The ABS light came on about 6 weeks back. I thought it was the usual rear ABS sensor in the dif that needed replacement (again). These sensors seem to go bad about every 2-3 years but they are cheep (less than $20) and very easy to replace. Then about 3-4 weeks ago my front brakes started to emit that scraping sound indicating that the pads needed replacement. I knew this was coming as I put new tires on it last summer and the pads were about 3/4 gone. Since it only gets locally driven by my wire 99% of the time I was not worried about it thinking I would add it to the spring car maintenance list. However the scarping / squeaking sound had become an annoyance in the last couple weeks so it was time.
I could not get the OE heavy duty pads from the local ford dealer as they were out of stock. I have had decent luck with these pads. The initial bite is not that great but as they gain heat they really come in. So I went to the local AutoZone and they had sever duty pads in stock for the same price as the standard heavy duty. And they were $20 less than the OE ones from ford. With a lifetime warranty I figured why not.
I put them in yesterday and took the truck out to bed them in. I was pleasantly surprised with the result. Great initial bite and they seem to hold it no matter how hard you push them or how hot they get. (yes I got them hot as part of the bedding in process). I am hoping that these will be cleaner than the OE pads as they would leave allot of dust on the rims needing cleaning every 3-4 weeks.
The only complaint was that I had to trim the slot in the pad that slides over the anti rattle clips. The pad was about an 1/8" to large. I took a 1/16 off both ends and problem solved.
Now back to the ABS light. It is now off and has staid off. I can only assume that there is something in the abs system that senses when the pads are warn and it was really elling me to change the pads. Or while installing the new pads I cleaned off something that may have been interfering with the sensor. I took the truck out this AM in the snow and tested the abs and all is working properly so it is not a case of the light just going off.
Can anyone shed any light on the ABS light in these trucks? Does it also sense when the pads are warn? I hope this is the case as I purchased another sensor but not having to replace it would obviously be a plus.
