I have a 2001 Ford F-350 7.3 L diesel 4x4 standard cab with a 6" lift kit, brand-new Moto Metal 951 wheels with BFG A/T TA KO2 tires. The truck has about 143,000 miles. I put very little mileage per month on the truck, as it is used mostly for play.

I bought the truck used.

The brakes on a rear wheel have seized up on me twice now. Thirteen months ago my rear passenger wheel brake calipers seized up while I was driving, destroying the brake assembly, rotor, and damaged the steel wheel.

It happened again today, but on the rear driver-side wheel. It wasn't to the same extent as before as I caught it early. And it was a good thing for another big reason - I just purchased new wheels and tires all around.

They said last time that they were seeing "a rash" of the same problems with SuperDuties. The best they could determine was that it is being caused by the glycol de-icer used on the roads here in the Pacific Northwest. They also said that it may be caused by the truck sitting unused for an extended period of time. Actually, they don't really know.

The truck did sit unused for two weeks.

Last time it cost me $900. This time I'm going to insist that they replace any damaged items for free. But, it'll happen again, I'm sure.

So, my question is, does anyone have any insight into this problem? I've searched the web on this exact issue and got many hits, but mostly on 2005 and up F-350s. There is a basic flaw in Ford's design that is not being addressed. I've owned many trucks in my life and never have experienced this type of failure.

Are there good aftermarket brakes that do not have this flaw? Where should I begin to locate them?

Thanks.

 

The location of the calipers and brake cables are not the greatest, but I have found that the cables bind up easily and can raise heck with the adjustment mechanisms. Some had shields to help protect the assys were yours removed ?
Also, if the master cyl is not allowing complete release , the rears may be showing that.

 

Hanky, thanks for your response. Are you talking about the emergency brake cables? It's sitting in the repair yard so I can't check to see if the shields are there. I'll ask them to take a look.

What you say makes sense since the front brakes have never been affected.

 

Check this link maybe its help.

 

Shay, Thanks. I won't be fixing this myself - I'm letting the shop do this.

What I need to know is why this keeps happening, and what I can do to prevent it from happening again.

The truck has had only 3,000 miles put on it from the last seizure just over a year ago.

I've researched a lot of posts all over the web and lack of use may be a cause, but it has not been proven.

I previously had a 1992 F-250 (I owned it for 15 years) that had a similar usage pattern to my current one and I never had this problem.

The shop said today that it is a known problem with all SuperDuty trucks, and Ford is aware of it, but apparently doesn't think that it is worth much attention.

A friend of mine who has a F-250 or F-350 SuperDuty (not sure which) says that it has happened to him 5 times!

If I can't determine the cause and how to prevent it, then I can't trust the truck. If I can't trust the truck, I have to sell it.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Parking brake. No American passenger or PU truck has an emergency brake.
Words have meaning. And the Official engineering documentation refer to it as a P B.
Regards,
Eric

 

My bad. "Parking Brake" it is.

 

The park brake system is a 'drum in hat' set up. The park brake uses brake shoes on the rotors interior drum,, cable operated. If the cables were to hang or drag, the park brakes would probably overheat, may lock, or just wear out premature. That said, heat is the enemy,, and if the park brake was to go over temp, would not be good for any off the brake components.

The older SD's were terrible for cooking the caliper piston dust boots and splitting wide open allowing debris into and against the piston and caliper bore. Probably more so of a risk factor in harsh environments like road ice control, and more aggressive off road use. Wasn't a huge lock up issue, but heat, debris, salt or? all could be contributors. Seemed to be more of an issue on the front brakes.

The other thing that sometimes gets overlooked is the caliper pins, pin sealing boots, and the caliper pin/spindle bores. Dry, split pin boots should be replaced,, again, sometimes overlooked, as well as pin lube checked/added to make sure the caliper can shift side to side during normal brake application/operation, and shift position during normal pad wear. The other thing that can create early caliper issues is, sometimes during pad replacement the caliper piston is just 'pushed back' into the caliper bore, moving the old fluid along with any collected debris there back into the brake hoses. Same goes with caliper replacements, the old fluid should never be allowed into a new clean part. They may have bleed the system clean, but can be one of the possible cause and affect issues.

 

Hayapower, thanks so much for all the detailed information. Since I'm not a mechanic, it helps me understand the issues that face these type of brakes.

The shop called me today and said - get this - "we don't know what happened. The calipers are not seized and there's no corrosion. We'll replace the calipers and rotor for free under warranty."

This is not encouraging.

I asked them to save the parts they removed for my inspection tomorrow. I'll use the information you all have given me for the inspection and questions.

Thanks.