Raybestos front pads gone after 9K miles!

[Cynthia Grant]

Has anyone had this problem? I had the front pads replaced at 25K miles (on my 03 ST 4WD) with Raybestos pads (not from the Ford dealer). The mechanic who did the pads said they should last longer than the Ford pads. However, at 34K my brake indicator light came on again. So I went back to the same mechanic, assuming that it was now time to replace the rear pads. However, he told me that the front pads are now paper thin and the back pads still have about 15K left on them. He can't explain why the pads he put on should already be worn out, but suggested that the brakes may be out of adjustment between the front and back, causing the front to do all the work.



I have an appointment at the Ford dealership tomorrow to get this checked out, but they are the ones who did the 30K mile service (including brake inspection) and never even noticed that the front pads were almost gone. I'm afraid I'm going to get stuck between Ford and this other mechanic blaming each other and I'll end up eating the cost for new pads again.



Do you have any suggestions about why the new pads didn't last more than 9K miles?



Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[Todd Z]

Raybestos makes at least 2 types of pads, the 1 year pads and lifetime.. When I ran the auto parts store almost every shop wanted the cheep 1 year pads for the cars they worked on, Even the dealers wanted the junk for their used cars....

Todd Z

 

[walter clark]

Where they ceramic pads? I know that the regular ones dont last, especialy on older models with drum brakes in back.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Both pads were thin? What traffic do you drive?



I recomend Carbon Metallic pads. If you lived closer to me, I would do the job and do it right. You wouldn't have anything to worry about for a minimum of 30,000 miles.





Tom

 

[Frank Marano]

lay off that brake pedal a bit, lol

 

[Tom Schindler]

The 03 Trac has has 4 wheel disks. No adjustment of the rear discs.





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Did he actually show you the pads?

 

[roger Biddlecombe]

I had same problem on my 01,I live in Can, & at the time there was only 1 type of pad available,just replaced again & now the jobber has a choice 6 types, have moved to middle grade,asthe very hard grade shortens the life of your disc,they cost a lot more than pads

 

[Richard L]

Front brakes always were more than the front since they do 70% of the braking. I will usually go through 2 or 3 sets of front pads before I have to change out the rear pads.shoes.



I question the mechanics knowledge of brakes if he made the statements that you say he did.



If your pads wore out in only 9K miles, you are either driving with your foot resting on the brake pedal causing a serious drag, or your calipers are sticking or you pads are sticking on the caliper slides. What ever the case, you have a severe brake drag problem!



I would take it to another mechanic who knows what their doing. The first guy sounds like an idiot.



...Rich

 

[Cynthia Grant]

Dropped off the Trac at my local Ford dealership this AM to have the brake system checked out. When I told him that they are Raybestos pads, the service manager said he's not surprised they wore out after only 9K miles. He said the Trac is heavy and needs the OEM pads. But just now he called me and said the master cylinder is bad and that's why the brake light came on. So if that is bad, wouldn't that be a factor in why the pads wore down so quickly? Should I make the dealership replace the pads as part of the master cylinder warranty repair? Even cheap pads should have lasted longer than 9K miles. I'm afraid they will fight me since those 9K pads were not installed by them.



Advice??????

 

[Richard L]

Cindy,

Ford will not pay for normal wear items like brake pads and especially aftermarket brake pads, so I doubt that they will include them in the warranty work.



Master cylinder problems are rather rare. However, if the mechanic who installed the Raybestos pads 9K miles earlier just pushed the pistions back into the calipers like so many people do, it may have pushed contaminated fluid back up into the ABS unit and the master cylinder. Then again, it could have been just a bad Master cylinder and the previous mechanic did nothing wrong. However, when a mechanic says that the rear brakes should wear more than the front brakes, I have to question his credibility, and any brake word he has done.



I would be glad that it happened while still under warranty, and that Ford agrees to cover the Master cylinder under warranty. They could claim that the damage was done by the mechanic who installed the Raybestos brake pads



...Rich