My Freestar is making a noise that I thought was coming from the front brakes. From reading the past threads it sounds like the wheel hub. It is a high pitched kinda whistle. It is not there all the time and is louder sometimes than others. It has been going on for several months. I take it in and no one can find anything wrong. If the brakes burn up the hub then why are the brakes locking up? Will I be fixing the hub just to fix it again because the caliper is messed up? How do I know if the caliper has anything to do with it.

This past summer I replaced the brake pads and the rotors. This last month I bought 4 new tires. Can I replace the brake hubs myself? How?

Thank you for your help,
mom

 

brake squeak or squeal? did you use the anti squeak stuff when you replaced brake pads? you know...the blue goop to make pads stick to the calipers......

last couple times I had to buy it separately...it used to come with the brake pads in the box...

just checking....

 

The issue is caused by the hub seal hardening even farther then what they are new and then causing harmonics while the hub rotates. The hub seals are firm to begin with due to the amount of polymers added to them in order to withstand their high heat enviroment.

The Freestar brake calipers are prone to having the slider pins freezing up/hanging due to corrosion. When this occurs, the pads are not fully released from the rotor causing excessive heat build up, thus further hardening the hub seal. You'll need to get the pins removed from the pins and clean the holes out. I use a drill bit to clean them out. Clean the pins off with emery cloth, then grease them up with grease also in the holes.

I pull my brakes apart in the spring and fall just to ensure I don't end up with caliper hang-up since I live in the WNY Salt-Belt.

To find the hub causing the problem, just get both fron wheels off the ground and put it in drive. Run the speed up until you hear the squeal and note the speed. Place in park and then spray the inside of the hub that appears to be generating the noise with silicone spray and run it again in drive. If the noise goes away, thats your bad hub seal. The silicone spray is not a fix, it will be gone for a couple of days, but will return.

If you also need a rotor, it's cheaper to purchase a KIT from Ford that consists of a new hub, ABS sensor and rotor (Part number 4F2Z1102AAA (Front Right) 4F2Z1102AAB (Front Left)). I believe the numbers are correct. These can also be had new on EBAY a lot cheaper then from a Dealership.

 

ahh...gotta love brake guys...taught me something new today