GEN 1 Power Stop Brakes + brake flush

Last weekend I ordered the Power Stop Extreme kit from Amazon to replace my OEM pads/rotors. I have 23k miles on my 2013 SCREW and routinely tow heavy 25' boats. I came back from a trip and thought my pedal felt a bit spongey and decided that instead of inspecting my pads/rotors that I would just replace them.

I ordered the kit from Amazon at a cost of ~$480. I have the HF low profile jack and some stands so I pulled my car onto a level surface and went to work.

PADS & ROTORS
The first snag I ran into was not having a breaker bar. My 1/2" socket did not provide much torque so I spent my day essentially destroying my back with this 8" long lever also known as my socket wrench.

I had no issues with the rotors sticking to the hub given the low mileage even with FL salt exposure and numeroussssssss trips to the boat ramp. A breaker bar would have again been useful in removing the knuckle bolts which hold the caliper mount.

I used a wire coat hanger to hang the caliper from the front shocks/springs. The Power Stop kit came with new rubber boots, pad guides and grease for the fronts. I had no issues with either side and all included hardware was provided.

I moved onto the backs and the process is roughly the same except that I did not need to hang the calipers...simply rested them on the suspension/frame. Again, Power Stop includes anti-squeal, brake clips and rubber boots. No issues with the rears @ 23k.

After I completed the install I left the truck overnight to go party. The next morning I took her out to grab some breakfast and did the bed-in process before hitting the supermarket. I noticed that the brake feel was the same and still felt spongey but the brake action was more than adequate. Being dissatisfied I knew my next endeavor would be a fluid flush.

I went to Advance Auto and bought their vacuum hand pump which is a total *************. In the end, I used a turkey baster to remove the old fluid from the pump and a ghetto rig one-man bleed system for the rest.

FLUSH PROCESS
I purchased 2 liters of Valvoline brake fluid from Advance Auto in addition to the POS vacuum bleeder. After failing to remove less then 4 oz of fluid from the master cylinder the vacuum pump seal failed and the device was useless. I suctioned the remaining amount (as much as I could) from the MC using a turkey baster and put it in a water bottle.

I needed a solution to bleed the brakes by myself so I used this video. I duplicated most efforts but instead used a 32 oz Gatorade bottle because it holds more fluid and has a wider base.

I removed one wheel at a time and worked in the following fashion: pass rear, driver rear, pass front and finally driver front. To flush I filled the Gatorade bottle with clean fluid to cover the tubing by about 1/2". I then topped off the MC and began pumping the pedal as you would in a two-man operation. I wanted to see the fluid going into the bottle to inspect for large bubbles so I used a cut section of 2x2 I had in the garage to lay on the ground while using the wood extension of my arm to pump. Once I saw clean fluid I slowed the pump process and periodically checked the MC for fluid level.

I repeated this process until I got the driver front. At this point I filled slightly about the MAX line on the MC and pumped the pedal as I did the three other times. After I saw clean fluid I pumped a bit more to ensure no air bubbles were present and closed the bleed screw. I re-checked the MC level and added a hair to bring it back into spec.

I drove the car around the block a few times and the pedal feel remained the same. This leads me to conclude that: I have been either driving my wife's car too much and have grown accustomed to her brake pedal feel, I have just forgotten normal F-150 pedal feel or that I still have air in the lines and just didn't get it all.

CLIFF NOTES
-Replaced pads, rotors and fluid @ 23k miles
-Did not have a breaker bar handy and paid for it with muscle movements
-Pedal feel still not where I want it to be after 2 liter fluid flush and brake change
-Truck still stops on a dime with max braking effort
-Power Stop kit comes with literally everything you need

I did this job by myself and did not want to have nasty brake dust/fluid/grease all over my shit so I did not document the process. If you guys have questions or inputs please let me know.

So it's still spongy?
Abs brake bleed through computer at Ford will probably help if there is air in the lines or master cylinder...
Shouldn't cost more than an hour of Ford labor as I had this done on my 03 cobra after a new brake hardware stainless steel line install

I feel that I have too much travel before I start getting any appreciable bite. I may try this again with my wife helping on the pedal before I bring it in for service since it is not a safety issue...just a personal preference for pedal feel.

The last time I brought my vehicle in for tire/wobble related service they elected to drive the truck to a different dealer because the tech was "more familiar with Raptors over there." The second time I brought it back it to them for the same issue they decided to road-test the balance by driving it for an hour into a different city.

Needless to say I don't bring my shit to those guys...zero faith in their ability or integrity.

I didn't use power stop but just recently changed all my rotors and pads then flushed with AMSOIL brake fluid and brakes feels a bit spongy too. Interesting to see what you find out.

Driving to the grocery store tonight I tried to really visualize a word that would accurately capture my pedal feel. I don't know how most people interpret "spongey" so other ways I would describe it are: long travel until initial brake bite (as in lights have illuminated but no stopping action), not sensitive (some cars you drive just tapping the brakes gets you some aggressive stopping) and constant. The pedal holds at the position I want with the same pressure meaning the pedal won't bottom out if I hold steady, constant pressure.

Did you get this after the brake job or was it present before?

You should get stainless steel brake lines and get rid of the rubber flex lines, they are for sale on here, a lot of vendors have them. I put them on mine 5 years ago now, gets rid of the spongy feeling on hard braking.

I don't know if this feedback is going to help or not with your situation. Most high-end aftermarket brake kits are designed to outperform stock brake pads/rotors in the fact that they will remain consistent through rough conditions. This means that if you are off road and really using the brakes (getting them hot) then they will remain effective without fading like the stock brakes would.

Alternatively, they do not perform to their highest level until they are hot. That is why you will see track guys 'heating' up their brakes so that they perform better.

I have the same issue with my setup - new pads, new rotors and SS brake lines. I hadn't had the chance to really appreciate them until Snoball this year. Lots of braking as we did a lot of drifting around corners. They really came to life when they finally got hot enough to start working properly.

Alternatively, last year at the Colorado Raptor Run, we were descending a lot of grades and I was getting constant brake fade with the stock set up. This was at altitude and warm sunny days.

Hope this helps with your decision, and it may take a brake pad swap to find the one that fits what you are looking for. I have just gotten used to the 'spongy' feel and brake sooner to compensate for it. Like you said, if you really have to get on the brakes when some A-hole pulls in front of you, they are still performing good.

Hope this helps, and good luck!!!

I hear you on all of that. What was interesting to me is that the initial pedal travel and bite are similar between the OEM setup and this new, more aggressive combination.

I have only towed the boat locally at relatively low-speed and have not had a chance to test performance to the fullest. Back when I owned my Subaru I did some brake upgrades and noticed that in the winter they took a bit more to warm up before I got any real bite in the first inch of pedal travel but they rarely faded once warm.

I'm going to hold off on the SS lines for now. I drove my wife's BRZ this morning and noticed that her pedal feel was about the same as mine but I was able to get brake action earlier on in the pedal travel. I think the most likely explanation for all of this is that I simply forgot what the truck's pedal feel was and came back to it thinking I needed to flush fluid and replace parts. After the swap and change with all of this new shit it feels the same so it was all probably in my head.

I did have a chance yesterday to get on the brakes aggressively and they do seem to have more authority during a rapid stop.

While I was swapping wheels today I snapped a picture of how the front rotors look mounted. Nothing special, but some people might be looking for sample pictures of slotted/drilled on the Raptor.

I felt like mine were soft after I upgraded lines, rotors and pads. Drove the truck for a few days and they felt normal again. Not sure why they felt spongy but it may have just needed more "bed-in" time or something. I still feel like I have a fair amount of pedal travel but the brakes bite hard and stop fairly quick for a big truck.