excessive brake dust= time for new brakes??

[DZink24]

the last few weeks, i have noticed a significant amount of brake dust on all 4 corners. the current brakes have approx 35-40k on them ('10 and '11) each axle a year apart. without taking them apart, do you guys experienced in brakes see this as a earmark for new ones?

 

[seafish]

The oem pads (Mopar premium line) and rotors on my 2005 have nearly 100k miles on them and are still good to go with no excessive dust. And that's with driving in mountain terrain, though the manual transmission helps keep brake wear down ALOT.



I can't say what might be going on with your brakes, particularly if they are aftermarket pads or rotors, but excesive dust would indicate that something is wearing down-- a quick wheel removal and inspection would at least let you see what is going on and also look for any problems.

 

[jelag]

All brake pads... except full metallic will have dust... its just part of brakes and wear... . I tow most of the time and use an exhaust brake... on all the trucks that I own I see close to 100K miles on a set of pads... . I let the exhaust brake do the work and am on the highway most of the time... I can't imagine any of these trucks needing brakes in 30-40K miles... . except for my MIL... . she drives with her left foot resting on the brake pedal while she runs the throttle with her right... we do her brakes often... smile... its just who she is.....

I ran re-manufacturing business for a lot of years... and ran several of our own trucks. . I can't correlate a relationship to dust and how worn they are... We'd pull a wheel every few months and inspect them... and of course give them a visual with every oil change. .

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

With a small mirror on a stick, you can inspect the thickness of the pads through a slot in the wheel.

 

[JR]

With a small mirror on a stick, you can inspect the thickness of the pads through a slot in the wheel.

Or a mechanics mirror.....

 

[Prairie Dog]

Mine have always made lots of dust but even at 87K there's lots of meat left.

 

[crispyboy]

Do you tow much?
Last year my truck was accumulating a lot of dust while towing my travel trailer and found out my Prodigy brake controller wasn't doing it's job very well. Had to replace the brake controller.

 

[DZink24]

For all intents and purposes, i don't tow at all.

 

[Bob4x4]

The 5. 9 3rd gens in my area are about due by 35-40k. The 6. 7's about double that

 

[mfurrh55]

I tow a lot and at 121,000 miles my pads are still original, and still have plenty of pad left, of course i do have a jake brake on my rig, Monte

 

[Wertles]

I was on my third set of replacements on the front and first set of replacements on the rear in 95,000 miles when I traded in my 06. No exhaust brake but lots of dust all the time with OEM pads. I am amazed at how little pedal I use on the '13 with and without the exhaust brake compared to the 06.