Brakes Failed At 61,700k's

[boost69]

Yeah same thing happened to my bros car though it was one of the front brake hoses that ruptured...luckily it happened in a shopping centre car park...and there was a factory recall on these hoses (we found this out later)...

[Honest Gaza]

I take it there wasn't a truck in your vicinity when it happened?

Nah....Wife had been out driving and commented that an engine warning light came on. I hopped in the car to see what lights would come on...nothing. Put my foot on the brake pedal to reverse out of the garage, and my foot sunk to the floor. Suspected straight away what the problem was from the two previous experiences. So really, an accident waiting to happen.

Had a mechanic repair the problem and I took the car to work yesterday to test it. Brakes working beautifully but noticed the engine temp running very high (the Wife's original problem). Was nearly at the red mark by the time I got home. Mechanic checking on Monday...hopefully just a faulty Thermostat.

[Honest Gaza]

Yeah same thing happened to my bros car though it was one of the front brake hoses that ruptured...luckily it happened in a shopping centre car park...and there was a factory recall on these hoses (we found this out later)...

I think the recall was only on the rear hoses. I had an argument with Ford at the time (see posts above).

[400KwXr6t]

just change the thermostat yourself. its 2 bolts and the thermostat is about $15, just make sure to get the rubber seal with it too, which is another 2 bucks. That fixed my prob when it happened.

If it doesn't work then you have only wasted 20 bucks and 15 mins of your time. Instead of a mechanics fee and parts.

[arm79]

Might be worth while spending the $$$ and replacing all the hoses with decent braided lines. Better feel and much less chance of them popping again.

[Honest Gaza]

just change the thermostat yourself. its 2 bolts and the thermostat is about $15, just make sure to get the rubber seal with it too, which is another 2 bucks. That fixed my prob when it happened.

If it doesn't work then you have only wasted 20 bucks and 15 mins of your time. Instead of a mechanics fee and parts.

Yes, I've just removed it and tested in a pot of boiling water....appears to be faulty.

Will try finding one tomorrow and see if it fixes problem.

[Honest Gaza]

Installed new thermostat (thanks to a great tutorial posted by one of the guys on this forum)....appears to be working like a bought one . Temp gauge staying below half way now, and the fan is having a well deserved rest.

[EvilDaifu]

Okay fellas, how's about this for a double thread mine

Here's the other thread with the actual rear brake hose line Ford recall info

Anyways, what brought this up was that had my front brake pads replaced and had the front dba 4000 slotted rotors machined today at Hallam Brake and Clutch (as I was starting to get shudder again under braking - it's a 2004 BA XR6T). There, Zeki's technician pointed out that my front right hose line was weeping slightly where it joins the chassis. Funny how honest Gazza was asking about replacing his front ones as well as his rear ones in this thread above. Apparently the Ford recall for the BA-BF rear hoses was because they were shorter than what they ought to be causing them to stretch bumping over rough roads and when the car is up on the hoist.

Here's one of my front standard Ford OEM front brake lines (got him to replace the other one as a pre-caution as well since both front wheels were off).

Had a small split in it - not sure how it happened exactly.

Apparently, like the rear ones - the Ford BA-BF OEM brake lines are allegedly a bit short and so turning the fronts full lock appears to stretch the hose to its limit. Zeki who owns Hallam Brake and Clutch supplied me with ADR approved ones that are slightly longer, I.e. have a bit of slack to cater for the full lock, for this reason.

Had a bit of trouble finding their workshop, so here's a pic of their workshop (I did not get any discount or any other benefits by the way - just liked that his technician pointed out the split to me in-situ whilst the car was up on the hoist!).

Have not had these new front Bendix Heavy Duty pads in for long - just drove it a short distance - but managed to do some 100km/h freeway and there was no shudder under braking nor driving at the speed limit - which was good as previously was starting to see some brake shudder. Anyway - I've had Bendix H/D pads in for over a year now previously - and liked them - minimal dusting if any, no squealing and good stopping. My front pads were pretty low for some reason - was told down to 5% or 1000km remaining. Guess that's influenced by the Snowy and VIC Alpine cruises past 12 months Speaking of which - the next Snowy Cruise 2012 is on in less than 3 weeks (which is the reason have just spent a bit of dough on servicing my car past week).

Hope this helps someone else as BAs and BFs are getting on a bit now in age and this is likely to crop up more nowadays

[EvilDaifu]

Just got back from the Snowy Cruise a week ago and gotta say - had absolutely now trouble with the machined dba 4000 slotted rotors and new Bendix Heavy Duty pads installed by Hallam Brake and Clutch on my BA More to the point - I was wondering how the new brake line hoses would also hold up since they are ones that Zeki made up (and ADR certified) - they were great. Had no brake fade and I was keeping up with some of the fellas on the cruise

Also, if others are wondering if the Bendix H/D pads are good - yep they are! No brake fade, no squeal and squat all dusting - even though I could fairly smell brakes either from me or other cars on the Snowy Cruise

Mind you - I did baby it this year conscious of previous years goin into limp mode - deliberately chose gears to keep me under the 4000 rpm as I had noticed in the past that I had gotten into limp mode after having the revs continuously bounce off the rev limiter