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2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Any tricks to changing brake pads>

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2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Left Front shimmy

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I'm going to be throwing a set of pads on my truck and was curious if there are any tricks or recommendations out there. It doesnt necessarily need them but I'm going to be pulling our trailer on a long vacation and want good brakes. The backs are great but the front could stand a bit.

I'm very experianced with these things but to be honest have never done one on a rig with antilock brakes and am curious if there's a concern with pushing the pistons back into the calipers.

Reason I ask is that I once read that a furd owner messed up his brakes by using a c-clamp to push the pistons back in and that somehow messed up his antilock brakes. This is always how I've done brakes on other rigs and sure dont want to mess anything up now.

Any other tricks? I know it would be best to grind the rotors but I'll be honest, I'm not planning on doing that at this time.



I've bought Hawks from Geno's if that makes any difference to the install in any of your eyes.



Thanks everybody... ..... John
 
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Open the bleeder when you compress the pistons and let the pressure bleed out of the system rather then pushing the dirty fluid back through the ABS module and master cylinder as his can cause damage. I always bleed new fluid into the system when doing brakes. Also try not to push the peddle all the way to the floor when bleeding and pumping up the calipers as this can run the master cylinder seals into areas that might have corrosion or dirt. This would probably be less of a problem with these aluminum cylinders compared to the old cast iron ones but still can't hurt to be on the safe side.
 
I have always had problems with Furd brakes. They are more difficult and harder to work on then Dodge or GM. I replaced the pad on my 95 and didn't have any problem. The hardest part was to lift the truck and pull the wheels off. I opened the master cylinder cover and used a C clamp to push back the piston. My 95 had ABS on all wheels.
 
There are those who burp the system back to the master and never had a problem and those…I would buy a pad spreader- they're cheap and worth it to save time.
 
Best bet is to be safe especially since you tow and will have family with you. Throw a clear hose on the bleeder crack it open then compress the piston. I've always used the old tried and true pry with a screwdriver or small prybar between the pad and caliper method. before removing the caliper shut bleed screw, some folks disconnect the batteries to be extra safe - but as long as no one's going to jump in and turn the key on it's a good idea to leave the keys under the floor mat or somewhere out of the way. Do the passenger siide first, install new pads, plenty of slid-glide on the pins and a thin coat on the caliper slide surfaces. Then install new pads, throw a block of wood under the pedal so you don't press the pedal all the way down when flushing new fluid - or just top off after a few pedal presses, Then repeat on the driver side. My rotors had 155k on them and were never cut. I replaced them well . . . because they were pretty cheap, less than 50 each. Your 98 is like my 99, have to press out the studs to R & R the rotors so I wait till they really need replacing. I got all new studs as I've had experience with damaging the old ones.
 
Best bet is to be safe especially since you tow and will have family with you. ...



Also, if the brake fluid has not been changed in 100K miles or so, you should replace the old fluid with new (flushing all the old fluid out through the wheel cylinders). Over time, the fluid acquires water, which boils easier and reduces braking capacity; the water also encourages rusting of brake internals.
 
Also, if the brake fluid has not been changed in 100K miles or so, you should replace the old fluid with new (flushing all the old fluid out through the wheel cylinders). Over time, the fluid acquires water, which boils easier and reduces braking capacity; the water also encourages rusting of brake internals.







And when you starting getting close to 200K, you may want to replace the wheel cylinder kits after you have honed out the cylinders. Maybe even sooner.
 
And when you starting getting close to 200K, you may want to replace the wheel cylinder kits after you have honed out the cylinders. Maybe even sooner.



Funny thing, that. I've been waiting 235K miles for just *one* wheel cylinder to fail so I could replace them all with the bigger 1-ton versions. And I'm *still* waiting! Perhaps sometimes decent maintenance gets in the way of BOMBing? :)
 
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