[NoWayMan]

Well... the dealer just called and my wife's car which was in for the "Stop Lamp Switch & harness" recall has been having some brake issues, and I was told that the front & rear disc are worn and in need of replacement! The car is 2 yrs old with 19k miles on it! Seems awfully early for brakes, but I haven't looked at it myself yet. They wanted $189 Front & $218 Rear and that's with resurfacing the rotors... not even new ones!! I told 'em no, I've worked on Toyos & Jeeps, etc and I'll have to have a look at the ole Ford before I throw $400+ at it. So... my question is, how difficult are front & rear discs on an '02 Taurus and how much can I expect to pay for new rotors? Got any links to maintenance prodedures for this? I appreciate the help.. this forum will be a lifesaver!

 

[Guest]

Do you have a wagon? Because only the wagons have rear discs in 2000+ models.... That does seem awfully low mileage to be doing brakes. Unless your wife is constantly riding them or doing something to them, I wouldn't think it's time to change yet, but you never know. My original brakes lasted for almost 40k miles.

 

[NoWayMan]

Originally posted by jason8225@Oct 18 2004, 08:51 AM
Do you have a wagon? Because only the wagons have rear discs in 2000+ models.... That does seem awfully low mileage to be doing brakes. Unless your wife is constantly riding them or doing something to them, I wouldn't think it's time to change yet, but you never know. My original brakes lasted for almost 40k miles.

Yea... it's a wagon... fornt & rear discs. My wife might have a bit of a "brake foot" but I didn't think it was bad enough to replace brakes at 19k miles. Also forgot to mention that we're on our 3rd set of front rotors, the first two sets replaced under warranty, so this set may have 4k on them. After I get the car back from the dealer I ALWAYS retorque the wheels to specs because they never seem to do it. Question: Can the rotors be pulled w/o messing with the hubs & bearings? This will be a piece of cake if that's the case.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by NoWayMan@Oct 18 2004, 10:06 AM
Question: Can the rotors be pulled w/o messing with the hubs & bearings? This will be a piece of cake if that's the case.

In the front, yes, the rear I dont' know. The front brakes on a Taurus are pretty easy. FWIW, I have Aimco rotors and Performance Friction Carbon Metallic Pads and the combination is great. I've had them on there for about 15k miles or so and no warpage or anything, and it stops GREAT. Just a suggestion though. Also, I would recommend you flush your brake fluid with Valvoline Synthetic brake fluid. Bob did mine and it makes brake feel a TON better once the fluid is replaced. Much firmer pedal and it just seems to stop a lot smoother.

 

[NoWayMan]

Originally posted by jason8225+Oct 18 2004, 09:15 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (jason8225 @ Oct 18 2004, 09:15 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-NoWayMan@Oct 18 2004, 10:06 AM
Question:  Can the rotors be pulled w/o messing with the hubs & bearings?  This will be a piece of cake if that's the case.

In the front, yes, the rear I dont' know. The front brakes on a Taurus are pretty easy. FWIW, I have Aimco rotors and Performance Friction Carbon Metallic Pads and the combination is great. I've had them on there for about 15k miles or so and no warpage or anything, and it stops GREAT. Just a suggestion though. Also, I would recommend you flush your brake fluid with Valvoline Synthetic brake fluid. Bob did mine and it makes brake feel a TON better once the fluid is replaced. Much firmer pedal and it just seems to stop a lot smoother. [/b][/quote]
Thanks for the info and the reccommendation for the pads & rotors! That was going to be my next question...! Say, how involced was flushing the brake fluid? Unfortunately, this'll be a one-man job and bleeding the brakes by myself won't be easy...after scraping the rust off the bleeders! (Love them Buffalo winters!) Thanks again..

 

[BigRyan]

I also agree with flushin that fluid - I did mine this weekend on my '00 SEL and it feels great. The fluid in there was probably original and was good and black.

But the rusty bleeders - Can't help ya there, always worked on CA cars

Good Luck

 

[somedude]

beofre you go all out and spend the big bucks on a brake flush (about $3.95) check the fluid condition if it is black or dark in color or the peddle is "soft" then flush it other wise it is not a necesity.

have you ever done front brakes of a taurus? there are 2 bolts 10mm or 12mm (theyre not real big) I think that hold the calaper on to the calaper bracket remove them and remove the calaper.

if you are doing rotors you need to remove the calaper brackets remove the 2 larger bolts 15mm (pretty sure on the size) and the bracket will come off, and the rotor will slide off after the bracket is removed, if it is rusted up smack the hub on the rotor a few times to break it free.

resurfacing rotors is a normal practice

Imagine that this is the rotor surface


---^--^----^---^---^^-^^

and the old pad is worn to match the rotor so there is 100% contact

the new pad is like this

--------------------------------

and if the rotor is not resurfaced you have to wait for the pad to wear to the rotor's imperfections before 100% contact is achieved, 100-200 miles should be enough, your brakes just won't bee at their best, why are you going through rotors so fast?

if she is dragging the brakes (even slightly) it can cut your brake life by 65% easly and cause warping of rotors. when you releas the brakes it allows the rotors to cool and when they are not being fully released they can overheat very quickly and at extreme temps pads wear very quickly.

ever see someone drive 100 miles with their E-brake on even if its just a little bit the rotors can begin to glow or smoke heavly.

I drive my car VERY hard and my front brakes have 50% with 12,000 miles on them

where abouts in NY do you live? I live in cheektowaga, or buffalo

the rear brakes are a bit more involved because the calaper has to be screwed in unlike the fronts that you can use a C-clamp to compress. most parts stores have the tool you need to fdo this, it is a cube and firs into slots in the piston and you use a ratchet to turn the piston in.

 

[NoWayMan]

Originally posted by somedude@Oct 19 2004, 04:56 PM
beofre you go all out and spend the big bucks on a brake flush (about $3.95) check the fluid condition if it is black or dark in color or the peddle is "soft" then flush it other wise it is not a necesity.

have you ever done front brakes of a taurus? there are 2 bolts 10mm or 12mm (theyre not real big) I think that hold the calaper on to the calaper bracket remove them and remove the calaper.

if you are doing rotors you need to remove the calaper brackets remove the 2 larger bolts 15mm (pretty sure on the size) and the bracket will come off, and the rotor will slide off after the bracket is removed, if it is rusted up smack the hub on the rotor a few times to break it free.

resurfacing rotors is a normal practice

Imagine that this is the rotor surface


---^--^----^---^---^^-^^

and the old pad is worn to match the rotor so there is 100% contact

the new pad is like this

--------------------------------

and if the rotor is not resurfaced you have to wait for the pad to wear to the rotor's imperfections before 100% contact is achieved, 100-200 miles should be enough, your brakes just won't bee at their best, why are you going through rotors so fast?

if she is dragging the brakes (even slightly) it can cut your brake life by 65% easly and cause warping of rotors. when you releas the brakes it allows the rotors to cool and when they are not being fully released they can overheat very quickly and at extreme temps pads wear very quickly.

ever see someone drive 100 miles with their E-brake on even if its just a little bit the rotors can begin to glow or smoke heavly.

I drive my car VERY hard and my front brakes have 50% with 12,000 miles on them

where abouts in NY do you live? I live in cheektowaga, or buffalo

the rear brakes are a bit more involved because the calaper has to be screwed in unlike the fronts that you can use a C-clamp to compress. most parts stores have the tool you need to fdo this, it is a cube and firs into slots in the piston and you use a ratchet to turn the piston in.

Thanks for the info somedude! I figured I'll tackle it this weekend and I'm going to go with the Duralast rotors & PFC pads. Front & read, rotors & pads will run about $220... or half what the dealer wanted to put Ford parts back on and they resurface the rotors on the car! No thanks! What about compressing the piston in the caliper? I've heard bad things about messing up the ABS this way from this forum so I'm going to try to open up the bleeder screw and not the master cylinder cover ... I'm trying to get those "SpeedBleeders" or a decent one-man bleeder as I'll be doing it myself on Saturday.

Where in Cheektowaga are ya? I was raised in Cheektowaga and now live in Williamsville.

Thanks again!