Lost my brakes for the 2nd time

[JohnnyB]

Well ... I lost my brakes for the 2nd time. First a couple years ago I had a very slow leak. Turned out to be leaking for the brake line fitting going into the drivers side rear brake cylinder. No big deal, tightened it up and added some fluid.



The I lost the brakes (1st time) maybe the year after that. The rear brake line that travels on top of the rear diff "sprang a leak". I ended up having to get the flexible line that is attached to it too. First tried my #1 parts place. The kept coming up with the correct part number but th ewrong hose. I have been using this place for 21 years, they almost never make a mistake. Took Ford a few days to get it, first one they got was wrong.



Has anyone else noticed that many of the part numbers for the '01 ST's are wrong?



Now ... Yesterday, I hit th ebrakes to stop at a red light and they grab about half way for a second or 2 then the pedal drops to the floor. Had to drive (slowly!) the rest of the way home using the emergency brake, lots of fun trying to hold out the brake release and use my left leg for the e-brake in such a narrow interior.



I will check it out tomorrow, I see fluid by the front brakes this time, mostly the right side.

Funny how I had it into Able Ford just a couple weeks ago for a dead 4x4 module (fixed under extended warranty) and while there they said, "we checked the front brakes and they are going to need to be done soon". Now my front brakes are leaking? Cant wait to get under there tomorrow and see where the leak is. The brakes did feel good when I got it back from them, maybe they bled them and didnt tighten the bleeders tight enough.



Another thing ... they wanted $179 to change a couple bulbs behind the instrument cluster. Are they Crazy?

 

[Dre L]

The 01 is split into job 1 and job 2, those produced before 7/00 and those produced after. This will cause confusion for parts due to the engineering changes.



Part numbers are also updated and change as well. If there is any question, getting parts from a knowledgeable dealer will be the best route.



The 179 is for the labor to get back there and change the bulbs. It is a little high, you can do it yourself in 3 hours the first time, then in 30 minutes everytime thereafter.



With that many brake fluid leaks, are you sure someone isn't trying to off you?

 

[Todd Cloutier]

They may also confuse the Sport Trac with the regular Explorer which is a very different vehicle.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

JohnnyB, sorry to hear about the brakes. As for the instrument control lights. I have one burnt out on mine and took it apart the other day to see what I needed and it only took 45min total. The bulbs are 194 (or 198) at Walmart and sell for $1.98 for 2 of them. They are the clear ones as they also have 194B (blue), 194R (red), and 194G (green). I'm going to replace mine tomarrow and probably do them all back there to save me having to do it again for a while. So $179 to do it is rediculus!! Do it yourself. It's not hard to do.

 

[Dre L]

I used WLED5 white LED's from superbrightleds.com in my dash, I hopefully won't need to go back there ever again. These have 4 side firing and 1 straight firing leds in a 194 bulb base. I've had them since summer, been great, have a unique look.



Do all of them like stonemiser said, IIRC there are 6 in total. It isn't hard, but awkward.

 

[JohnnyB]

I was going to go the LED route also. I'm not sure if I am going to keep teh ST anyway. I am waiting to see what the '07 is like.



I know about the job 1 and 2 stuff. Mine is a job 2. Sometimes 2 part numbers come up for one part, but mostly there is 1 number.



nobleman, I just dont know, NYC is a big place, alotta people. I guess I better start sleeping with one eye on my brakes. :unsure:

 

[JohnnyB]

Update:



Fixed the brakes. It was the right side brake hose, the one that goes from the caliper to the steel brake line.



What a pain in the A$# it was go get the correct hose (I replaced the left side also, and the pads).

My parts guy got the hoses for the '01 ST and they were wrong. Then I emailed Rusty and got the Ford part numbers so he could cross reference them. The search came up with no matching parts. How can that be?



The I described how the part looked and he started looking at '00 and '01 regular Explorers and found the correct hoses.



Here are the numbers:

Ford part # for front right and left brake hoses:

6L5Z-2078-AA LH

6L5Z-2078-AB RH (Thanks to our sponsor Rusty)



The hoses I bought are made by Raybestos:

BH381158

BH381157

I dont remember which was right and left.



Ford wanted $45 each plus tax (8.625% in NYC) and I had to wait a day or 2 for them to get them since Ford Parts at NY dealerships does NOT stock parts anymore.



My guy, New Bridge Auto Parts, got them for me (with my special discount since I have been going there for 21 years) $22 each. They list for $39.45 each.



The Wagner Thermo Quiet pads were $57 (my price, list for $116.50). I did the whole job for $101. A local mechanic would have probably charged between $200-$250 and forget about Ford. They would have charged easilly $400 and they would have kept my truck for a minimum 2 days.



Sometimes you justhave to do it yourself.