Front bakes grabbing, grinding, and chirping after suspension refresh

[rwmorrisonjr]

Just did the full front suspension refresh on my 2012 and had it aligned, so all is good there. However, when I hit the brakes lightly, I'm hearing a faint chirping sound that I hadn't heard before. When I hit the brakes hard, I hear some grinding, suspension groaning, and the truck wants to dive to the right a bit. I've checked all the front bolts and re-torqued them just to be sure, and I've checked both brake calipers and everything is in place properly and torqued to specs. Front wheels also seem to be dragging when I spin them which isn't normal. I did compress the calipers prior to removing them and pumped the pedal before road testing. Should I give it a few days of regular driving and let is all settle in before trying to chase this down? Other than the noises, the truck drives, rides, and brakes normally.

Pads and rotors are only one month old, all Ford parts.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Just did the full front suspension refresh on my 2012 and had it aligned, so all is good there. However, when I hit the brakes lightly, I'm hearing a faint chirping sound that I hadn't heard before. When I hit the brakes hard, I hear some grinding, suspension groaning, and the truck wants to dive to the right a bit. I've checked all the front bolts and re-torqued them just to be sure, and I've checked both brake calipers and everything is in place properly and torqued to specs. Front wheels also seem to be dragging when I spin them which isn't normal. I did compress the calipers prior to removing them and pumped the pedal before road testing. Should I give it a few days of regular driving and let is all settle in before trying to chase this down? Other than the noises, the truck drives, rides, and brakes normally.

Pads and rotors are only one month old, all Ford parts.

I'd take it back where you had them aligned. Maybe they'll find what's wrong FOR FREE.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Duplicate post

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

UPDATE: Truck is still pulling to the right under hard braking and both front wheels are running very hot to the touch. Did a very low speed brake test in my driveway and when I hit the brakes, the steering wheel pulls to the left, then straightens out when I release the brakes; this happens going both forward and in reverse.

Fluid reservoir is full above the full line to the bottom of the filler neck and the pedal isn't as firm as it was before I did the work. Not sure what changed since I didn't do anything to the brakes other than remove & reinstall them. Thinking either calipers are seized after compressing them (OEM, 168k. miles) or flex lines (OEM) might be collapsed, but don't look damaged.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[David Schaefer]

Did you try bleeding the brake lines already? one side braking stronger than the other sounds like how a skid steer works. Also, if you hear grinding when you use the brakes, it doesn't take long to show the scars somewhere (on the rotors, on the pads, etc) You might have to disassemble all of it and take a very close look.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Did you try bleeding the brake lines already? one side braking stronger than the other sounds like how a skid steer works. Also, if you hear grinding when you use the brakes, it doesn't take long to show the scars somewhere (on the rotors, on the pads, etc) You might have to disassemble all of it and take a very close look.

Not yet, but that's on the list. No grinding, just some pulling to the right and grabbiness when hard barking. The reservoir is overfilled so I'm going to remove some fluid to see if that helps before going further with bleeding and replacing parts.

 

[David Schaefer]

Not yet, but that's on the list. No grinding, just some pulling to the right and grabbiness when hard barking. The reservoir is overfilled so I'm going to remove some fluid to see if that helps before going further with bleeding and replacing parts.

Your OP mentioned grinding, did that go away?
I used a turkey baster to remove excess fluid. My wife got mad so Ihad to go buy another one as I now had a "garage only" turkey baster! LOL

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Your OP mentioned grinding, did that go away?
I used a turkey baster to remove excess fluid. My wife got mad so Ihad to go buy another one as I now had a "garage only" turkey baster! LOL

Yes, it went away once things settled in a bit. Just used my bleeder kit to remove the extra fluid, will road test it in a bit to see if that helps.

 

[David Schaefer]

Yes, it went away once things settled in a bit. Just used my bleeder kit to remove the extra fluid, will road test it in a bit to see if that helps.

Did you bleed the lines too, down by the brake caliper to make sure no air was in the line and that the fluid looked good?

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Did you bleed the lines too, down by the brake caliper to make sure no air was in the line and that the fluid looked good?

Not yet since I didn’t crack the system when I did the other front end work. Will do that next if the road test sucks. Fluid is about two years old and still looks good.