Brake shoes absorbing moisture - which brand to go for/avoid for replacement?

[beerhunter]

Hiya

The rear brakes on my 1986 2.9 4wd stick after cold and wet weather, but only just at the beginning of a journey. Within minutes they are fine. I have read about the shoes absorbing moisture, causing them to stick.

I therefore intend to replace the shoes, but are there any brands to go for/avoid? I'll be ordering from RockAuto, and I don't always recognise the brand names to know who are budget, and who are regarded as better quality.

Many thanks

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Ive never heard of this being a problem.

However a light coating of rust can form inside the drum and cause a "sticky" feeling for the first few stops.

I dont know of any way to prevent that.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

There is a well known, very highly regarded member on here that sprayed wd40 or similar on his squealing brakes. (@RonD He was very young at the time). Don't do this....

 

[19Walt93]

Buy Motorcraft shoes and seal all the holes in the backing plates to keep water out. There was a TSB about this at one time years ago and I sealed the backing plates on my 2004 when I did the PDI and never had a problem. I also didn't have the typical left rear brake system getting rusty problem.

 

[mikkelstuff]

Time for the Mustang rear disk brake upgrade! I can send you a journal with pictures from my '02 Ranger installation. Also instructions for the upgrade on this website.

 

[sgtsandman]

I've never experienced this in day to day driving but it could be because I've only had latter year Rangers. Now, sitting for a month or more with the parking brake on, is a different story.

Does your truck get driven regularly or does it sit for a week or so between driving? If the latter, chocking the wheels and leaving the parking brake off while it sits might be the answer. That's what I have to do on deployments.

 

[beerhunter]

Hi,

Usage varies, it can be day to day, then it may sit for a week. I initially blamed the parking brake, but it appears to be working fine. This issue only occurs in the wet, and, and so happened occasionally over the summer. But now it's winter, it's every time I go to drive - hence suspecting moisture absorption. And I live in the UK where it rains... A LOT.

Mikkelstuff - that sounds like an awesome plan, and I may well bear it in mind for the future. However, being in the UK I am unlikely to be able to find any 2nd-hand parts over here, so I suspect it will get expensive fast.

19walt93 thanks for the recommendation. I'll order Motorcraft. I need to work out what heater parts I need (see another thread about my recent fire - a rather extreme answer to moisture issues...) and I will order it all at the same time.

Thanks again everyone, I love this forum.

 

[19Walt93]

Hi,

Usage varies, it can be day to day, then it may sit for a week. I initially blamed the parking brake, but it appears to be working fine. This issue only occurs in the wet, and, and so happened occasionally over the summer. But now it's winter, it's every time I go to drive - hence suspecting moisture absorption. And I live in the UK where it rains... A LOT.

Mikkelstuff - that sounds like an awesome plan, and I may well bear it in mind for the future. However, being in the UK I am unlikely to be able to find any 2nd-hand parts over here, so I suspect it will get expensive fast.

19walt93 thanks for the recommendation. I'll order Motorcraft. I need to work out what heater parts I need (see another thread about my recent fire - a rather extreme answer to moisture issues...) and I will order it all at the same time.

Thanks again everyone, I love this forum.

It's not just the shoes- seal all the holes in the backing plates with silicone. It sounds stupid because the edges of the drums aren't sealed but it works. The air flow around the rear of Rangers-especially if driven in road salt- will caused everything inside the left rear drum to rust also.

 

[beerhunter]

It's not just the shoes- seal all the holes in the backing plates with silicone. It sounds stupid because the edges of the drums aren't sealed but it works. The air flow around the rear of Rangers-especially if driven in road salt- will caused everything inside the left rear drum to rust also.

Hiya - definitely will do. Sorry, wasn't ignoring the advice in your earlier post.

Thanks