'99 F-350 4x4 DRW Brake Issue

[NCheek]

Buddy of mine wanted me to look at the brakes on his truck due to some harsh sounds. Upon inspection, I noticed that the piece that mounts between the caliper and the axle is terribly close to the rotor. (Shown by the yellow arrow)

Basically, it looks like the rotor is riding 1/8" too far out and I have no idea how it got that way. My question is: since the mount in question is held on by two bolts, would is be unsafe to shim it out with appropriately sized, grade 8 washers, and then re-install everything as normal?

I'm not terribly fond of the idea myself, but as far as I can tell, the way that piece isn't adjustable.

Hit me with the answers guys...

 

[NCheek]

Anybody? I really need to get this fixed asap.

Thanks guys-

 

[Mike]

Is the rotor dragging on the caliper where you have the arrow drawn in your photo?

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

there is a reason its not right unless something was changed.

 

[BigRigTech]

there is a reason its not right unless something was changed.

BINGO.....I would tear it apart to check everything, something is loose or not installed right.

 

[NCheek]

well, I'm the one who did the brakes last, and I have done them on my dad's truck countless times, so I'm almost positive nothing is installed incorrectly, but I'll tear 'er down tomorrow to be sure. Thanks guys, I'll keep ya posted.

 

[BigRigTech]

We ain't pointing fingers, just rather see you safe than sorry.....It looks realy close but unless something is moving/flexing then I can't see how it would touch.

 

[NCheek]

Yeah, it's close enough that the clips on the pad have contacted the rotor. giving the appearance that the rotor is too far outboard. Like I say, I'll tear it down tomorrow and see what the problem.

No offense taken, I'm willing to take any advise given!

 

[NCheek]

If there was any confusion, the pic posted above was not of the truck in question, it is just a general pic to show the particular clearance that was having trouble. The actual gap was much smaller than the normal one in my illustration.

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

the only other possible issue is that the wrong rotor, or the wrong wheel bearing was installed, 99's and duallys are different than 99.5+ but if that as the case it should not have worked right off the bat.

 

[NCheek]

well, I tore down the culprit assembly today and found nothing out of place or otherwise out of the ordinary... All I know is that the piece that the caliper mounts to need to move 3 mm outboard, or the rotor 3mm inboard. I tried to remove the dually adapter so that I could remove the rotor, but even after a good beating with a BFH it wouldn't budge.

I'm at a loss guys, If it was the wrong part, it wouldn't have gone back together in the first place, and nothing looks out of the ordinary, so i dunno???

 

[BigRigTech]

Is it possible that rust has swelled behind something and it's closing the gap?

 

[NCheek]

Is it possible that rust has swelled behind something and it's closing the gap?

No, I don't think so, I had it all apart with the exception of the rotor, and everything looked fine, and the rotor is held on to the hub by eight bolts, so I don't think it could just mosey out on its own...