe travels.
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