I’ve owned my mark going on 3 years now, and I was never aware that the brakes, when applied could actually be smooth as silk. Ever since I’ve had the car there has been some wheel wobble which I thought was normal. Nothing major just a minor annoyance. Everything else was great about the car so I just learned to live with it. Well about two weeks ago the wobble turned into an Olympic event under normal breaking. It was unreal the way the steering wheel thrashed back and fourth. So after some extensive reading on the board, I came to my decision. After all the talk about crossdrilled and bigger brakes and multiple pistons, I decided to remain stock but upgrade to the 96-98 rotor. I went to NAPA and the elderly gentleman behind the counter took me in back and we compared parts for about an hour, despite a store full of customers that arrived about 30 minutes later. He was very helpful and made my decision that much easier. I went with the true stop rotors for the 96-98 @ $54.00 each. The ceramix front disk pads $74.00 and the normal Semi-metallic pads for the rear $52.00. I spent a little over $200.00 and so far could not be happier with the results.
The bolts that hold the caliper in place over the rotor were my biggest problem for this install. Took me an hour and half to remove them from the passenger side, after a trip to Sears to get more tools. I’d have never thought I’d need a ½ in driver in a 15mm socket to drive that size bolt. I am going to put in new bolts, but Ford was closed by the time I finished screwing around with it. It was a pretty straight forward installation after that. The beefier rotors do not cause any kind of problems at all, direct bolt on, with brand new pads.
Now when I depress the pedal, it’s like it’s an entirely different car, wheel remains absolutely still and straight. Not the slightest hint of wobble. The big question is will it last? I’m hoping that the beefier rotors will play a big role in that, as I have not read many 2nd gen owners complain about brakes. Sorry for the novel, just wanted to share my experience. I will be working on the rears today, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get to the bottom caliper bolts? My e-brake cable seems to be in the way.
The bolts that hold the caliper in place over the rotor were my biggest problem for this install. Took me an hour and half to remove them from the passenger side, after a trip to Sears to get more tools. I’d have never thought I’d need a ½ in driver in a 15mm socket to drive that size bolt. I am going to put in new bolts, but Ford was closed by the time I finished screwing around with it. It was a pretty straight forward installation after that. The beefier rotors do not cause any kind of problems at all, direct bolt on, with brand new pads.
Now when I depress the pedal, it’s like it’s an entirely different car, wheel remains absolutely still and straight. Not the slightest hint of wobble. The big question is will it last? I’m hoping that the beefier rotors will play a big role in that, as I have not read many 2nd gen owners complain about brakes. Sorry for the novel, just wanted to share my experience. I will be working on the rears today, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get to the bottom caliper bolts? My e-brake cable seems to be in the way.
