Questions and Answers

Ford Windstar Brakes Overheat Q. Dear Vincent, saw your nice auto site, and I am hoping you can help me. I live in Panama, in Central America. We have one Ford dealer, and it is going out of business. I am a marine engineer, and can do a lot myself, but this problem has me stumped. And I have no Ford dealer to take my car to.

The front brakes on my Ford Windstar are overheating. When I hosed the car, steam came out of them, they were so hot. The rim itself gets very hot as the discs are so hot. I changed the brake pads and rebuilt the calipers. It did not help. The master cylinder looks fine. The ABS light has been coming on, but does not since I changed the pads. Hoping you have an idea.

• 2000 Ford Windstar
• 3.8 liter V-6
• Automatic transmission
• 40,000 kilometers

Thanks,
Dane

A. I wouldn't normally recommend this but since you are not within range of a dealership, I recommend that you deactivate your ABS system on your vehicle and see if that solves your problem. You can do this by unplugging the control module..

Test drive the vehicle, and please be mindful of the fact that you will no longer have ABS and will have to adjust your braking style accordingly, especially for panic stops