i think i f-ed up my ranger :)

[MyFirstRanger99]

i have a 99 ranger xlt

so for the past couple of weeks i keep hearing this loud squeaking from my front brakes. and then when i press the brakes it kind of goes away.

keep in mind that i just moved to college and i thought that the squeaking would go away.

now today im cleaning my wheels cuz i have something important to do later and im looking at my disks and they look like they are kind of warped, kind of like they have waves, i think it might be that have worn the pads down all the way and now its metal on metal.

PLEASE tell me that the disks are suppose to look like that cuz i am broke and i can't afford new disks and the installation of the disks and pads, i would have to go to a machanice cuz i dont have the tools for the job.

Please help me

thanks
rob

 

[mongoose289]

can you get a pic of it?

 

[krugford]

I think they only time I've seen rotors visibly "warped" is then they had worn down so thin that it was pushing what little was left into the ribs. Got a pic?

 

[Ranger44]

My teacher had shown us an example of a rotor......from a Ranger......that had been worn down to the fins. The pads were pretty much bare metal. A little scary!

 

[Psychopete]

The discs should be smooth and flat where the pad makes contact. Deep grooves or ridges are bad. Can you feel a pulsing or vibration when the brakes are applied? How much pad is left?

If the brakes are quiet and smooth, then they start squeaking really loudly frequently, it's worth while to take a look and see what the problem is before stuff starts domino-effecting.

If you end up replacing the pads yourself, avoid getting cheap pads like Valucraft.

Pete

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Squeak goes away when you press the brakes??? Possible wheel bearing???

Anyways... Where are you in Jersey? If your anywhere near me I'll take a look at it for ya. Might even help ya fix it.

 

[camper4lyfe]

I'm having the same exact problem with my 03.

I just bought all the goodies to do a brake job this weekend. As soon as I bought the parts, the sound went away.

I'm going to replace the brakes, but also check the wheel bearings while I've got it apart.

 

[thegoat4]

My teacher had shown us an example of a rotor......from a Ranger......that had been worn down to the fins. The pads were pretty much bare metal. A little scary!

Pffft! I've seen that on 20k+ box trucks. When I tell the drivers, most of them have the same response: "How am I supposed to know? I'm just a driver!"

Never pull out in front of a truck. You never know how stupid the driver is.

 

[bottledgt]

i have a 99 ranger xlt

so for the past couple of weeks i keep hearing this loud squeaking from my front brakes. and then when i press the brakes it kind of goes away.

keep in mind that i just moved to college and i thought that the squeaking would go away.

now today im cleaning my wheels cuz i have something important to do later and im looking at my disks and they look like they are kind of warped, kind of like they have waves, i think it might be that have worn the pads down all the way and now its metal on metal.

PLEASE tell me that the disks are suppose to look like that cuz i am broke and i can't afford new disks and the installation of the disks and pads, i would have to go to a machanice cuz i dont have the tools for the job.

Please help me

thanks
rob

id say if youre in college and cant spell mechanic any better than that, you have worse issues ahead. but i once had a car a girl brought me to fix that had to be rollbacked to my house cause it wouldnt move. it would only roll 6 inches back or forward. the rotor had ran so long on metal brakes it ate the whole surface off and broke 5 ribs loose. the pads went into the void and wedged. very fucked up

 

[Will]

He said he just started college. They don't do spelling on the first day. Once they can write their name on their lunch, then then do spelling. And mechanic is way down in the m's.

Seriously, a squeal that goes away with lots of braking force is probably on the back of the pad and is nothing except annoying. If they were down to metal on metal it would be gouging up the disk. If the indicator tab is causing the squeal it won't go away when you step down hard. Pull off a wheel and feel it and see what it feels like. If it doesn't look too bad, consider putting a set of cheapo pads in there until you can afford the machine work. It's better than doing nothing about it.

 

[hopster]

If you have an auto tech class at your college you might check into that option. Most programs do not charge labor. Some might doubt the quality of the repairs but you probably are taking less of a risk there than at any old shop you might go to instead because in a class every job has to be checked off by an instructor and they have to be NATEF certified to legally teach. In my opinion if you have that option it would be best for your situation.