Town
Senior Member
The brakes on the 1998 and up Town Cars are much the same and bigger than the earlier models with twin piston front calipers. The 1998 and up need at least 16" wheels to clear the calipers. The 2003 and up use even larger brakes and the rear rotors are vented. They need regular maintenance for the pads to wear evenly since the pads have some slop in the calipers and are prone to wear unevenly over the leading and trailing edges and the inboard compared to the outboard. The pads can be changed from side to side to compensate for the wear. Ford say that pads must be replaced if there is more than 3 mm of wear across the pad in any direction and the pad needs to be replaced when the minimum pad thickness is 3 mm or less. Annual maintenance will extend pad life and improve brake performance significantly.
The brake booster on the 1998 and up is a dual diaphragm design that is often faulted for a soft feel, but still powerful braking. The 2003 and up are faulted even more, but braking performance is very powerful, especially if you are not as strong as perhaps you used to be.
The brake booster on the 1998 and up is a dual diaphragm design that is often faulted for a soft feel, but still powerful braking. The 2003 and up are faulted even more, but braking performance is very powerful, especially if you are not as strong as perhaps you used to be.
