I just purchased a 2002 Mustang with only 19,000 miles. It was well taken care of and runs great. However, after driving it even for short distances, I seem to be getting quite a bit of brake dust on just the driver side front tire. It is also very hot if you try to wash the car right after getting home and steam comes from that tire when the water hits it. Any ideas?
Rick

Like a lot of vehicles on the road, yes the Escape puts out a little brake dust. Sure isn't as bad as some and not nearly as bad as the Kia Sportage. It is a pain though, I agree. <br><br>Sometimes I have to move the steering wheels a little to get out of Park. But I've seen that on a lot of other vehicles. <br><br>Dennis

On the original Ford Escape Club see posts:<br>7700, 7704, 7724, 7730, 7735, 7740, 7759.<br><br>They talk about cleaners, brake shields and better brake pads.<br><br>From p_anreau:<br> have an F-150 pickup that had a terrible brake dust problem with the front wheels. I had to replace the pads last year, and I used<br> NAPA's "top of the line" heavy duty pads. Since the replacement, I have almost no break dust collecting on the wheels. The moral<br> of the story is that all brake pads are not equal, and that spending a few more $$ on higher quality pads can reduce the dusting<br> problem. Hope this helps. <br><br>'ve been using brake dust shields on my Durango for about 2 years. Before I installed the shields, the front wheels were very<br> noticably redish-brown within a week after cleaning. After installing the shields, there was virtually no brake dust on the front wheels.<br><br> From turpindm:<br> The dust shields that I have are from Kleen Wheels &lt;<a href=http://www.kleenwheels.com&gt;. target=new>http://www.kleenwheels.com&gt;.</a> There's a FAQ on their web site if you want to<br> know more. Unfortunately, Kleen Wheels doesn't yet make dust shields for the Escape :-( <br><br>From nortsr70:<br>Most of the major Auto Supply stores sell brake dust shields. They work fine. <br><br>From North_Alberta_guy:<br>There really is no solution other than cleaning. Changing pads is usually expensive, plus aftermarket pads seem to wear out waaay<br> faster than oem. My secret is to put on a few coats of Mothers al rim treatment and then use a pitch dispersant from work. Sounds<br> weird,but just spray it on and hose off. Lasts for a few weeks since the wax coating lets the rain flush away any build-up. Only<br> problem is you have to have a friend who works in a pulp/paper mill....just don't get it on your paint!!!!! (Long story there).<br><br>From coalsdigs:<br>Seems to be a problem in keeping the rims nice and clean... I usually wipe them from once or twice a week to keep them nice and<br> sparkling. : )<br><br> Someone suggested brake covers you can buy at an auto store but can increase the heat retention of the brakes themselves... I just<br> may try it...<br><br>I hope that some of these posts help you.<br><br>Gary

Hi Chris - seems to be a Toronto problem. I went into shock a few weeks ago when my left fron wheel was so black, no wheel cleaner could do anything for it, even with a scrub brush. I tried the suggestion of one of our members about using a mild abrasive polishing compound. Took the black caked on brake dust right off. Still have to fiddle with all the little nooks, but it worked. Waxed all the wheels after that, and the dust comes off real nice in the wash. The yellowing can become pretty bad if not cleaned regularly.<br><br>Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie<br>Thanks for the info, hopefully when it warms up later this week I will have a little more time to<br>do a better job on the wheels. Also the brake dust<br>does a nice job on the raised white letters. I had<br>some cleaner years ago when my father still had<br>whitewalls ( dating myself ) and it worked great.<br>Can't remember the name of the stuff. My brother uses a small scrub brush and dips it into Tide and<br>it seems to work, but there must be something better out there to clean the white letters<br><br>Chris

have you tried Wesley's Blech White?<br><br>it is in a spray-on bottle, works great

I have washed my Escape at least once a week since getting it and have not had any problems with brake dust buildup. I guess it is something that if you allow it to sit it gets alot tougher to remove.<br><br>I think that I have washed my Escape more than all of my other vehicles combined. I'm glad that I am not obsessing about it.<br><br>Gary

First sign of a little buildup of dust and I stop by a carwash and just hit it with the jet spray. It comes off pretty easy that way. This is usually about every 3 or 4 days and then try to wash the Escape good once a week. But still, compared to some other vehicles out there the Escape is really not all that bad. Put the dust covers on the wife's Kia Sportage and it's still worse than the Escape, but not nearly as bad as it was before. <br><br>Dennis

Chris:<br><br>I use a small brush and Comet on mine when I wash my Escape. Gets them real good and white. Just want to make sure you rub the tires real good when you wash off the Comet so none stays on and leaves some white residue. <br><br>Gotta take care of my Michelin GTX M/S's (dats for Gary)<br><br>Dennis

Hi Chris - again from another poster some time ago when I was complaining about the same thing. SOS pads work great- just don't rub too hard. At the moment my OWLs look kinda grey until a nice warm day comes up for a good scrub. The good thing about having you're wheels/tires rotated at 10K is that the OWLs start looking the same front and back. Before that, the backs were nice and white, while the fronts are less than white. Oh, to have drum brakes all around again!(and white wall tires).<br><br>Anne-Marie

The next thing Anne-Marie, you will be looking for fins on the back of the Escape.<br><br>Congrats on getting your Safari Bar on. I really like mine. If you don't have chrome anywhere else I would go with the black finish for the outer housing of the lights<br><br>Gary in Calgary

Hey Gary, how'd you know about the fins? Actually, thinking of putting a retractable shark fin on top of the roof to hold the canoe in place! 'course, that doesn't go with the Marvin the Martian theme I'm working on, so it will have to be some subatomic laser gun or the like.<br><br>Anne-Marie

At one point you have to take a few pictures of your accesorized Escape. Especially the laser.<br><br>Gary