1997 Ford F-150 Power Booster?

DANG

MEMBER
1997 FORD F-150
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
214,000 MILES

My front brakes want to stay "engaged" as if I were lightly holding the brake pedal when I am not touching a thing. If the power booster is bad, how can I test it? I tried to depress the calipers with a large C clamp and could barely get them to move. It is unlikely that both calipers went bad at the same time. The pads are slightly more than half worn. Rotors are in descent shape. What do think my problem could be?

1 Reply

MIKE H R

MECHANIC
3,094 POSTS

I don't think it is the power booster but could be the abs sytem or the master cylinder. I worked on a gmc that did the same thing and found that a valve in the abs system was not letting it bleed back and was keeping some pressure on the brakes. I would have it checked out. If you have to drive any distance they could get too hot and warp the rotors or burn out the brakes. You can try bleeding the brakes really good, maybe if something is hanging them up it might clear itself out when you bleed them. Just for infomation I had tried that and it worked for a little while then it would do it again. So keep careful eye on them.