Front brake rotor overheats

cruby · May 16, 2008

Got an '89 ranger 2WD & front DS brake had been dragging & got wheel too hot to touch. I replaced Calipers, master cylinder, & front hoses & the DS wheel & lug nuts still get too hot to touch after 15 minutes or so of driving. When jacked up, wheels spins easily & brakes seem to work OK when applied. I didn't replace pads or rework rotors since they appeared in good shape (no score marks or glazing). I'm stumped. Next step is repacking bearings, & possibly turning rotors & new pads. Any constructive advise?

Loanranger · May 17, 2008

If it's not a sticking caliper, I'd check into the bearings next.

289-tiger- · May 17, 2008

Bleed the brake on that side to check if you kinked the new hose.

Sounds like the same problem I had with my old 89 Escort GT.

Good luck

cruby · May 18, 2008

I bled brakes all around & also pulled rotor & repacked & seated bearings per manual. Bearings were clean (no dirt & no heat tinting). No air in lines, just clean fluid. Got all four wheels up & brakes working fine all around. I can spin front wheels easily & notice very faint rubbing with brake pads, but I think that's normal right? Took it out for test drive & again front DS wheel is very hot, PS wheel slightly less hot. Jacked it up right away & wheel spins easily even after repeated brake application.

Any way this is related to alignment? I had done all new ball joints & tierod ends about 6 months ago & never got it realigned. Put tierods on the same number of turns as they came off & truck drives straight as an arrow. My son used the truck for short drives back & forth to high school so we never noticed the heatup problem until recent longer trip. I now noticed front tires are wearing on inside toe, so alignment is now on the list too! However, I didn't think misalignment would heat the wheel up this much.

I'm also thinking I have a brake booster problem, which may or may not be related to front rotor heatup. When engine off, brake pedal feels firm. But when engine on, pedal goes almost to the floor. Pedal travel feels way too much.

All clues, guesses, & swags welcome at this point

Ranger44 · May 18, 2008

A great way to test the vacuum booster is with the engine off, pump the pedal till firm. Hold the pedal and start the engine. It should drop a little. If not, the booster is most likely bad.

I know they can get hot when you brake A LOT, but coming off the highway, they really shouldn't be to hot to touch. Somethings not right.....

They should contact the rotor slighty.

Hmmm this is kind of a stumper.

289-tiger- · May 18, 2008

Well you've checked all the components. The calipers are installed on the correct side bleeder screw on top? You probably would not have any brake if this were the case but take a peek.

Pads binding? You said the pads were not changed, maybe one got bent up when removed and not moving correctly in the guides when installed. Dirt/rust in pad guide?

Also, the caliper piston may not have been compressed properly on removal and could be cocked in the bore, I usually place an old pad on top of the piston when I c-clamp it slowly. A c-clamp directly on or into the piston will hurt the part.

Proportioning valve or master cylinder? But it sounds like the problem occurred after a brake job.

Ford brakes always feel spongy to me but they stop. Hope these suggestions are of help and good luck.

Earl43P · May 18, 2008

Change the wheel bearings.
You already did caliper and hose, right?

Gotta be the wheel bearing.

Drive it the same short distance and DON'T use the brake pedal.
Instead, stop the truck using the parking brake.

If that side on the front got hot = bad bearing.

mudcrazy · May 18, 2008

It has to be bearing related. You said the brake pedal almost goes to the floor and that you have tire wear as well as hot or warm rotors. It really sounds that your hubs may have backed them selves off somehow or worn. Jack up your truck so that your tire is just off of the ground and check to see how much wheel play you have, by moving it side to side and up and down. Then you will know. Have you also noticed when you drive, it seems to dart on the road abit as well? Check the bearings.

mudcrazy · May 18, 2008

Oh of course check the lock nut and jam nut for the rotors as well. Could be loose there.

cruby · May 19, 2008

No I didn't get the calipers on the wrong side (but thanks for asking). Very very little play in bearings when I push-pull wheel. I repacked & reset bearings just in case.
I'll try out the parking brake test ride as suggested by Earl43P above. This should be fun.
I agree, if the wheel still heats up it's not the brakes. If it does heat up I'll change out the bearings & retest. Stay tuned for the test drive results. By the way...thanks for the advice!

289-tiger- · May 19, 2008

Keep us advised and find some straight road.

Good luck

cruby · May 19, 2008

OK. The parking brake test drive went well. I drove ~20 miles without using brake pedal, just emergency brake. Front wheels nice & cool.http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/images/smilies/clapping.gif
:clapping:

So that rules out bearings & alignment (at least for cause of rotor heatup).
I did less than this before & I could burn my hand if I held it on the lugnuts & wheel. My next thought is to get rotors turned & new pads. As I noted before, rotors look un-scored & pads have lots of meat left. I hate throwing money at it when they seems OK. But after getting master cyl., rebuilt calipers, & new hoses, I might as well throw more money at it. I'm justifying it to myself that the others were due anyway after 250K miles! Not time to give up though since I rebuilt the engine & repainted it ~ 1 year ago.

I also want to be certain this has nothing to do with the brake booster.
Ranger44: you said pedal should drop a little when holding it down & starting.
Pedal drop feels ~2 inches more upon starting. Lots more than my F150 does, but the 150 is only 18 years newer. Any way the booster isn't permitting the brake to release right away.

289-tiger- · May 20, 2008

Glad you did not pull any Rockford Files turns with the ebrake on your test drive cruby.

Did the rotor heat up on the return trip using all the foot pedals?

Keep it simple and just work through each part to the system to see what's binding it up. With the age of our trucks it could be a simple clog of in a line that is acting as a check valve to that side. Maybe disconnecting that line on both ends and a little compressed air down that side may clear it and a rebleed.

Also pump your pedal up and hold, then start the truck. You will feel the pedal sink when the booster vacuums up. If the booster for some reason is the culprit let's try something, disconnect the vacuum line to the booster and plug the port. A little safer than driving with the ebrake but keep a look ahead it will be hard to stop.

See if it stops straight w/ and w/out boost. You may just be seeing normal heat exchange. The smell of fried brake usually tells of a binding brake. (burnt clutch smell)

Keep smiling

cruby · May 22, 2008

It was a bit tricky driving with the e-brake, since that's also my clutch foot. But I survived, & at least I know how well the e-brakes work. When I drove w/ only e-brake, then front rotors stayed cool. When using conventional brake pedal, w/ & w/o booster connected, front rotors still heated up. Booster appears to be working OK, as pedal got much harder w/o it. Trucked braked straight in all cases. Since there was no heatup with e-brake test drive then I think it's definitely front brakes causing the heatup. I'd burn my hand if I left it on wheel more than 2 seconds. (Yes I timed it!) I can't recall ever noticing this problem ever before in the 19 years I've drove it, so I don't think this is normal heatup. Rotors & pads next step.

289-tiger- · May 22, 2008

Sound's like you have a handle on it and straight braking is gooooood. Brake fade would occcur if it was binding. A warped set of rotors could be the culprit. Keep us advised.

Happy motoring.

Front brake rotor overheats

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