87 F-150 2wd. Brakes

[oldbentneck]

87 F-150 2wd. 5.0L automatic. Right front caliper hangs up. We have replaced everything including, brake fluid, rotors, calipers, all brake lines, master cylinder, rear shoes & drums.
Problem- after a few miles only the right front caliper starts to hang up.( Have replaced both ball joints also & checked alignment) causing a shudder. It gets so hot wheel bearing grease melts into liquid. Ford dealer service gave some advice ( had previously been addressed) but everything mechanical has been replaced.
WTF- how does the RABS effect front brakes & could the module be culprit. Anti lock light is now on and previous owner ( my brother ) says NOT on before brake problems ( master cyl. first part replaced).
If that could be culprit without spending more $$$, how could I check.
We inherited this from him, as a gift to daughter, tired if F-ing with it, just want to fix...

 

[Fellro]

You said brake lines, does that include the hoses? That kind of thing is common from a brake hose failure.

My rabs light is on all the time, and it doesn't affect my fronts or any of them for that matter. The rear antilock brake system does just that, keeps the rear brakes from locking up. On the 92, it actually caused the rear brakes to not work at all....

 

[kiwi f150]

if its not the hose check your caliper pins ..... it sounds like the brake is dragging all the time and as it gets hotter more braking force is applied.
What can happen is when you apply the brakes they go on but if the caliper pins have dirt or have been reassembled with a bend or dent in either of them the return force from the brake caliper is not enough to release the brakes fully - the other thing that it might also be is a sticking brake caliper due to not being reassembled correctly if it was a re-manufactured unit.

The rabs system on the 87 (same model as mine) only works the rear wheels as Roger has said and will have no effect on the front end.

 

[Fellro]

Another common mistake is putting the sliders in the wrong way. They only fit in one orientation, one side of the opening on the rubber is wider than the other.

 

[oldbentneck]

All hoses replaced. All steel lines either replaced or blown clear, fluid drained, replaced. Sat 18 Jan. 2014 bypassed RABS, no fluid drained during job, pushed caliper open ( C-clamp ), pumped brakes after starting and caliper locked back up. No hammer beating and caliper is new/ remand. Since I didn't start project will now disassemble right front caliper and check hardware. One Slider pin has a rubber insert, the other does not, Rubber one seems thicker for a tighter hold, which way should they go, rubber on lower? Haynes don't say. Thanks for info. ( I HATE getting others failures, don't know repair history or how looked BEFORE repair ) BTW it is 1 degree outside but a cozy 33 degrees in shop.

 

[Fellro]

My old man messed up a pair of calipers in the past by beating them in with a hammer... they siezed well. It wiped out the pads and rotor. You can test the caliper by taking it off and push itback with the clamp. Put a board in the caliper, then use a blow nozzle on an air compessor to see if the piston moves. It should move by this method, as that us how you get the piston out to rebuild them. Be aware that the piston will possibly come on out. That us why you put a 2 x4 in the caliper. It is possible that there is rust on the piston on the inside making it bind.

 

[oldbentneck]

No destructive repair. Calipers new. The Slides on caliper are different from each other, one had rubber inside, other does not. Haynes has no mention. Possible rubber insert for bottom/lower?
My experience: Journeyman Millwright- Dept.of Labor certified, former state licensed mechanic-Mich. - 1980s.Now partly disabled ( spine )

 

[oldbentneck]

Correction= ONE SIDE of slider pin has rubber insert, gap in toward center? or ?

 

[Twiceblown351]

Sliders are 2 pieces of steel with a piece of rubber in the middle bonded to the two steel .

Replace them if you don't know how old they are. I replace them and grease at every brake job.I think it less then $10 buck a side.

 

[oldbentneck]

they are new but, does it make difference which way they are re-inserted? Rubber is on one edge, not in middle, it shouldn't matter but, all Parts are NEW.

 

[Twiceblown351]

Rubber On one side?? They should look like this.

 

[Twiceblown351]

I take the Calipers back and get another one. New or reman parts have know to be bad out of the box.

 

[Fellro]

The picture doesn't show it really well, but there is one side that is a bit wider than the other. You can see it when you have the caliper in place, if I recall correctly, the wider side goes toward the spindle side.