2001 Cobra rotor and front pads ?'s

[DamageInc]

My car has 11,000 miles on it and had the front pads and rotors replaced due to excessive shaking through the steering wheel. Now after I wash the car I have excessive brake dust after a day or two on the wheels. Before the dust was minimal after a week or so. My service manager says the pads are standard Cobra pads and factory rotors, plus my pads squeal a lot now too, any idea on why or what kind of pads should be on there?

 

[Cobra'03]

Assuming you bought the car new and it had on the proper stock pads, this smells of a bad brake job with non-Ford parts.

1) In my many years of wrenching, I can associate most brake hassles with aftermarket parts - excessive noise and dust for example. The stock brake parts are designed as systems, not amalgams of this and that.

2) Did the dealer either use the proper backing shims or damping material (it varies from make to make)? Squeal is almost always caused by the pad moving against the plate, which is why there are the shims and "glops" to take care of the movement and the noise.

3) The new pads are softer based on your anecdotal comments - hence the faster buildup of dust - this suggests either Ford changed the compiund dramatically (unlikely) or the dealer said they used factory parts, but did not

4) Or, the rotors were not factory

5) Or, the rotor surface was not prepped properly - there is a technique to ensure the rotor surface is abraded the right way - I use a honing tool that creates the right pattern.