On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:26:48 -0500, "Ernest Scribbler"
wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote
The brakes failed - as in F A I L E D - causing me to avoid a massive
collision by jumping a curb and heading into the pucker brush.

Then, to add insult to injury, when I restarted the engine after it
stalled out, a horrendous noise and oil smoke started to pour out from
under the hood.

Some sort of fault in the vacuum operated brake-booster?

You mean there actually is a vacuum brake booster?

What the hell kind of nonsense is that?

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote
You mean there actually is a vacuum brake booster?
What the hell kind of nonsense is that?

Big round thing between the master cylinder and the firewall. Almost all
cars have them. They rarely fail.

http://www.google.com/search?q=brake%20vacuum%20assist

"Ernest Scribbler" wrote
They rarely fail.

.... but what you described sounds like what happens when they do. Did the
brakes totally go away, or did you lose the power-assist? (The latter could
easily feel like a total loss if it happened unexpectedly.)

"Ernest Scribbler" wrote in message
...
"Ernest Scribbler" wrote
They rarely fail.

... but what you described sounds like what happens when they do. Did the
brakes totally go away, or did you lose the power-assist? (The latter
could easily feel like a total loss if it happened unexpectedly.)



That's exactly what it feels like. In my son's car, it was like pressing
against a thick stack of cardboard, until he REALLY leaned on the pedal.
(This was part of an exercise in a large empty parking lot). It can feel
like there's no more you can push to get results, but there IS more.

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:38:52 -0500, "Ernest Scribbler"
wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote
You mean there actually is a vacuum brake booster?
What the hell kind of nonsense is that?

Big round thing between the master cylinder and the firewall. Almost all
cars have them. They rarely fail.

http://www.google.com/search?q=brake%20vacuum%20assist


I had one fail in a Volvo, but in the opposite manner. It would activate
when the brake pedal was pressed, but would then keep applying the brakes
until they locked up.

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
had my brand new F-150 Lariat Special Edition towed back from
Greenville RI to the dealer in Webster, MA because...

The brakes failed - as in F A I L E D - causing me to avoid a massive
collision by jumping a curb and heading into the pucker brush.

Then, to add insult to injury, when I restarted the engine after it
stalled out, a horrendous noise and oil smoke started to pour out from
under the hood. Brand new engine to boot.

In a nut shell, this truck is a piece of s##t. This is the sixth
major failure in 20 thousand miles.

No, I'm not buying a Toyota so don't even suggest it.

I am looking at GMC though.

I just got finished taking the 2001 F-150 SuperCrew 5.4L V8 on a 1200
mile round trip to Louisville, KY. Up the mountains, down the mountains,
in the vallies and on the plains. Not a grunt, groan or screech from the
trusty old engine or the rest of the vehicle.

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
had my brand new F-150 Lariat Special Edition towed back from
Greenville RI to the dealer in Webster, MA because...

The brakes failed - as in F A I L E D - causing me to avoid a massive
collision by jumping a curb and heading into the pucker brush.

Then, to add insult to injury, when I restarted the engine after it
stalled out, a horrendous noise and oil smoke started to pour out from
under the hood. Brand new engine to boot.

In a nut shell, this truck is a piece of s##t. This is the sixth
major failure in 20 thousand miles.

No, I'm not buying a Toyota so don't even suggest it.


Right. Why be happy? What would be the point? Sure, Toyotas need service
like any other vehicle, but they tend not to have STUPID problems like
Fords.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
had my brand new F-150 Lariat Special Edition towed back from
Greenville RI to the dealer in Webster, MA because...

The brakes failed - as in F A I L E D - causing me to avoid a massive
collision by jumping a curb and heading into the pucker brush.

Then, to add insult to injury, when I restarted the engine after it
stalled out, a horrendous noise and oil smoke started to pour out from
under the hood. Brand new engine to boot.

In a nut shell, this truck is a piece of s##t. This is the sixth
major failure in 20 thousand miles.

No, I'm not buying a Toyota so don't even suggest it.


Right. Why be happy? What would be the point? Sure, Toyotas need service
like any other vehicle, but they tend not to have STUPID problems like
Fords.



I have four F150's - 2004 to 2006. What sort of problems have you seen?
Other than routine maintenance, they have been fine.

Dan

"Dan" wrote in message
...
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
had my brand new F-150 Lariat Special Edition towed back from
Greenville RI to the dealer in Webster, MA because...

The brakes failed - as in F A I L E D - causing me to avoid a massive
collision by jumping a curb and heading into the pucker brush.

Then, to add insult to injury, when I restarted the engine after it
stalled out, a horrendous noise and oil smoke started to pour out from
under the hood. Brand new engine to boot.

In a nut shell, this truck is a piece of s##t. This is the sixth
major failure in 20 thousand miles.

No, I'm not buying a Toyota so don't even suggest it.


Right. Why be happy? What would be the point? Sure, Toyotas need service
like any other vehicle, but they tend not to have STUPID problems like
Fords.

I have four F150's - 2004 to 2006. What sort of problems have you seen?
Other than routine maintenance, they have been fine.

Dan


Search this thread for the words "fusible link", and you'll find something I
posted yesterday about a drug or booze-related engineering disaster in a
Ford.

On Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:06:52 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

In a nut shell, this truck is a piece of s##t. This is the sixth
major failure in 20 thousand miles.

No, I'm not buying a Toyota so don't even suggest it.

Who me?

Frankly I think you'd like it after you got one. Just my 2 cents
worth.