Sometimes my Ford likes to remind me why some people like Chevys

"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
07/06/2017 at 21:46 • Filed to: None

Like when the brake calipers literally crumble into pieces...

... right after rebuilding the transmission. Arrrggghh.

DISCUSSION (25)

Captain of the Enterprise > RallyWrench
07/06/2017 at 21:57

My Expedition shot out a spark plug once. That was a genius bit of design there.

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
07/06/2017 at 22:09

Whoa! That’s no bueno!

Both brands have their quirks. I’m not a brand loyal person, but more often than not I’ve put my money where my mouth is on the General. I’m always amused by the hard core brand loyal guys that dog the other brand for their flaws, while making excuses for the crap their favorite brand gets wrong.

For example. A buddy of mine is a hardcore Ford guy (although less so these days it seems). I once pointed out that the reason I didn’t consider a Ford when I bought my new truck in ‘06, was I didn’t like their gas burners at the time. I felt they were over complicated for no good reason. I also said I liked being able to change my spark plugs without pulling my intake manifold. That’s when he launched the excuse machine. “Oh, Ford did that on purpose, because they figured by the time the spark plugs need to be changed, you should really change the intake manifold gasket too.”

I laughed in his face.

These days, when someone asks me what truck they should buy, I tell them buy a Ford or a Chevy, whichever one you like more. Either way, you’re gonna get a good truck. I probably should add Toyota to that list, but I just can’t bring myself to not hate the Tundra, even though objectively I know they’re fine. It’s a visual afront to humanity.

WilliamsSW > shop-teacher
07/06/2017 at 22:33

Amen to that on brand loyalty! About the only reason I can think of to be brand loyal is that each car maker seems to make its own brand of mistakes over and over (and over). So you can at least get used to their type of stupidity.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > shop-teacher
07/06/2017 at 22:47

My preference for Ford is rooted in equal parts aesthetics and the fact that they screw things up in bizarre “I’m drunk” kinds of ways that tend to at least take the edge off the goof with a chuckle. The General just makes me mad when they screw up because of how.

shop-teacher > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/06/2017 at 23:09

Ha! Whatever works for you man!

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Captain of the Enterprise
07/06/2017 at 23:37

I’d prefer if you referred to them as “self removing” spark plugs. It’s a feature. :P

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/07/2017 at 00:14

The thing I love about Ford is that when I’m fixing these truly ridiculous mistakes, I marvel at how well they designed/built literally everything else and that my hands aren’t bleeding because they were kind enough to roll edges in places I’ll stick my hand. This last point has been a hallmark difference between their vehicles since at least the 1960s.

Every GM car I’ve worked on was like digging around in a shook up box of razor blades.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 00:16

I feel like this is due to something outside Ford’s control...

RallyWrench > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
07/07/2017 at 01:04

I feel like Ford could have used something other than plastic for its caliper pistons.

RallyWrench > Captain of the Enterprise
07/07/2017 at 01:07

I’ve repaired those, that job is a total MFer. It’s why I will never own a Triton.

RallyWrench > shop-teacher
07/07/2017 at 01:22

Plastic caliper pistons for the win! Neat idea, but everyone else’s 20 year old caliper still works. Not these! Hey, let’s crumble the piston and jam the brake pad sideways! Neat!

I’m definitely not a brand snob, I actually really like most Chevy trucks, but as I think you and I have discussed before, there have been a lot of Fords in my family, and I love this body style. Also I hate Triton engines and can’t afford a newer truck, so the old 5.0 it is. I’d have problems with a GMT400 or older too, I’m sure. But this damn thing has taken a lot out of me in recent months, it’s a little frustrating.

Worth adding the Tundra to the list, I agree the newer ones look shitty, but they’re a great truck. The original Tundra is really, really solid and doesn’t look stupid. Not quite full size, and the fuel economy sucks (I’ve intentionally pussyfooted my mom’s 2wd ‘03 with a flush camper shell for a week and still only just made 16mpg), but nice nonetheless.

RallyWrench > shop-teacher
07/07/2017 at 01:22

Plastic caliper pistons for the win! Neat idea, but everyone else’s 20 year old caliper still works. Not these! Hey, let’s crumble the piston and jam the brake pad sideways! Neat!

I actually really like most Chevy trucks, but as I think you and I have discussed before, there have been a lot of Fords in my family, and I love this body style. Also I hate Triton engines and can’t afford a newer truck, so the old 5.0 it is. I’d have problems with a GMT400 or older too, I’m sure. But this damn thing has taken a lot out of me in recent months, it’s a little frustrating.

RallyWrench > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
07/07/2017 at 01:27

Oh, you sneaky bastards, the old plastic piston trick, you got me good there... (Sensible chuckle)

Side note: in looking at my front sway bar links tonight, I had the thought that they look an awful lot like your magic ‘62-3 control arm links.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 03:41

looks like every brands brake calipers after 10 years of MI winters here

Jobjoris > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 04:18

Damned. How many miles since that rebuild?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 04:52

Well then, that’s awful, but also a bit amazing. What car is this?

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 07:18

Plastic caliper pistons!?!? I had no idea such a thing existed.

Yeah, we have talked about different trucks before. I wasn’t lumping you into the blindly brand-loyal camp, but I guess I didn’t make that clear in my comment. I like the body style of your truck too, and you’re right a GMT-400 would also have its own issues. Such is life when you’re DDing a 20+ year old anything.

I was lucky that I was able to buy my truck before truck prices went bonkers. Fortunately I was smart enough to keep it. Like all car guys, I’ve been thinking about what else I could get to replace it, almost as long as I’ve had it. It’s been so good to me though, that nothing else has ever seemed worth the money. Now I can’t afford to replace it, so better still that I can happily keep it.

RallyWrench > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
07/07/2017 at 09:54

My ‘95 F150. Ford used calipers like this for awhile, the next gen trucks have them too.

RallyWrench > Jobjoris
07/07/2017 at 10:00

Only a few hundred miles!

Pickup_man > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 10:24

The 2 valve is definitely better than the 3 valve when it comes to blowing plugs, but the blowouts are usually caused by improper torque when installing new plugs*. I went 185,000 miles before I blew my first plug, and it happened within a few thousand miles of having the plugs changed. 196k now and no other problems. The 2v Tritons are pretty stout motors, I’ve been happy with mine (except for those damn exhaust manifolds) the 3 valves can be a bit more troublesome, but are great once everything is sorted.

*Not overly trying to defend Ford here, they could have and should have put more threads in the heads, but they’re not solely to blame either.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 12:38

That’s even more shocking to see on a truck.

RallyWrench > Pickup_man
07/07/2017 at 12:49

I’ve heard it’s an overtorque issue, but it’s also a poor design, the way the plugs accumulate carbon deposits in the combustion chamber around the threads can damage them on the way out. I’ve seen Tritons do big miles without too many problems though, they could be worse, but to me they’re a pain in the ass to work on as compared to the old small block. The manifolds on that are a pain in the ass too though, I just had to do my right one. Good old crappy Ford studs.

RallyWrench > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
07/07/2017 at 13:03

Yeah. Theoretically, these phenolic pistons transfer less heat to the caliper and fluid, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a set crumble. The pads were ok, about 40% remaining when I checked them at last service, then it jammed the piston and wore the inboard pad down to metal on one end. No warning until it started grinding on the way into work the other day.

Jobjoris > RallyWrench
07/07/2017 at 13:49

The quirks of driving a classic ;-)

RallyWrench > Jobjoris
07/07/2017 at 13:57

“Classic”, yeah... Not what I had in mind!