Couple brake questions

[Classicfordguy]

Just did new front pads yesterday on my truck, the front pass side were worn down to nothing, the driver side still had 1/4-3/8" of pad left. Now driving with the new pads I am sure the pass side caliper is sticking. Truck stops pretty poorly, granted it has 36" tires but if I mash the brake pedal the back tires lock up, never the front.

Could the sticky caliper be why my pass side tire is almost bald while my driver side looks almost new?

Also, if I sit and hold the brakes they will fairly quickly sink all the way to the floor though no fluid is leaking, bad master cylinder?

My plan later today after helping the sis move to a new apt is to buy two new calipers ($42 each at discount) and one new master cylinder (also $42 at advance) and hope that fixes all my problems.

Does that sound like the right course of action? Or are these symptoms posibly another problem?

Thanks,

-Rob

 

[Agnem]

Sounds like you've figured it out to me. Dual piston caliper's do have a nasty habit of wearing badly once a piston goes south. You can also learn a bit about how your brakes are working by feeling (at your peril) the temperature of the hubs with your hand, or use an infrared thermometer. A sticking caliper will have a lower temp. Of course they can stick the other way too, if especially if the brake hose is bad.

 

[RLDSL]

Sounds like the plan. Better measure that rotor . If that caliper has been riding like that , chances are, the rotor took a beating . It may be beyond wear limit

 

[Classicfordguy]

well I bought the new parts today, even got a new speed/abs sensor for $14 and fixed my speedometer.

I don't know if one caliper is sticking closed or the other is sticking open so I bought both new ones.

I put new discs on the truck two years ago when I rebuilt the front axle so the rotors had a lot of meat on them. The worn out pad scraped the disc kinda uneavenly, it scraped about 3/32 deep close to the center of rotation and didn't scrape any metal on metal at all out at the edge of the rotor furthest from the center of rotation. That could point to a screwed up/bent caliper or maybe the mounting pin things were bad.

Hope the new parts fix it up, I'll let you know how it goes, thanks for the quick responses.

-Rob

 

[typ4]

My sticking caliper made some nice radial cracks in my rotor. Now have new rotors, calipers and carbon metallic pads. and new rear shoes,
As a side note, my 2 year old ford brake cables are sticking so i recommend lubing them frequently.