Rear Brakes on F-250?

[caissiel]

Before I left on my trip south I checked my Pads and found them OK for the trip. When I left Clearmount Florida I heard the brakes squeel and assumed it was my trailer brakes. After Traveling past Fort Pierce Florida the Brake light came on. Well I stopped as soon as I could and Found the driver side rear Pads were not there except one Backing plate left. The Caliper pistons were draging on the inside of the disc, one of the piston broke off and leaked the fluid off. Well I had replacement pads with me because with disc pads I always have spares because off the nature off Pads coming off the Plates have happened to me more then once. Well I went to get a new calipper and no one stocked one. Well I put a new pad on the other side and used the old pads from the right side and put it on to the left side. Well that allowed the broken Piston to seal at the seal and fixed the leak and I proceeded to the Keys where I am at now. I have found that the pads are never reliable, so much that on my GM I replaced one pad at a time because of the same problem and surprises. Also on my Volks the front pads come off but I felt it on the brake pedal when they go. This time I felt nothing when the Pads came off, and that is 2 pads for this instant. Why do we think that those little pads can stop a 10,000lb truck, and survive, in my case I have 22,000lb to stop if the trailer is included. GM has gone back to Drums.

 

[JLDickmon]

Drum brakes ARE more efficient.
The problem you describe is called "rust jacking" and it occurs becase moisture gets under the friction material and breaks the glue bond to the backing plate.
Som companies have tried to fight this by digging a pattern of hooks into the steel of the backing before the friction is molded on. I don't think it works any better, because the friction isn't hard enough to keep the metal hooks from ripping out.

You looked at your pads before you left, and you had plenty of friction material, but I'm betting you dismissed the gap between the friction material and the pad backing where the rust had already lifted the friction material off.

It's best to pull the caliper and get a closer look, that's why we charge $24.95 for a brake inspection, and the Merlin across the street does it for free.

As far as the caliper goes, I don't know about 2005, but on my '99 there's an early and a late build, and on Dpantazis' '00 we found they had had done an early/late again. So really, I wish they would pick one caliper and stick with it through a model year.

 

[01platinum]

what brand of pads are you using ?