Improving 1997 f250 braking

always-strokin · May 18, 2013

Hello all.
Will adding some cryo treated rotors up front, nice Hawk Super Duty pads up front, and better drums and pads help significantly with my braking-power? It seems like it can take a lot of pedal and it still doesn't seem to stop quite like I'd like... nothing like my old super duty would.

I'm hoping that those braking mods will help greatly,

bluedge8 · May 18, 2013

that will help some, but make sure the rear brakes are adjusted correctly, that can cause low pedal and difficulty stopping due to the fronts doing almost all of the work.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 18, 2013

Hydro boost and rear disc conversion.....

i have the same issues with my truck. to say i hate the rear drums on these trucks would be a fairly large understatement LOL.

always-strokin · May 18, 2013

bluedge8 said:
that will help some, but make sure the rear brakes are adjusted correctly, that can cause low pedal and difficulty stopping due to the fronts doing almost all of the work.

I'm willing to bet that the rears aren't doing a whole lotta work.. I get the feeling that they are probably OEM or very very close to it (252k on truck).

'94IDITurbo7.3 said:
Hydro boost and rear disc conversion.....

i have the same issues with my truck. to say i hate the rear drums on these trucks would be a fairly large understatement LOL.

Ah yes, thats prob why my SD was more powerful at stopping; the hydroboost.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 18, 2013

would be worth it to take the drums off and look at everything in side. might end up like mine where all of the friction material was worn off and the backing plate for the shoe machined an 1/8" deep groove in the drum.....yeah that was a PITA to get off....

always-strokin · May 18, 2013

Hmm that doesn't sound good at all... thats why i'm just gonna replace it ALL and see what happens

PsRumors · May 19, 2013

Dad always complained about the brakes on my truck, he bought it new in 97. When I got it from him in '10 with 107k miles I checked to see what was wrong. Had a real low pedal and the parking brake pedal would go to the floor.

The shoes were not even touching the drum. Adjusted them correctly and much better braking. Turns out the truck still had the original shoes with plenty of friction material left.

I've found that the drum brakes require adjustment every 25k miles but by doing so the brakes work great.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 19, 2013

^^^i wouldn't have a problem adjusting the drums once every 25K miles or so, but i can adjust mine up and they "fall" back down with in a couple weeks. everything is new inside there and in what seems to be working order. i wouldn't dare hook a trailer with any decent amount of weight to my truck right now.

the fact that my drums won't auto adjust or stay where i put them is what makes the disc conversion so appealing to me and especially since i can be done with e-350 van rotors and calipers.

always-strokin · May 19, 2013

PsRumors said:
Dad always complained about the brakes on my truck, he bought it new in 97. When I got it from him in '10 with 107k miles I checked to see what was wrong. Had a real low pedal and the parking brake pedal would go to the floor.

The shoes were not even touching the drum. Adjusted them correctly and much better braking. Turns out the truck still had the original shoes with plenty of friction material left.

I've found that the drum brakes require adjustment every 25k miles but by doing so the brakes work great.

I know I made a reply to this, but for some reason its not showing up.

About 2 summers ago my e-brake cable snapped... and before that, I could have the foot lever all the way down and put the truck in drive and it would still idle away w/ the ebrake on. And I'm fairly certain that the owner before me never touched the brakes, especially not the rears. So I bet my drums/shoes aren't even touching also.

Tom S · May 19, 2013

I really have not found any serious deficiencies in my stock brake system other then I do not care for the generic ABS on the rear.

JD3020 · May 19, 2013

Tom S said:
I really have not found any serious deficiencies in my stock brake system other then I do not care for the generic ABS on the rear.

Same here.

Most people that bitch about drum brakes seem to just neglect them. No reason why if everything is in good shape, and adjusted correctly, that the truck won't stop just fine. If anything a hydroboost swap would be a beneficial upgrade, but only way i'd ever go disc brakes is if i swap in another axle with discs.

bluedge8 · May 19, 2013

I completely went through my rear brakes last year thanks to a leaking axle seal, much much better braking. Just pulled home a small camper without the trailer brakes hooked up and didn't even notice any add'l braking effort. ( I will get the trailer brakes working, just had to get the camper home.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 19, 2013

JD3020 said:
Same here.

Most people that bitch about drum brakes seem to just neglect them. No reason why if everything is in good shape, and adjusted correctly, that the truck won't stop just fine. If anything a hydroboost swap would be a beneficial upgrade, but only way i'd ever go disc brakes is if i swap in another axle with discs.

Idk what is wrong with mine then LOL. i have gone threw the rear brakes twice and still the same sketchy brakes. mine suck so bad that a couple months ago i was strongly considering converting to disc in the rear. i have just learned to live with the crap brakes on this truck. now my friends '93 idi....that thing has awesome brakes. idk what the difference is.

JD3020 · May 19, 2013

How old is your vacuum pump?

Ad8 PRODIGY · May 19, 2013

How much could I expect to pay for a new vacuum pump and how hard are they to replace?

bluedge8 · May 19, 2013

fwiw, a vacumn pump problem will only show up as a hard pedal, it will not affect actual braking performance, it just makes it easier to push the pedal down.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 19, 2013

JD3020 said:
How old is your vacuum pump?

roughly a year old. i have a vac gauge installed and i am pulling about 28-29 when not on the brakes, on the brakes i am about 25-26 i would say.

my booster....your guess is as good as mine. i would guess original though.

Ad8 PRODIGY said:
How much could I expect to pay for a new vacuum pump and how hard are they to replace?

no hard at all. i borrowed a power steering pump pulley from carquest to pull the vac pump pulley off. took me like 30-40 min form start to finish.

i got mine from rock auto. they can be had anywhere from $70 all the way up to $265.

Got4wd · May 19, 2013

Do the super duty rear disc brake axle and hydroboost. I can stop my truck in half the distance from when I had vacuum and drum brakes.

'94IDITurbo7.3 · May 19, 2013

it's only money right?

LOL

you could also keep your 10.25 axle and put the e-350 van brakes on there. that way you wouldn't have to worry about converting the front axle as well and getting new wheels.

m j · May 19, 2013

bluedge8 said:
fwiw, a vacumn pump problem will only show up as a hard pedal, it will not affect actual braking performance, it just makes it easier to push the pedal down.

kinda the same deal as a hydroboost conversion

I did 10.5 brakes on my 10.25, e350 parts are the way to go