E450 Rear Brake Failure

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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by whemme »

Well, now I am the victim of a rear brake failure on my 2002 Ford E450 based Born Free 26' Motorcoach.

The first evidence of the problem was a grinding type noise from the rear of the coach anytime the brakes were applied. By the time I could get the coach to our local Ford dealer to check out the noise problem, the diagnosis was a stuck caliper puck in the right rear dual causing the right rear brake to drag and quickly wear out the pad ending up with the caliper puck making metal to metal contact with the brake rotor.

The right rear brake rotor was damaged too much to save. The left brake was dragging also but had not yet enough to cause metal to metal contact so the left rotor was saved. The total cost to replace the right rotor, caliper & pad and the left caliper and pad and flush and install new brake fluid came to $1,176.48.

My coach had 84,000 miles on it at the time and I asked the dealer about the condition of the front brakes and was advised that the front pads were only worn down 50% so no work on the front brakes was necessary.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
CHARLOTTE

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by CHARLOTTE »

Sorry to hear this.... guess you were not traveling too far from home... wouldn't want something like that to happen in the boonies....... :shock:
bigdipper
Posts: 353
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 3:13 pm

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by bigdipper »

Even though FOMOCO does not recommend this, I would suggest that everybody have brake hydraulic system pressure flushed every 5 years or so. The fluid can degrade/pick up moisture with time, corrode things like caliper pistons and cause seal degredation. There is getting to be something of a plethora of brake fluid types. To be on the safe side use what the Ford dealer recommends for your year and model. Bill, as your experience shows, the pads can last nearly forever in our service.
Ralph
Ralph
2011 24RB
Former 2001 23RK
WardPAW
Posts: 76
Joined: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:03 pm

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by WardPAW »

For those who wish to do some prevent maintenance, Ford has a rear caliper kit for 2000-2005 E-450's. The calipers can be overhauled rather than replaced. The part number is 4C3Z-2120-A. The kit contains two dust boots, two caliper seals and instruction sheet.
Ben Ward
2005 26 RSB, Diesel
RV Name: Lion PAW
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Mel Wilbur
Posts: 617
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:39 pm

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by Mel Wilbur »

Bill, years ago we had a rear caliper freeze at 33,475 miles which did cause further damage to the tune of $2,150.00. Fortunately Ford did step up and reimbursed me about 90%, after some phone calls and correspondence. It is important that the sliders (rails) be lubed with the proper material to keep them working freely.
Mel & Connie
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cmeadows
Posts: 156
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 5:54 pm

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by cmeadows »

Bill,

Sorry to hear about your brake failure and thanks for sharing your information.

At 55k miles on our coach, 2 of our brake calipers were not fully retracting which allowed the brakes to drag. All 4 original calipers were replaced because the piston seals were dry rotted. This also allowed excessive moisture to creep its way into the brake system. The caliper pistons were pitted and not reusable for a rebuild. The calipers were inexpensive as remanufactured units from AutoZone. The original pads and rotors were still like new.

I agree with Ben (WardPAW) that rebuilding calipers is a worthwhile activity. This puts new seals on the pistons to keep the water out. If you take this route, it’s important to rebuild them before you have a problem. If you find a sticking caliper, it probably has pitted/corroded pistons causing the problem. Sticking calipers are easily traded in as cores on remanufactured units. Before installing a caliper, I clean the slider channels with a file and add sticky white brake grease by Bendix to the sliders channels on the caliper, caliper bracket and sliders mentioned by Mel.

I flushed the brake fluid when I did the brake job. The color of the brake fluid in the reservoir is not an indicator of the condition of the brake fluid in the caliper. Brake fluid is hydroscopic—it will absorb moisture and cause rust/corrosion inside the caliper. The brake fluid that drains from a sticking caliper will usually be dark in color. The old brake fluid in the reservoir can be loaded with water and still look fine—plastic reservoirs don’t rust.

Brake fluid starts absorbing water from the atmosphere when the foil seal is broken on the bottle. It’s best to flush the system with new brake fluid from foil-sealed containers. A half-full bottle of brake fluid from the shelf may already be ruined because of the fluid’s hydroscopic tendencies. I agree with the advice from Ralph (bigdipper) to change fluid every 5 years.

I monitor tire temps with a small infrared thermometer and find it useful in detecting dragging brake calipers that can generate excessive heat. Even after a brake job, it’s still worth watching for a sticking caliper. We also have an exhaust brake (diesel coach) that significantly reduces brake wear and heat.
Chuck & Laura Meadows
'99 24RB PSD
ddbowen

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by ddbowen »

+1 on DOT flush and fill every 5 years. Inactivity is deadly.
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whemme
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by whemme »

Sam,

Care to tell us what your brake repair job cost you? Sounds like your repair work was somewhat similar to mine and at the same 84,000 miles.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
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whemme
Posts: 2110
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by whemme »

Sam,

Since you listed individual parts and labor cost your your brake repairs, I have done so also below.

2    NPN BRS179         Seal              $25.90        $51.80
2    PM1C                   Brake Fluid    $7.61          $15.22
1    NPN 125550        Rotor             $182.23    $182.23
1    NPN 18028994    Pads              $139.28    $139.28
1    NPN 184687        Caliper          $174.49    $174.49
1    NPN 184686        Caliper          $174.49    $174.49
TOTAL PARTS                                                  $737.51
Labor                                                              $342.00
Shop Supplies                                                    $20.00
Sales Tax - 7.0%                                                $76.97
GRAND TOTAL                                              $1,176.48

In your post you said that both of your rear rotors were replaced with new but you did not list the cost of those rotors?

I assume the parts in my repair were more costly than yours because I used a Ford dealer shop.
Last edited by whemme on Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:36 pm, edited 10 times in total.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
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bcope01
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by bcope01 »

Bill H., your parts are consistently higher than Sam's. I wonder why.

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
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whemme
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by whemme »

Bill,

I suspect the reason is that my Ford dealer used Ford OEM parts and the independent shop that Sam used what in the industry is known as after market parts not supplied by Ford but from such companies as NAPA, Autozone, Advance Auto Parts and O'Reilly Automotive. Sam can comment of this if he wishes.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
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bcope01
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by bcope01 »

Thanks Bill.

Bill
Last edited by bcope01 on Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
randallrae
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 7:30 pm

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by randallrae »

On my 97 I replaced both front calipers myself . I purchased them online from Rockauto they were loaded motorcraft for $75 apiece .
2012 25' rb
robert newby

Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by robert newby »

I am currently at the Brake shop having my brakes done. I recommed that if you have 84000 miles on your coach that you have your brakes checked. Mine were almost at the point of failing. Also the rear calipers were needing attention. I'm at a very good RV Repair shop in San Luis Obispo , California.
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cmeadows
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Re: E450 Rear Brake Failure

Post by cmeadows »

With 3 of you at the magical 84,000 mile mark doing your brakes, I hope when our coach gets there in another 9k miles that I don’t have to do the brakes again. :)

I need to correct a word in my previous post . . . it’s hygroscopic instead of hydroscopic. I must have been thinking about water.

Sam, I’m just curious . . . was the filler hose the source of your fuel leak like it was on our diesel coach?
Chuck & Laura Meadows
'99 24RB PSD
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