Fusion/Milan rear brake modification

[Green96]

Sorry in advance for the long thread..

I have been having rear brake issues with my wife's 06 Mercury Milan. They started pulsing lightly be 25K miles, and I finally replaced them at 35K. They started again by 40K so I re-cleaned the hubs, had the rotors turned (they were expensive slotted rotors so I wanted to save them), and put everything back together. We now have 45K on the car and they are starting to pulse again. I have researched this on some fusion forums, but they are mostly interested in bolting on plastic ricer looking stuff.

It has 4 wheel disc braked (front vented, rear solid). I have never had a problem that has vented rotors on both the front and the rear, but I always have trouble with cars with rear drums or solid rear discs. My thought was...the Taurus/500 is a similar platform, has the same lug pattern, and has vented rear rotors. Does anyone have details on the dimensions of the Taurus/500 rear rotors compared to the Fusion/Milan rear rotors?

If they are similar, I am considering changing out the rotors and calipers to Taurus/500 parts. Anyone have any thoughts?

I realize that the bulk of the braking is done by the front, but solid rear rotors look like a glorified dinner plate. I believe that they do not have to get very hot before they have issues.

I know that in the future 4 wheel VENTED discs will be a criteria for any car purchases.

Thanks

[SpartaPerformance]

I'm 99.9% sure they will not work. I think the problem may be the driving of the car or the car itself. being you have had this similar problem with other vehicle perhaps its your wife's driving. Does your wife carry anything heavy in the trunk for work? For example if she's a real estate agent if she loads up the trunk with paperwork or those signs you see posted in front of houses something liek that can cause your problem.

[hot-rauder]

I have no problems with my back brakes on my Fusion.... I have marauder rims on it, that are heavier and wider than stock and still no problem. just rolled 56k on it.

Fusion forums are useless.... I tried them too. I would not change to 500 parts. call your local salvage yard or a Greenleaf location and ask if they are a DIRECT INTERCHANGE... Their computers are setup to tell you this. I used to work at one.

[Green96]

I'm 99.9% sure they will not work. I think the problem may be the driving of the car or the car itself. being you have had this similar problem with other vehicle perhaps its your wife's driving. Does your wife carry anything heavy in the trunk for work? For example if she's a real estate agent if she loads up the trunk with paperwork or those signs you see posted in front of houses something liek that can cause your problem.

No, I don't think it is her driving. I was basing the observation about the inferiority of solid rear discs on cars that she has drive, I have driven, and my dad has driven. All three of us have had problems with the rear brakes on cars with solid rear rotors, and none of us has had a problem with anything that has vented rear rotors.

It was a long shot, I am not surprised that they will not work. Thanks.

[ntd]

most of the Milan's we get with brake vibes are from the front rotors not the rears if you are warping the rears you either have a bad driving style, driving with the parking brake on slightly, or you have a very uncommon problem. Also I see you are using vented rotors kind of overkill on a Milan but still are they from a good company or an E-bay company. seems like you got 25k out of the OEM's but only 5k out of the vented I would go back to OEM.

1) does the vehicle sit for long times allowing the pads to cause a rust spot on the rotors if so you should be able to drive the vehicle and lightly apply the parking brake(in short application being careful not to overheat the pads or rotors) in essence your using the pads to clean the rotors.

2) do you have a problem with accelerated pad were first check that the pads are not frozen in the slides. second we did have a problem with over adjusted parking brake cables causing the pads to apply pressure all the time. usually this would cause the pads to wear out but could overheat the rear rotors. if so let me know and I'll tell you how to adjust the parking brake

[Green96]

most of the Milan's we get with brake vibes are from the front rotors not the rears if you are warping the rears you either have a bad driving style, driving with the parking brake on slightly, or you have a very uncommon problem. Also I see you are using vented rotors kind of overkill on a Milan but still are they from a good company or an E-bay company. seems like you got 25k out of the OEM's but only 5k out of the vented I would go back to OEM.

I a using EBC rotors. They state a higher grade iron than most aftermarket rotors, but I cannot remember the grade. I can say that the rotors were heavier than the OEMs. The 5K out pf the aftermarket was a little unfair, I ran a long time on the OEMs with a noticeable vibration but didn't do anything about it until my wife complained. The second the EBCs started to pulse I had them turned. The OEMs first started pulsing sometime just after the 12K B to B warranty. I figured Ford wasn't going to fix it for free, so I lived with it for a while.


1) does the vehicle sit for long times allowing the pads to cause a rust spot on the rotors if so you should be able to drive the vehicle and lightly apply the parking brake(in short application being careful not to overheat the pads or rotors) in essence your using the pads to clean the rotors.

No, it is driven almost every day.


2) do you have a problem with accelerated pad were first check that the pads are not frozen in the slides. second we did have a problem with over adjusted parking brake cables causing the pads to apply pressure all the time. usually this would cause the pads to wear out but could overheat the rear rotors. if so let me know and I'll tell you how to adjust the parking brake

I have not noticed any accelerated wear, but the pads always drag a little when I spin the rear tires by hand while the car is on jack stands. The drag is not even throughout one entire revolution - I think that is what is generating the pulsation felt during normal driving. Is that a symptom of over adjusted e-brake, or is it normal?

Thanks for the info.

[ntd]

Some drag is normal there is a check valve in the master cylinder that keeps the space between the pads and rotors close so that when you hit the brakes they will grab right away. I would check the parking brake cable it easy on the back of the center console there is panel on the bottom that can be removed. Once off you will see square piece of metal with three cables on it. Between the two cables on the back there is a adjusting nut. There should be 15mm of threads showing measure from the end of the cable to the top of the nut if out of spec readjust until in spec. I would replaced the rotors with Murry's,Napa,Autozone premium rotors don't use the cheap one you could buy ford oem's but that will be some $$. If the parking brake is ok I would coach you wife on how to properly use the brakes cheak this out http://reviews.ebay.com/What-causes-rotor-warping_W0QQugidZ1000000000524 2298