Front brakes

I have a 2004 Sport Trac XLT 2WD with the 4.0 V6. I see a lot of brake dust on the front wheel rims but very little on the rear rims. I'm concerned that the front brakes are doing most, if not all the work. Is it normal to see a lot of brake dust on the front rims and little on the rear or do I have a problem?

When you're moving forward and you hit the brakes, the center of gravity of the vehicle effectively shifts forward, putting more weight and more momentum on the front tires. The front tires therefore gain more traction, and they can take more braking force to stop the car. Because the front brakes generate up to 75 percent of the vehicle's stopping force, they generate much more heat, over 500 degrees Fahrenheit in heavy braking.

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Many articles regarding disc brake pad material and dust. Ceramic pads are popular due to lighter dust color, but are not for everyone. Do some research.

Lee, if you do a front brake job. Here is the info for bearing tightening if you pull the rotors.

Flush the brake fluid, But that's normal.



Todd Z

Who did the brakes last? You may have ceramics (low dust) in the rear and metallics (high dust) in the front.

I would rather have performance friction or semi-mettalic. I will put up with the dust. Ceramics chew up your rotors. sometimes you get one service from the rotor.

I dont replace rotors, unless they are warped, cracked or worn too far down.I use this to clean them.

I agree with Eddie, I prefer superior stopping power and not worry about brake dust on the wheels....just wash the truck and wheels more often.



Most or your braking is done by the front brakes and why you see many vehicles with front-disc and rear-drum brakes....so it is very common for front brakes to throw off more dust.



I also agree with Todd Z that it would not hurt to flush your old brake fluid.....something you should do with every brake job, or every 2-3 years. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air and will eventually settle in the lowest part of the braking system...the calipers and/or brake cylinders, where it starts corroding and pitting the piston bores. It also turns from water to steam under hard braking and can lead to uneven braking an overall poor brake performance.



....Rich

Thanks everyone. I don't know when the last brake job was done, I bought the Trac in December and don't have records on it. The pads are still good and don't need replacing, I just don't recall ever seeing dust like this on other cars I've owned and just wondered if it were normal. Sounds like it is.

Thanks.

Lee