2013-2022 Ford F-350 Front vs Rear Brakes: What Wears First and What to Replace

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

On a 2013-2022 Ford F-350 Super Duty the front brakes almost always wear out first. Brake systems are designed so the front axle does roughly 70% of the stopping, and on a diesel Super Duty with a heavy engine over the front wheels that bias is hard to escape. The rear brakes last longer on an empty truck, but towing and hauling close that gap fast, so the right answer is to measure both axles every time a wheel comes off.

How the F-350 Splits Braking Between Front and Rear

Every 2013-2022 F-350 uses four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. When you brake, weight shifts forward onto the front tires, which gives them more grip and lets them do more of the work. Goodyear Brakes puts the typical design split at about 70% front and 30% rear. The Super Duty also uses electronic brake force distribution, which lets the ABS system trim rear brake pressure based on load, so a bed full of gravel or a hitched trailer pushes more of the job onto the rear axle than an empty truck ever will.

Rotor size depends on the configuration. On 4WD F-350s the front rotor is a large vented rotor about 14.3 inches across. Rear rotors on the 2017 model year are listed at 14.3 inches or 15.4 inches depending on the build, with single rear wheel (SRW) and dual rear wheel (DRW) trucks taking different parts. That is why front and rear parts are not interchangeable, and why 2WD, 4WD, SRW and DRW trucks can each take different part numbers.

What Wears First, and When the Rears Catch Up

On a daily-driven F-350 that spends most of its time empty, expect to replace front pads and rotors before the rears. The fronts carry more load and shed more heat, so pads thin out faster and rotors are more likely to develop thickness variation that you feel as a pulsing pedal or a shaking steering wheel.

A work truck is different. When the bed is loaded or a fifth-wheel or gooseneck pin sits over the rear axle, the load shifts rearward and the rear brakes do a bigger share of each stop. Plenty of Super Duty owners who tow for a living find the rear pads wearing nearly as fast as the fronts. Rear pads are also smaller, so they have less material to lose. The practical rule: never assume the rears are fine because the fronts were the ones squealing.

• Mostly empty, highway miles: fronts first, and the rears often outlast a front pad job.
• Frequent towing or heavy payload: fronts and rears can wear at close to the same pace.
• Trailer without working trailer brakes: the truck ends up stopping the trailer too, and both axles take extra heat and wear much faster.

Symptoms That Tell You Which Axle Needs Work

A few simple checks narrow it down before you buy anything:

• Vibration in the steering wheel under braking points to the front rotors, because the steering is connected to the front hubs.
• Pulsing felt in the seat or the pedal, not the wheel, often comes from the rear rotors.
• Squeal from a wear indicator tells you that pad is near the end. Note which corner it comes from.
• A pull to one side usually means a front caliper that is sticking or a front hose that is restricting release.
• A parking brake that will not hold is a rear axle problem, since the parking brake works at the rear wheels.

The best diagnosis is a look. Pull a wheel at each end, measure pad material, and compare rotor thickness against the minimum thickness marked on the rotor. Goodyear Brakes uses an 80% worn rule: replace a pad once its friction material is 20% or less of the new thickness.

What to Replace, and What to Replace With It

Always replace pads and rotors in axle pairs, both sides at once, so the truck stops straight. If the fronts are worn and the rears are close, doing all four corners at once saves a second teardown and keeps the front-to-rear balance the way Ford engineered it. A matched front and rear rotor and ceramic pad kit for the 2013-2022 F-350 Super Duty covers both axles in one order. If only one axle needs work, shop brake rotors and ceramic brake pads separately and confirm your SRW or DRW and 2WD or 4WD configuration first.

While the wheels are off, check these at the same time:

• Caliper slides and hardware. Seized slide pins cause uneven pad wear. Fresh clips from our brake hardware kits are cheap insurance.
• Calipers. A torn boot, a leaking piston or a pad worn much thinner than its partner means the caliper should be replaced. See brake calipers.
• Flexible hoses. A hose that has collapsed inside can hold pressure on one caliper. Replace cracked or swollen brake hoses.
• Brake fluid. Ford's Super Duty owner information lists Motorcraft High Performance DOT 3 LV (WSS-M6C65-A1) or DOT 4 LV (WSS-M6C65-A2) brake fluid, or an equivalent meeting those specs. Check the reservoir cap and your owner's manual for your exact year.
• Parking brake components and adjustment any time the rear rotors come off.

How Hard Is the Job?

Front pads and rotors on a 4WD F-350 are a manageable driveway job for someone with a floor jack and stands rated for the truck and a torque wrench. One published estimate for a front rotor and pad kit on this truck is about two hours. The rotors are big and heavy, so lift them carefully. Rear brakes take more time because of the parking brake components, and DRW trucks add the work of removing dual wheels. Torque the caliper bracket bolts and lug nuts to the values in the factory service manual, bed in the new pads with a series of moderate stops, and check the lug nuts again after the first drive.

If you tow with the truck's integrated trailer brake controller, note that 2022 Super Duty trucks were included in NHTSA recall 22V193, a software error that could leave a trailer with electric or electric-over-hydraulic brakes without braking, along with the related campaigns 25V132 and 26V104. Trailer brakes that do not work load the truck's own brakes much harder, so check open recalls by VIN before blaming the pads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the front brakes on an F-350 really wear faster than the rear?

Yes, on most trucks. The front axle does about 70% of the braking in a typical design, and the engine adds weight over the front wheels. Heavy towing or payload can bring rear wear close to front wear.

Should I replace all four corners at once on my Super Duty?

If the rear pads are at or near 20% of their original thickness when you do the fronts, yes. It saves labor and keeps braking balanced. If the rears have plenty of material left, replacing only the front axle is fine.

Are F-350 front and rear rotors the same part?

No. Front and rear rotors are different parts, and rear rotor size changes with the truck's configuration, including single rear wheel versus dual rear wheel. Always match the part to your drivetrain and rear wheel setup.

Why do my rear pads wear so fast when I tow?

Tongue weight and payload move load onto the rear axle, and the brake system sends more pressure rearward to use that extra grip. A trailer with weak or non-working brakes makes it worse, because the truck ends up stopping the trailer too.

What brake fluid does a 2013-2022 F-350 use?

Ford lists Motorcraft DOT 3 LV or DOT 4 LV High Performance brake fluid, or an equivalent meeting WSS-M6C65-A1 or WSS-M6C65-A2, in its Super Duty owner information. Confirm your model year's requirement on the reservoir cap or in your manual.

Sources

1. Goodyear Brakes - Should You Replace All Vehicle Brake Pads at Once - front brakes do about 70% of braking; 80% worn replacement rule
2. AmericanTrucks - PowerStop KOE6403 front kit, 2013-2022 4WD F-350 - 14.30 in front rotor on 4WD trucks; about 2 hour install estimate
3. AllRotors - 2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty rotor specifications - 14.3 in front, 14.3 or 15.4 in rear by configuration; electronic brake force distribution
4. Ford Owner Information - Super Duty capacities and specifications - Motorcraft DOT 3 LV and DOT 4 LV brake fluid, WSS-M6C65-A1 and A2
5. NHTSA recalls data - 2022 Ford F-350 SD - recalls 22V193, 25V132 and 26V104 on the integrated trailer brake control