Do I need the brake dust shields??

I was getting ready to do my brakes, new rotors& pads and hubs and I noticed that I don't have the shields on the front spindles. Do I really need them? I don't drive on any dirt or gravels roads so I'm not too worried about rocks hitting the rotors. I called two dealers and LRS and they don't make the shield anymore you'd have to get them at a junkyard. Any thoughts?

Maybe yours are different than the 99-04 but I just bought new shields for mine at the dealer. To answer your question....they are not required IMHO but I like having the protection just in case.

Yeah the guy at LRS said that the 96-98 are different that the 99-04's.

i ditched them a few yers ago, it looks cleaner with out them.........

+1, useless unsprung weight , even if it is only a pound !

Sounds good. Thanks for the replies.

you could always replace them with these

I've wondered about this as well. Also, I wonder if the brakes run just a little cooler without the shields.

Perhaps I'm slow but are these custom or a stock ford parts and they do cool the rotors, correct?

That set up on the spindle can have a hose type assemble attached to it going up to the front bumper. Kinda like ram air for your brakes.

+2 all mine is gone looks aALOT better

I took mine off, coated them with POR-15, and re-riveted them. Now that they are good and black they are not noticeable. IMHO too much risk of damage to run the car without them, especially if you drive on gravel roads at all.

A guy on SVTP sells them. they are for brake cooling, you run heater duct to the front bumper and knock out the useless foglights. I got them when i was pulling 1200 F rotor temps at Buttonwillow.

They are for water...not dust. Basically they keep water off the rotor from the opposite tire splashing it up. It does make a difference as wet brakes sometimes have a delay when soaking wet.

You can use 04 shields on the earlier cars. 96-04 should be no mods, while 94-95 require minor trimming of the tie rod area