A few weeks ago I noticed my brakes squealing a bit. I didn't think anything of it really.

Then, just this past weekend, it started making a grinding noise on the rear driver's side. I got worried. I looked down at the rotor and the outer edge had scuff marks (metal on metal). I made an appointment with my brakes place for today.

They said that my rotors were too thin to be turned and needed to be replaced. The pads were gone, too. So after all of it. $364. UGH.

So I need your help. Is this common for S197 V6s? Am harder on my brakes than I thought? If it is going to happen in another 40,000 miles, this is going to get really expensive to own!

 

$364 ain't bad, I lowest was quoted was $450 for my little Ranger.
Of course the Ranger is a harder job.
I check the pads every year. I replace the pads well before they get thin.
No matter what the vehicle I usually replace the pads before 30K.
This helps preserve the rotors cause you usually don't get to metal to metal.
Putting on pads yourself costs very little and is pretty easy.
Some vehicles rotors are a real pain (some 4X4s are a big job).
That being said, I have seen pads on Fords that I replaced at less than 22K.
But I don't always drive easy.

 

Thanks I was upgraded to ceramic pads in the rear. Are they standard on the V6 Pony Mustangs? I will definitely be checking my pads more frequently. I hope I can still get more input from others.

 

If you drive much with metal/metal (pads gone, grinding away) you'll ruin the rotors, and they'd need to be replaced. But sounds like your rotors were already thinned out to below specs, so needed replacement anyhow. 35-40k miles isn't too bad, really, and those rotors are dirt cheap, $40 for the pair through newtakeoff.com, or $36 each for new Centric through TireRack.
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...oModClar=Coupe

http://www.newtakeoff.com/ford_musta...2005-2008.aspx

And rear pads are $60-70 for the pair. So you're talking $100 for the replacement pieces, everything else is labor, like always. Do it yourself (way easy) and you save that amount; unless you make more than $125/hour in your dayjob, it's worth the time/effort.

Mustangs are way cheap to maintain, and $350 in 40k miles does not represent an expensive car to own.

 

Thank you so much for your input Josh. I wanted someone to ease my mind. I did not want this to be an issue about how I drive. I swear I thought I was easy on my car, I have yet to ever do a real burnout in it.

 

Burnouts are over-rated. Go drive through Boulder Canyon, or down Lookout Mountain, that'll accelerate your rotor wear, and burn up those pads real quick. I think the rear brake rotors are undersized for the car's weight, although they have it well balanced overall.

At the track, I burned through a set of EBC redstuff rear pads in one day (shoulda had better pads on, I know better now), so that was a $100+ set that didn't last long.

 

It's only expensive if you don't do it yourself.

 

Yikes!! Yea I have done Boulder Canyon once it was fun, but probably where most of it came from. HMMM

 

Pads just don't last that long any more. On my wife's old Accord I used to have to change them every couple of years. She drives a lot and the fronts would wear out almost down to the metal in like 20-25K miles. The older materials (before all this environmental crap) used to last much longer. Keep a close eye on them and save yourself some grief. At least with our rims they are easier to see.

 

brake tq's will wear the back passenger side brakes fast! So its kinda odd that yours wore out so soon without the brake tq's. I replaced my rear brakes at 58k and of course the passengers side was gone but the drivers side looked like they had another 10 left on them. Brakes should last over 30k easy.

 

HM...conflicting reports.

 

thats crazy. do you feel it pull to the right any when accelerating from a stop?

 

Nope.

But, everything is fixed now, so I can't do anything about the lost money. I am just glad to have it done and safe again. I will be using my O/D off button more often to help conserve my pads though.

 

Good point -- riding the brakes down hills (or mountains) will burn up the pads and rotors much quicker. Depends on how much driving you do in the high country (none today, it's blizzarding up there). Always good to use engine braking, but the automatics Ford uses sometimes makes that difficult (can't select 4, 3, etc, just L, H, and OD off).

 

Yes, I agree with others that 40K miles is not bad. The replacement of brakes and rotors are one of those things that really depends on how much and how you drive.

Guys who are hard on their car and/or who brake unnecessarily or do a lot of stop and go driving will wear things out more quickly.

If you are somewhat mechanically inclined, replacing the rotors are really easy on the S197 mustangs and the pads are not too bad. Though it is important to check that everything else (i.e. the hydraulics of the system) is OK too. Also make sure the brake fluid is not dirty and to flush/replace that as necessary. There are a lot of good threads on these mustang forums that give good info on DIY.

What did the $364 cover? Labour and parts? Front and back?

 

its less expensive to replace the brakes than it is to replace the trans. If you drive a lot of hills your pads will wear out faster for sure. I say better to use the brakes than the trans, now in a semi that may be a different story.

 

Glenn, I don't think engine braking wears out an automatic transmission, and definitely does not wear out a manual. Now if he's improperly downshifting in the mountains that's one thing, but using the engine to avoid brake fade is actually very important coming down some of our 6+% mountain passes. You can always tell those in front of you that don't know how to turn off their overdrive, they ride the brake pedal the whole way down.

 

The $364 included: two new rear rotors, flush of the brake fluid, something they said to help resist disintegration of the rotors, and new rear ceramic pads and of course labor.

I will not be improperly shifting, only to aid in the brakes.

I have come to realize, the fact that the rotors needed to be replaced, was because I didn't pay enough attention to the squealing noise initially. I let it go too far. Thank you for everyone's input and help. I feel much better about it.

 

I'll agree with you BUT the more you use it the sooner it will wear out.

 

that was a really good price to have it done i think. theres not much meat on the rotors. they dont recommend turning the rotors anymore, unless there is a warped issue. the rotors should last through 2 sets, maybe 3 at most sets of pads then they need to just be replaced. so if they had been turned once, they wont last long. doing brakes on these cars is cheap and easy doing it yourself. i changed the pads and rotors on my g/f`s 06 between 35-40k( post on it below). i only use ceramic pads, keeps the wheels nicer. also if you have 17" wheels i really recommend getting the upgraded frpp frt brake kit with the larger 12.4" rotors for around 140.00. way better on the V6.