1999 F 250 brakes

i have a 2wd 1999 F250 pick up. the front disc brakes drag sometimes. i've cleaned and greased the caliper mounting brackets, greased the pins, etc. the last time it happened it about melted the pistons out of the caliper before i came to a place to get off the road. i replaced both caliper and pads at that time. was fine for a few months. now it's happening again. has anyone ever had this problem? thanks

I had the same problem with my 2001 f350. I ended up buying the fancy ford grease and expensive ford original pins and it has solved it. I ruined 3-4 sets of pads and 2-3 calipers, even when taking them apart every 6 months and relubing pins

(quoted from post at 11:05:00 03/19/13) i have a 2wd 1999 F250 pick up. the front disc brakes drag sometimes. i've cleaned and greased the caliper mounting brackets, greased the pins, etc. the last time it happened it about melted the pistons out of the caliper before i came to a place to get off the road. i replaced both caliper and pads at that time. was fine for a few months. now it's happening again. has anyone ever had this problem? thanks

Click to expand...

Could be a restriction in the rubber lines or or may be wheel bearings are too tight. An other thing is the brake control valve(front to rear) dammit I forgot the real name. Just some things to consider

The rubber hose to the calipers (one or both) have colapsed. Fluid is getting in under pressure,but not getting back out when you let off the pedal.

Possible moisture in your brake system. Had a 92 with the calipers rusting up internally and not work properly. Brakes worked fine, but caliper would not release an go back to normal after applying brakes. Pop them a few times with hammer and would work for a while. Some how moisture had gotten in system, and rusted inside of caliper. I had bought it used so I don't know the moisture got in. Cleaned up, replace calipers and been fine since. Have never greased pins. Not familiar with newer might be different.

Well, I'll tell you about my truck and maybe you can troubleshoot from there. I've bought a '97 F-250 that occasionally had the ABS light on. You could also feel the brakes continue to grab after you had stopped and then pressed on the accelerator. It drove the previous owner crazy and the places he took it to couldn't get it fixed. I drove it like that for about a month to get the feel of what was happening before I attempted to do any troubleshooting.
The first thing I did was to replace the front rotors and pads because they were cracked and burnt from the heat buildup. I also noticed that the ABS light was coming on because the brake fluid was low and causing the switch to turn on the ABS light. I added brake fluid to the proper level and after that, all was well and I haven't had any problems for the past year and it stops just fine. Somehow the ABS was keeping pressure on the front pads, but I'm not sure if the ABS system magically fixed itself or if it had something to do with the low fluid. Anyway, my truck is now working and I'm not going to fix something that isn't broke.

Proportioning valve.

But my fist vote goes to the hoses being bad.

I had the same problems with my '99 F250 2wd. Began with the rear brakes but later involved the fronts too. Upon disassembly I'd find frozen slider pins (always the lower ones) and one (or both) caliper pistons stuck solid.

Ultimate solution was to replace the calipers then flush the entire brake system. The fluid that flushed out was black. Turned out the fluid had gradually absorbed moisture which then attacked (swelled) the phenolic caliper pistons This caused them to become stuck hard in their bores.

It's now been 3 years with no brake problems whatsoever. I do however now flush the fluid annually; also loosen and "exercise" all the slider pins once or twice a year.

Same here on my '04 F150 4x4. I've been through 3 calipers, 2 on right front and 1 on left rear.

The guys have you covered on the fixes. I changed lines and flushed/replaced fluid, seemed to fix it.

My truck was built in 03, badged as an 04 (Heritage Model????), but uses 05 parts. The calipers on mine have piston made of Phenolic Resin, a type of polymer. They don't hold up too well. 2 out of the 3 I put in had pistons that came out in several pieces.

If I could afford OEM I would buy rebuilt from the parts store.

I have a 2001 F 250 and I have never had a truck that I had so much problems with the brakes. The calibers freeze up in the pins and usually one piston. I replaced them the first time using Ford parts and that lasted about a year then the samr thing. I now just relaced them with parts from Advanced Auto that has a lifetime warranty on them. My brake fluid was never dirty so I just added to it when I bled the brakes. I put never seize on the pins and this helps. Mine has stell pistons in them. I just replace all 4 since Dec and these lasted about 2 years. I told my wife that I should do brake jobs on the F 250 track because I can take the calipers on and have them back on in about 15 minutes

I found the break pads on my 2000 f250 to fit very tight in the caliper, I ended up taking my angle grinder and grinding the metal tabs on the break pads a little so they dident fit as tight.,

Forgot to mention: The OEM calipers that failed all had phenolic (tan non-metallic) pistons. All the rebuilt calipers - purchased at Advance Auto - have metal pistons.

Hmmmmm......

I agree, Been there

It's probably as rrlund said. Pump the pedal and try to spin the rotor. If it's tight, open the bleeder. If fluid squirts out there is a restriction and it's most likely the hose. It can't be a proportioning valve. Gerard

(quoted from post at 22:05:00 03/19/13) i have a 2wd 1999 F250 pick up. the front disc brakes drag sometimes. i've cleaned and greased the caliper mounting brackets, greased the pins, etc. the last time it happened it about melted the pistons out of the caliper before i came to a place to get off the road. i replaced both caliper and pads at that time. was fine for a few months. now it's happening again. has anyone ever had this problem? thanks

Click to expand...

When the brakes drag
1) crack the line at the master if they release its the master ()probably a issue caused by contaminated fluid this is never good the whole system is a issue) The contamination could be rust that acts as a check valve at the master.. If the issue is determined at the master it also could be the push rod adjustment at the master are the wrong master... It would need to be researched but I think you can up-grade to a master with a larger piston (displacement)... The way to determine if its a push rod issue is to loosen the bolts at the booster and check for release...

2) crack the bleeder at the caliper if they release it most likely the hose it could be caused by contamination also... I have a theory if the customer can afford new calipers they can afford new hoses...

3) if #2 does not release its most likely the calipers...

I would not make a wild guess till 1,2,3 was preformed...

BTW I use Prestone High temp synthetic brake fluid Dot 3 it has served me well... I have been bit by the cheap dot 3 fluids.... I have been bit by synthetic dot 5 also but that's another story so don't go their....

http://www.prestone.com/products/print/439?popup=1

My final tip when the brake fluid bottle is empty throw it away never store any other fluid in it.... Brake work is probably the most hacked repair job at most shops and done by DIY'ers....