Let's talk about brakes baby...

[LJ4174]

So, I have a 2014 Expedition EL Limited, 2nd owner, purchased with 17K miles last year, it now has just under 23K, we have owned it now going on 8 months. I had to get a wheel replaced and the shop told me I needed rear brakes, that the pads were low. Is this normal? They look a little low to me, but not to the point I think they need replaced. How long have you gotten on stock pads and rotors?

 

[bobmbx]

23k miles on rear pads seems a bit early. What did the shop mean by "...needed rear brakes" Was that intended to be just pads, or did they suggest new rotors, pads, and calipers?

 

[1955moose]

A shop won't let you go down to 2/32 on a set of pads, that's too close. Most will recommend pads at 3-4/32 of wear. Something you have to keep in mind is no 2 people are the same on their driving characteristics. One will drive with a foot on the brake pedal even while accelerating, seen it from behind. Another is so easy on their brake application, that you almost never see their brake lights. It's for this reason that things like pads, and in early days shoes are not warrantied. Sure they'll sell you on a warranty for free pads, but you pay labor. Other things like sticky caliper pistons or slides also wear pads quicker.

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[Dannyboy11222]

How do u remove the caliper, are the bolts clockwise or counter clockwise for removal?

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[Sgt Darkness]

How do u remove the caliper, are the bolts clockwise or counter clockwise for removal?

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Lefty Lucy.....rightee tightee.....is a very good quote so a person doesn’t forget how to tighten or loosen a nut, bolt, or screw. Works 99.9% of the time.

 

[LJ4174]

23k miles on rear pads seems a bit early. What did the shop mean by "...needed rear brakes" Was that intended to be just pads, or did they suggest new rotors, pads, and calipers?

We recently moved and this was the first time I went to someone who hasn't been my mechanic for years. I'm dangerous enough to do this myself, however for the price my mechanic back home charged me, it didn't pay me, and I trusted him 100%... When I asked if it was normal for a car with 23K miles on it to need brakes, her eyes got wide and said no, that factory brakes last 80-90K (not sure about getting quite that much). They quoted me $500 and told me they give the pads for free, that they just charge for the rotors. I was like... Do I need rotors? I don't know... They seemed legit, but I also seemed like I was being had, perhaps because of my history with my other mechanic. I told them I would schedule a brake diag and left.

A shop won't let you go down to 2/32 on a set of pads, that's too close. Most will recommend pads at 3-4/32 of wear. Something you have to keep in mind is no 2 people are the same on their driving characteristics. One will drive with a foot on the brake pedal even while accelerating, seen it from behind. Another is so easy on their brake application, that you almost never see their brake lights. It's for this reason that things like pads, and in early days shoes are not warrantied. Sure they'll sell you on a warranty for free pads, but you pay labor. Other things like sticky caliper pistons or slides also wear pads quicker.

After driving with my wife earlier today in the truck, I think I might understand why the pads might be getting low... There is probably a 1/4" of pad left, maybe a bit less and the rotors seem fine to me. The truck seems to drive fine, not sluggish or pulling and all the pads seem to worn equally. No idea how the owner before us drove it, but I would be surprised if I have a sticking caliper(s)... :\

 

[Adieu]

Lemme guess:

1) your MPGs are in the single digits
2) you don't coast towards red lights and stop signs

???

 

[LJ4174]

Lemme guess:

1) your MPGs are in the single digits
2) you don't coast towards red lights and stop signs

???

1) your MPGs are in the single digits - nope, probably close to 17-20 MPG
2) you don't coast towards red lights and stop signs - sure do...

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I've put over 60K on the rear rotors/pads since I purchased the truck and they were done before the dealer took it on trade. They are definitely MC brakes as they show up on my Carfax has having been done by a Ford dealer.

As for replacing rotors, I always replace them these days. They have gotten cheap enough that it doesn't make sense to me to resurface them, so I just replace them w/ the pads.

 

[jeff kushner]

Maybe the question should be as originally asked and NO, it's not normal to wear rear pad or shoes for that matter, before the front are replaced....ok, this part is subjective but usually it's 2:1 or even 3:1 front pads to rear. 1/4"??? He's BS'ing you as a friend, right? Yeah, no....they sound fine to me as long as they aren't stained with brake fluid or something odd. Be nice to them , leave and stay away from that firm<LOL>

I'm not a mechanic but I do know those front brakes do 70% of the stopping so it makes sense.

I need to replace mine and it has 63K now on the original..well, everything. It JUST began to show warp on the rotors so like others, I'll price replacing front rotors as well as front pads and I'll do the work myself. For what should be less than $200 I can keep my front end tight and get better braking.

Good luck

jeff

 

[Trainmaster]

Unless you've driven around with the parking brake on all the time, you don't need rear brakes at 23K miles.

I usually replace them when the pad is the thickness of the backing plate, or when the pad is worn down the the depth of the middle grove. On rear brakes that's usually about 60 - 80K miles.

 

[Machete]

sounds like that shop needs to increase their sales so they told there techs to sell brakes. 23k miles for a brake job? fuggedaboudit.

 

[smith627]

In my experience our Expedition rear brakes last twice as long as the front brakes and rotors last a long time too. With 254,000 miles, we have only replaced the rear pads twice and still using the original Ford rotors. Front brakes are another story. We are very easy on our brakes. Wife has put on most of the miles.

 

[TobyU]

In my experience our Expedition rear brakes last twice as long as the front brakes and rotors last a long time too. With 254,000 miles, we have only replaced the rear pads twice and still using the original Ford rotors. Front brakes are another story. We are very easy on our brakes. Wife has put on most of the miles.

On most vehicles you will be on 2nd or 3rd set of fronts by the time the rears are worn all the way down.

 

[Jeff Scott]

As for replacing rotors, I always replace them these days. They have gotten cheap enough that it doesn't make sense to me to resurface them, so I just replace them w/ the pads.

I disagree there. The cheapest I can find new rotors is $60 ea at Advance. I’m fortunate to have an older mechanic in his 70’s who turns mine for $10-$15 ea. I always have them done if I can. The problem nowadays is finding somewhere that still does it. Everyone just wants to sell parts. There’s too many people putting new pads on glazed/gouged/grooved rotors because of this. I have 3 kids and a wife driving. Wife kills brakes. I have to save everywhere I can.

 

[Sgt Darkness]

I disagree there. The cheapest I can find new rotors is $60 ea at Advance. I’m fortunate to have an older mechanic in his 70’s who turns mine for $10-$15 ea. I always have them done if I can. The problem nowadays is finding somewhere that still does it. Everyone just wants to sell parts. There’s too many people putting new pads on glazed/gouged/grooved rotors because of this. I have 3 kids and a wife driving. Wife kills brakes. I have to save everywhere I can.

Wow......we only live like 25 miles apart. We live in Kingsportish area. Does the boss brake with left or right foot? Yea, the ladies are hard on brakes and when I taught her to drive at 16 I told her to never brake with the left foot, which can cause problems over time for the brakes. Good to know we have our Expy’s real close.....give me a shout sometime Jeff.......

 

[TobyU]

I disagree there. The cheapest I can find new rotors is $60 ea at Advance. I’m fortunate to have an older mechanic in his 70’s who turns mine for $10-$15 ea. I always have them done if I can. The problem nowadays is finding somewhere that still does it. Everyone just wants to sell parts. There’s too many people putting new pads on glazed/gouged/grooved rotors because of this. I have 3 kids and a wife driving. Wife kills brakes. I have to save everywhere I can.

What vehicle is this that the cheapest you can find is $60 at Advance? You are probably buying a Bosch, Raybestos or Bendix, or Wagner rotor. I buy the brakebest or the wearever ones from either Advance or O'Reilly's. I have also use some Duralast from AutoZone. I don't buy their cheap value ones. I get either the Duralast or the wearever or brakebest at O'Reilly's I believe only has one line of rotors. They have select on their pads and they're really not worth paying more for.
I'm not sure what some people expect out of brakes so as to spend more money on them. I don't think you'll get any more miles out of bendix or brand name pads then you will be house Brands I buy. The thing that usually causes you to not get long life out of your brakes is the caliper, Hardware, sliders, piins, brake hoses Etc not being 100% and working properly and causing things to stick, overheat, and wear out prematurely.
Everybody always wants to quickly start talking about it's your safety and your life... I think that's a bunch of bull. There is no reason that you're going to be any safer with some Raybestos pads and rotors on the front of your vehicle than you are with some of the brakebest.
It's just not going to make that much of a difference. If you're going to argue about three or four or five feet in stopping distance then you could also argue to buy a higher performance car with much shorter stopping distance.
I have put both wherever and brakebest on and almost 10,000 pound empty 22 passenger navigator stretch limo and got a full four years out of them before it was time to replace the wearevers. The reason they had to be replaced was due to the rotors were starting to separate from just moisture and corrosion. The replacement ones we're brakebest from O'Reilly's and they lasted almost 6 years. Way, way past the OEM design of the vehicle but still plenty of stopping power and four years for a service vehicle that does a lot of miles is more than acceptable.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I disagree there. The cheapest I can find new rotors is $60 ea at Advance. I’m fortunate to have an older mechanic in his 70’s who turns mine for $10-$15 ea. I always have them done if I can. The problem nowadays is finding somewhere that still does it. Everyone just wants to sell parts. There’s too many people putting new pads on glazed/gouged/grooved rotors because of this. I have 3 kids and a wife driving. Wife kills brakes. I have to save everywhere I can.

I paid $59/ea for my fronts and $25/ea for my rears (unusually low price on rears, got lucky). Not many shops in this area still turn them, but when they do it's about $30/rotor. I'm a pretty frugal guy, but that savings vs a new rotor isn't worth it to me.

p.s. Thankfully, my wife has zero desire to drive my truck. She chews through brakes like mad on her car - almost certainly because she constantly tailgates and brakes for lights when she's 10 ft from the light just like her mom.

 

[Jeff Scott]

What vehicle is this that the cheapest you can find is $60 at Advance? You are probably buying a Bosch, Raybestos or Bendix, or Wagner rotor. I buy the brakebest or the wearever ones from either Advance or O'Reilly's. I

These rotors were for my 06 Expedition. I actually got this from my 16 year old back in the fall. He paid for the down payment himself. He couldn’t afford gas and payment after he went back to school. He knew how much I liked it so I gave him my Mustang and took over the payments.He did the last set of brakes by himself..I was so proud...but didn’t have the rotors done.

I wasn’t around when he did this, by the way. I don’t know if he did both or just the front. His mother, The Brake Check Queen who slays brakes, drove it a lot and it just started squeaking, so they need done again before the rotors get hurt. But I was just pricing them online from an email sales flyer I got. But yeah, I didn’t pay attention to which brand or go to every item, but they were $60-$90 ea. I gotta do her 05 Civic and hell those were $50 each. I liked to have died. I did my F-250 cheaper and I got Wagner top shelf stuff. I had never used Wagner before and wanted to try them out.

I replaced two rotors, a rear caliper, ABS speed sensor, bleeder screws all around, flushed the lines. Cleaned and lubed the whole thing like crazy. My kid helped, he knows how to do it right. We torqued, greased, wire wheeled all the caliper mounting bolts and lug nut studs as well as anti-seized everything. The TLC that they don’t get at the mechanics anymore. My truck is my baby.

The Expedition was his pride and joy. He put a lot of work and money into it. He didn’t have the rotors turned on his Expy cuz didn’t have a ride to take them and let his friend get in his ear. I love him working on his stuff and knowing he learned it from me. I hate that he wants to do it with his friend. That kid thinks he knows everything and half ***** a lot of stuff....i.e. not turning the rotors. I’m scared they’ll mess up something expensive. He probably went at least 10k or more without doing oil or air filter...friend had him worried about amp and subs.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

What vehicle is this that the cheapest you can find is $60 at Advance? You are probably buying a Bosch, Raybestos or Bendix, or Wagner rotor. I buy the brakebest or the wearever ones from either Advance or O'Reilly's. I have also use some Duralast from AutoZone. I don't buy their cheap value ones. I get either the Duralast or the wearever or brakebest at O'Reilly's I believe only has one line of rotors. They have select on their pads and they're really not worth paying more for.
I'm not sure what some people expect out of brakes so as to spend more money on them. I don't think you'll get any more miles out of bendix or brand name pads then you will be house Brands I buy. The thing that usually causes you to not get long life out of your brakes is the caliper, Hardware, sliders, piins, brake hoses Etc not being 100% and working properly and causing things to stick, overheat, and wear out prematurely.
Everybody always wants to quickly start talking about it's your safety and your life... I think that's a bunch of bull. There is no reason that you're going to be any safer with some Raybestos pads and rotors on the front of your vehicle than you are with some of the brakebest.
It's just not going to make that much of a difference. If you're going to argue about three or four or five feet in stopping distance then you could also argue to buy a higher performance car with much shorter stopping distance.
I have put both wherever and brakebest on and almost 10,000 pound empty 22 passenger navigator stretch limo and got a full four years out of them before it was time to replace the wearevers. The reason they had to be replaced was due to the rotors were starting to separate from just moisture and corrosion. The replacement ones we're brakebest from O'Reilly's and they lasted almost 6 years. Way, way past the OEM design of the vehicle but still plenty of stopping power and four years for a service vehicle that does a lot of miles is more than acceptable.

You think everything is a bunch of bull and you always buy the cheapest you can. We get it. Let it go. To each his own.