[Bilbo]

Anybody have the size of the hex tool for the brake caliper guide bolts on the 2008 XLS?

Thanks muchly

 

[Bilbo]

Well, armed with only a hint and much uncertainty, I bought a set of Craftsman Metric hexs for $20 and it's size 9mm for the 2008 brakes.
my wiffe's car has ~17,500 and the dealer said that the brake light will come on when it's down 80%.
I replaced them this morning and they weren't down 80%....more like 1/4 th used when compared to what I put on..

 

[jonas1022]

Huh

Are you saying that your brake warning lamp is on?

We have over 20K ( not sure how many, I seldom drive it) on our Tribute and the brakes are at 90% according to the tech that performed the safety check out.

 

[Bilbo]

Huh

Are you saying that your brake warning lamp is on?

Was on. The dealership said that they added fluid when they checked the brakes but that they said that the brake light comes on when the fluid drops which is usually when the break pads have worn down 80%. The thing is that when I checked the brakes a few weeks ago (about two weeks after the service visit) the brakes didn't look like they were down that far. Also, there was some sort of fluid on the brake flex line at the caliper on the Left front. If this was brake fluid, I think that they may have bled the line there because I cleaned this fluid off and it didn't come back in two weeks time. That area is now dry and dusty.

We have over 20K ( not sure how many, I seldom drive it) on our Tribute and the brakes are at 90% according to the tech that performed the safety check out.

I think that on my '03 Escape, I had about 30-35K before new front brakes and I replaced them mostly to get rid of the dust on the wheels. The back shoes were good even at 97K when I sold it. Although it could have used new front rotors.

For my wife's 08, the front pads were only down about 1/2-1/4th from the depth on the new replacements. So, I'm keeping the old pads for later. I only bought the new pads because I was expecting that they were down a bit more and this is based upon the simple fact that she generally don't drive like do. The are very evenly worn so no caliper is hanging. The only other possibility is a brake fluid leak somewhere. I've not smelled brake fluid and I don't see any puddles in the garage but I will keep an eye on the fluid lever from now on. I dunno at this point, maybe the factory fluid level was on the low side to begin with.

 

[jonas1022]

Or the sensor is incorrect. :shrug:

 

[Bilbo]

Or the sensor is incorrect. :shrug:

Yea...I though about that also.