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96 ford ranger XLT front brakes pulsate


98v70dad

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I replaced the front pads a few months ago with NAPA semi-metallics. Brakes were fine for a few days then they started to pulse a little and it got worse. I took the wheels off this weekend and cleaned up the rust on the steel wheel hub and back of the aluminum alloy wheel and re-installed. I've never done this before on any car but I read that it might help. I used a wire brush followed by a Scotchbrite pad on the steel and just the Scotchbrite pad on the aluminum. I followed up wit ha very light coat of high temp brake grease on the areas I just cleaned up.

Afterwards I was very careful about torquing the wheels - first to finger tight, then to 50 ft-lbs on the jack stands in a star pattern. Then I lowered the car and torqued them to spec (100 ft-lbs) in star pattern on the ground.

On the test drive the pulsing was almost gone. Now after driving the car 3 days its back and getting worse - just like before. What could be causing this that removing the wheel and putting it back on improves for a few days? Everything except the pads is original (22 year old) stock parts. Not sure what to try next other than bleeding the brakes.
 


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I would have started with checking that the wheel bearings are adjusted properly, and then cutting, or replacing, the rotors.

Usually a corrosion-related brake pulse happens on a hub and bearing style setup where the rotor is it's own piece sandwiched between the wheel and hub, not on the hub/rotor assembly style ones used on Ford's TIB setup.


The pads and rotors will wear as a set and not having them machined when replacing the pads can cause a pulse that wasn't there before because the surfaces don't match anymore. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it just gets worse.
 

98v70dad

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I would have started with checking that the wheel bearings are adjusted properly, and then cutting, or replacing, the rotors.

Usually a corrosion-related brake pulse happens on a hub and bearing style setup where the rotor is it's own piece sandwiched between the wheel and hub, not on the hub/rotor assembly style ones used on Ford's TIB setup.


The pads and rotors will wear as a set and not having them machined when replacing the pads can cause a pulse that wasn't there before because the surfaces don't match anymore. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it just gets worse.
Thanks. This truck has never had a brake job. If wheel bearings can go out of adjustment what you mentioned could be possible but the bearings are original and were installed at the factory. It sat in my dad's garage and got little use (49,000 miles when I got it a year ago). He told me that the guys that put new tires on it told him that he needed new pads. That was BS. When he gave the truck to me he wasn't having any brake problem, only the comment from the NAPA guy telling him he had almost no pad left. The truth was he had just under half of the pad left. Since my hands were dirty and I had already bought them and wasted an hour I decided to put the pads on.

Anyhow, I've been thinking about new pads, new rotors, new wheel bearings and rebuilt calipers but that's a lot of work and a good bit of money and blows a whole saturday for me. I'd rather have a new touchscreen radio. Pinpointing whats wrong would be a lot cheaper but I'm not smart enough on brakes to do that.
 

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not much that will cause a pulsating brake...

machining or replacing the rotors is where you have to start.

bleeding the brakes will do nothing to correct the condition
 

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Anyhow, I've been thinking about new pads, new rotors, new wheel bearings and rebuilt calipers but that's a lot of work and a good bit of money and blows a whole saturday for me. I'd rather have a new touchscreen radio. Pinpointing whats wrong would be a lot cheaper but I'm not smart enough on brakes to do that.
Dude, just start with new rotors (or have the old ones machined if you can still find someone that does it). They don’t cost that much and are easy to install.

By the way, when the new pads were put on, did they go in smooth or did they have to be beaten in there? I ask because I had that happen a few decades ago with aftermarket pads that turned out to be thicker than OEM. I ran them for a while with a vibration figuring they’d just wear in, but instead, they overheated and warped the rotors. Silly me.

Why are you considering replacing the calipers? They were working correctly before the pad change, right? Just my 2 cents, but I’d start with the easiest, cheapest, and most likely culprit, namely the rotors. Take a look at them with the wheels off and if they are grooved, they likely need to be replaced.

It’s kind of hard to believe that one set of pads would have made it 49K miles, but if you know that they definitely did and the rotors haven’t been scored, then I think that the rotors can be lightly sanded in a circular motion with something like emory cloth, which could help with your issue by removing any grease film or surface rust at the edges (ADSM08, can you verify this?). Finally, make sure that the pads are moving freely on the caliper slides, as it’s always possible that vibration could result from them hanging up somewhere. I usually like to spread a tiny bit of SIG lube or caliper grease on the pins, being very careful not to get any on the rotors or pads.

Good luck, friend. You’ll get to the bottom of things if you stick with it. :icon_thumby:
 
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98v70dad

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not much that will cause a pulsating brake...

machining or replacing the rotors is where you have to start.

bleeding the brakes will do nothing to correct the condition
I agree about bleeding the brakes. I read it somewhere and figured why not since they have 20 year old fluid in them. My dad gave me the truck a year ago and he doesn't believe in maintenance. Also agree with you on the rotors. Ford seemed to produce a lot of crappy rotors in the mid 90's. I had a 96 crown victoria and machining the rotors would buy you a few weeks of pulse free driving - a few months at the most. So, I'll probably replace them - I've just never done the type like those on the truck - I'll have to learn about it.
 

98v70dad

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Dude, just start with new rotors (or have the old ones machined if you can still find someone that does it). They don’t cost that much and are easy to install.

By the way, when the new pads were put on, did they go in smooth or did they have to be beaten in there? I ask because I had that happen a few decades ago with aftermarket pads that turned out to be thicker than OEM. I ran them for a while with a vibration figuring they’d just wear in, but instead, they overheated and warped the rotors. Silly me.

Why are you considering replacing the calipers? They were working correctly before the pad change, right? Just my 2 cents, but I’d start with the easiest, cheapest, and most likely culprit, namely the rotors. Take a look at them with the wheels off and if they are grooved, they likely need to be replaced.

It’s kind of hard to believe that one set of pads would have made it 49K miles, but if you know that they definitely did and the rotors haven’t been scored, then I think that the rotors can be lightly sanded in a circular motion with something like emory cloth, which could help with your issue by removing any grease film or surface rust at the edges (ADSM08, can you verify this?). Finally, make sure that the pads are moving freely on the caliper slides, as it’s always possible that vibration could result from them hanging up somewhere. I usually like to spread a tiny bit of SIG lube or caliper grease on the pins, being very careful not to get any on the rotors or pads.

Good luck, friend. You’ll get to the bottom of things if you stick with it. :icon_thumby:
I agree that the rotors are the most likely culprit. I drive 2 hours a day in traffic and this is my daily driver. I have almost no free time so if I make a project of replacing rotors I might as well replace everything I took off just because its old. Rebuilt calipers are pretty cheap and wheel bearings don't cost that much either. The rubber on the caliper seals is getting stiff and the pins were discolored and slightly corroded when I lubed them.

When I changed the pads I put a light coating of high temp brake grease on the backs and slides. It was back in the spring but I remember the pads sliding right in. I had trouble with the stainless clips but finally got them in. I spun the wheel around and there wasn't a lot of room between the pad and the rotor but there was room enough to spin without dragging.
 

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Is the pedal pulsating up and down, or is the car pulsating when you apply pressure to the brake.
If the pedal is going up and down it is NOT your rotors.
Warped rotors will cause the car to pulse, but if your pedal pulses, it is you Booster or rear drums.
The fact that is goes away and comes back after a few days is weird, because "warp" does not do that.
 

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Is the pedal pulsating up and down, or is the car pulsating when you apply pressure to the brake.
If the pedal is going up and down it is NOT your rotors.
Warped rotors will cause the car to pulse, but if your pedal pulses, it is you Booster or rear drums.
The fact that is goes away and comes back after a few days is weird, because "warp" does not do that.
I'm gonna have to disagree...

If your pedal moves up and down while breaking... it is absolutely warped rotors. If a rotor is warped... it will cause the the caliper piston to move in and out following the warp. This movement in the piston causes brake fluid pressure to rise a fall and can be felt in the pedal through the master cylinder.

I also fail to see how a booster or rear drums will cause a pulse in the pedal.

Edit: I suppose the pedal may pulse with an out of round or warped drum... but in all my years I don't think I've ever ran across one... But I have machined/replaced many a rotor to correct this condition.
 
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adsm08

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If the pedal is going up and down it is NOT your rotors.
No.

A several small irregularities spaced around the rotor will cause the vehicle to shake, sometimes without a noticeable pulse to the pedal.

A single large irregularity can cause the pedal to go up and down without shaking the vehicle.

Several large irregularities will do both.

A cracked rotor face just makes you go WTF?
 

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Edit: I suppose the pedal may pulse with an out of round or warped drum... but in all my years I don't think I've ever ran across one... But I have machined/replaced many a rotor to correct this condition.
My B2 has warped drums that cause a pedal pulse.

My dad switched me cars for the day and drove to work with the parking brake set. I haven't fixed it because the brakes didn't take a lot of damage and I have an 8.8. I want to put in there instead.
 

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I guess now I've at least heard of a drum that will cause it... those drums must have been pretty hot. I have had warped drums that were bad enough to lift the shoes of the backing plate and slam back on the backing plate causing a horrible clicking sound every time the brakes were applied... but i never felt it in the pedal.
 

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Disconnect the heater hoses connect garden hose to the heater core and flush it, do the same with the radiator. You may have to be creative to find a way to connect hoses to the large hoses but if your truck is anything like mine it takes about 20 minutes to take the radiator out
Denise... have another cup of coffee. You're replying to the wrong thread.
 

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I'm gonna have to disagree...

If your pedal moves up and down while breaking... it is absolutely warped rotors. If a rotor is warped... it will cause the the caliper piston to move in and out following the warp. This movement in the piston causes brake fluid pressure to rise a fall and can be felt in the pedal through the master cylinder.

I also fail to see how a booster or rear drums will cause a pulse in the pedal.

Edit: I suppose the pedal may pulse with an out of round or warped drum... but in all my years I don't think I've ever ran across one... But I have machined/replaced many a rotor to correct this condition.
Warped Rotors cause the steering wheel to wiggle, drums cause pedal movement. I worked in a brake shop for 3 or 4 years and have seen a lot. That's why I was asking what is pulsating. Vocabulary is getting blurry. Pulsate or vibrate or wiggle. To Me - all are different, and are different symptoms for different problems.
the fact that it went away by cleaning them and then came back, does not say " Warped" to me. I have also turned many a rotor and drum in my day. that's why I was looking for clarity on the vocabulary here.
That's why I mentioned the booster, there are other thing that cause "pulsing" besides warped rotors/drums.
 
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