Nightmare On SHO Street

[CTOESHO]

Well, I went to get my rear rotors and pads replaced thinking that was the problem. After removing the caliper, we found out that it was frozen shut. Wouldn't move, wouldn't turn, wouldn't budge. The caliper came off with a couple of tugs, but when we attempted to put them back on the pads and rotors, it wouldn't fit. We ended up shaving the pads so the caliper would fit, but that didn't work. Then we put on smaller pads that were worn all the way down so the caliper would fit, and it finally did. Keep in mind that he already worked on a POS Jetta for 3 hours trying to turn the dial on the caliper, and we were 2.5 hours into the SHO's one caliper. The time was also 1 am and I still needed to drive 1.5 hours home. Well, after the caliper fit, the rotor didn't budge at all. We ended up taking off the ebrake spring to get some slack on the caliper dial but that didn't help, nor did we get it back on. Finally after using a special Ford tool (hammer) we got it to fit and rotor to spin. He also ended up pinching the brake line to the rear left brake so it wouldn't engauge and grind on my all ready damaged rotor. (I am 99% sure that the rear rotor on my SHO are the original factory ones because it still had the holder circles that were used to hold the rotor on the car in the assembly line)

*Note-To make this night even worse, after we clamped off the brake line to the rear left brake, the guy wanted to start up my SHO and pump the brakes so nothing was going to the left rear. Well, he forgot we left it in 1st because we couldn't have the e-brake off and the SHO shot forward and rolled off the floor jack. It was quite scary. We almost hit his new 35th anniversary WS6. I "don't" think there was any damage done, just scraped paint where the jacking point was when it rolled over the floor jack.

My question is, where is the cheapest place to buy rear caliper's? Should I also get front calipers while I'm at it? How often do front caliper fail? Is getting slotted front rotors from SPmotorsports a bad idea for my CHEAP "upgraded front brakes"? Will I feel a difference, and is it enough for my every day driving style? (I don't autocross or anything) Sorry for the long post and many questions, I am very aggrivated with the SHO right now. Thanks.

Mike
93mtx

[This message has been edited by CTOESHO (edited 02-16-2002).]

 

[Bizzy]

This sounds like the nightmare I have had with my car in the past. I think your best bet is to buy new calipers. Most auto parts stores will carry them. The rear calipers (for a 91) will run anywhere between $55 & $70 depending on the store plus a core charge. You can get them loaded or unloaded. Of course the loaded calipers will be a little more, but they come ready to install on your car.

You may want to check to see if your caliper pins are free moving in your bracket before you go any further. If the boots are loose or damaged, the pins are probably damaged inside. In this case you'd be wise to remove them, buy new ones and make sure that the holes in the bracket are cleaned out and re-lubed. You can possible re-use the old pins if you can get them smooth enuf.

When the caliper and new pads are re-installed you should be able to turn the wheel by hand with no problems. There will be some resistance, but it should turn. Be careful not to overtighten your lug nuts because this can cause your rotors to warp. 95 to 105 ft/lb I believe is the correct spec, but please double check on this. Your car is a 93 and may be different than mine.

You should not have to shave the pads down, this not only will lower the useable live your your brake pads, it will probably void the pad warranty and it's just plain unsafe to do. You need to fix the problem rather than they symptoms in this case. If the caliper piston won't turn back into the bore of the caliper housing, then a new caliper (or rebuild?) is in order.

In order to get your brakes to bleed properly, you need to have the car as level as possible. You'll need to lower the car on the jack with a support under rotor to allow this to be as close to driving height as possible. Then bleed the brakes. The proportion valve needs it to be level for it to bleed properly.

If your front calipers are working properly, there is no need to replace them. Although they will be cheaper to purchase. The front brakes are a breeze to do compared to the rear. Check them out before you replace them.

As for how often front calipers fail...I've never had a problem with my front calipers. Warped front rotors I have had. I wish that Ford used the same type caliper on the rear of our cars as they do the front.

It is my understanding and I may be wrong on this, but the front brakes actually do most of the work. But I wouldn't want to be driving around on only the front brakes for any length of time. Uneven pressure can wreak havoc on your ABS system. And brake fluid will catch fire just so you know. So be careful and get things checked out asap. Brakes are nothing to mess around with.

I know nothing about the slotted rotors, everybody will share different opinions about them. Better let others post regarding them.

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SHO's are like kids...they test your patience but you gotta love 'em!

Beth
'91 Plus MTX, Mostly stock
K&N Filter, Coneless
Colgan Custom Bra
Racing Series Driving Lights
Mods in the works
Many items on wish list!

 

[Rob94]

Wow!! Um yeah......what Beth said.

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Rob
White 94MTX
K&N Filter otherwise stock

 

[Bizzy]

Originally posted by Rob94:
Wow!! Um yeah......what Beth said.

I learned the hard way. Knowledge is power!

------------------
SHO's are like kids...they test your patience but you gotta love 'em!

Beth
'91 Plus MTX, Mostly stock
K&N Filter, Coneless
Colgan Custom Bra
Racing Series Driving Lights
Mods in the works
Many items on wish list!

 

[billh]

WOW, After reading your post, I don't feel so bad now for some of the s$$t my SHO has put me through. I had a brake shop do a brake job on my '94ATX, the car was embarsssing to drive with all of the howling coming from the brakes. They swapped out pads and truned the rotors a second time, with no luck. I bought a set of genunine Ford pads and found a frozen pin that they missed. Really ****** me off to pay for a professional job only to have to stratighten it out myself. Hang in there.

 

[Bizzy]

Originally posted by billh:
WOW, After reading your post

Ahhhh....caliper pins. Dude, my calipers were actually on fire at one point because of those pins. It allows the piston to fully extend and not retract. The brake pad was constantly on the rear side of the rotor, got so hot it burned/melted the rubber boot around the piston, brake fluid went everwhere and caught on fire. It was so hot that it melted the valve stem cap onto my rim. So when it comes brakes, I learned really quick.

Now that's embarrassing...riding down the road with your wheels smokin'! I don't even want to think about it.

------------------
SHO's are like kids...they test your patience but you gotta love 'em!

Beth
'91 Plus MTX, Mostly stock
K&N Filter, Coneless
Colgan Custom Bra
Racing Series Driving Lights
Mods in the works
Many items on wish list!

 

[goSHOgo]

I had this same thing happen to me. I got frustrated, gave it to my machanic and said, "You fix it." I had bad calipers. Whole thing cost me a little over $400. But I needed a new emergency brake cable and some other stuff. Bummer.

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Keith
Black '92 MTX
Custom Exhaust w/glasspacks
Painted Engine
Tinted Windows
Blue interior lights
Blue fill lettering
Blue racing pedals
Blue metal shift ****

 

[SilverSHO]

Really ****** me off to pay for a professional job only to have to straighten it out myself

Which is why I don't have "professionals" work on my car. I know her better than they do.

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Nick
Lt. Titanium 90 137k
Coneless, ACCEL 8.8 stainless steel wires,
SHO Shop solid roll dampers, Cherry Bomb Turbo II mufflers, snazzy blue valve stem caps
AIM: loudog6491

 

[CTOESHO]

Little over $400?

Are you serious? Geez, I was hopeing a couple hours of labor and thats it. I realize I have to bleed my brakes and everything. While I'm replacing my rear calipers, should I also replace my front ones? Also, if it's gonna cost me around $400 to get this fixed (Possibly Performance Plus would do it cheaper), I probably wont get the 96 upgrade. Would slotted front rotors and good pads be enough for me? I don't autocross or do heavy braking at all, so I really don't understand why I would need the 96 upgrade. Sure I would love to have it because I've heard great things about them, but it's not that high on my priorty list. Unless you 96 upgraded SHO's can convince me otherwise

. Thanks for all your input.

Mike
93mtx