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Seasoned...
Joined: Sat Oct 21st, 2017
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I'm redoing the entire rear brakes on my 98 Ranger. It has 9" drums. I'm choosing all Motorcraft this time to see if they work out better than just the cheapest stuff I've been using. On Rockauto they show 2 different 9" Motorcraft brake drums. One is the BRD5 High Level Service design and they are about half the price of the standard 9" Motorcraft drums. I can't find anything about them online or even see one on ebay. So I was wondering if anyone knows what the high level service means? I've already got the brake hose, hardware kit, and brake shoes. Even the Motorcraft brake shoes are made in China. I blow through drums like every year or two no matter what. I've tried 3 or 4 different brands and always have to warranty them at least once. The longest lasting ones in recent years are the ones on there now which are Bendix but they are bouncing now. I did the brake job last time but most of the time everyone I've had touch them always over tightens them and they quickly warp.
After some web browsing, I think what the "High Level Service" is in references to and why the price is cheaper is and of significant note is that this reference isn't used by ford websites but is referenced in a roundabout way in a few trades articles discussing the “NEW†Motorcraft company direction.
As near as I can tell, ford is trying to recoup some of the sales lost to other aftermarket companies because in most cases, their parts are much higher priced (albeit better quality) than the competitors. Their approach is some vehicles with high mileage don't really need the full quality of Ford's OEM spec parts. E.g. part will last 200k miles but car will never make it that far as it already has 300k on it.
If I got it right, Ford's going to build a part that DOESN'T meet OEM specs and sell it for less using this “misleading†high level service tag to differentiate it from it's normal OEM quality parts while charging slightly less than the 'normal' part.
What's kinda disturbing is that this isn't clearly communicated which will lead folks to unsuspectingly buy a Motorcraft part that is inferior to OEM. What a way to risk their reputation for a few bucks. Label it 'economy', 'near OEM', or something clearer and be explicit that it isn't built to OEM specs....
So to me that makes me think those are just as junky as the all high volume Chinese crap.. Personally, I think they should stick to Crab Ragoons and General Tso's chicken.
My fist concern is more of WHY it is you go through rear brakes when they only provide 27% of the braking power on our Rangers?? I do rear brakes like once every 6 years and my trucks and cars arent driveway/garage Queens.. The cheaper the parts, the less material there or used which def deters durability and longevity issues. And are you referencing to over-tightening of the shoes against the drums? They should have very low drag on the drum so they don't lock up when asking them to perform, not free spin at all.
Usually the largest culprit of say front brake rotors is cheaper less material rotors, automatic cars, hard or aggressive driving then sitting at a light with a HOT PAD heat soaking the rotor on both sides causing warping issues. So I question the quality of parts or possibly the procedure being used; leaning more towards parts. Drums aren't hard to do.
Last edited on Fri Aug 31st, 2018 09:12 pm by Undrstm8ed
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