2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 2001.5 Disc Pads!!! Three half worn and one paper thin!

[SnoKing]

Well I started hear a little singing from a drivers side disc brake pad noise maker last week. I listened a few times trying to tell if was from a rear or front brake.



So this morning I pulled the drivers rear wheel and looked at the pads, and everything look good. Pads appeared to correctly bonded to the carrier, so wheel back on! I have read over the years about the pad breaking loose from the carrier. Next remove the drivers front wheel. Outer pad half worn, and inside one paper thin.



Pull it apart and go get NAPA Ultra Premium OE semi-metallic pad set. Install and anything seems free with nothing binding or hanging up.



Move the the front passenger side and expect to see similar pad wear! Surprise, both pads on that side only half worn out??????



At some point something had to be hanging up on the drivers side. Maybe a rock at some point????



At any rate I will complete the circle and remove the passengers rear tire and inspect those pads.



BTW, I shoot the tires and hubs with my infrared heat gun at stops when towing, and never saw that drivers front hot!



Any thoughts on why just one pad worn out?



SNOKING

 

[JR]

I have been having a hell of a time myself keeping calipers on the front of my truck. I dont know for sure but I suspect the fluid is getting hot enough in the caliper to coke up the piston which is keeping it from retracting as it should and is holding it in place. I dont know of any other reason for NEW calipers to be sticking so soon. I am not hard on my brakes by any means either, keep my rears adjusted frequently as well as keep my trailer brakes well adjusted. They are Napa calipers, last time I had one hang up (about 6 weeks ago) I decided the next problem I have I will be going to a place like EGR for a performance caliper and switch my brake fluid up.

How did your caliper feel? Did it push back in easy enough to fit the new pads or did you have to force it?

 

[AWeiman]

i would suspect the calipers as well. i have never thought of hot fluid but that kinda makes sense. i always figured that where we live, that winter roads played a part in helping the calipers wear out quicker. last few times we have done brakes on either truck seems one caliper was bad and we replaced the other to be safe. similar deal one pad was always wore much worse than the others

 

[Cosmo]

Make sure the sliders are free and lubed up, and if you suspect you're boiling your brake fluid, switch to DOT4.

 

[SnoKing]

Well, I do not think my problem is boiling fluid. I have a good exhaust brake and truck has 108K on the OEM pads. Pins on the sliders were very clean, as the boots keep them sealed away from the elements. I will have just watch them carefully, as I do not want to spend money on new Calipers right now. But thinking about it, the caliper does not slide on the pin that you remove, as there is a tube that it goes through. Maybe I should take that one apart again, and remove the boots and check the tube and lube it. I did move around fine to line up and go back on??

Chris

 

[Road Dog]

The caliper is hanging up on it's slide. I've had it happen a couple of different ways on my Caravan. The first time the slot that the pads move on the caliper bracket has rusted enough to bind the pads so they didn't release. A little work with a chisel and file cleared that up. The second time a caliper slide pin was binding. There's a rubber bushing on the pin that deteriorated and was completely jamming the pin. It turns out there's a kit for replacing all the rubber bits (boots and bushings) for $20. There's also a pin kit which replaces the pins, bolts and bushings for $20 a side. My 11 year old truck has lots of pad but now I'm thinking of replacing the rubber bits as a precaution. There's probably a long list of parts that should be replaced simply because they're old.

 

[JR]

If you have the OEM calipers still, I would not give them up for the inferior aftermarket stuff being put out there right now. I think that is really what most of us are dealing with, cheap parts that are mass produced and are not meeting the OEM tolerances. You can find a rebuild kit as mentioned above, hone the calipers out and rebuild them yourself and will probably have a better caliper than what you will find at an auto parts store. If the slides are all in good condition and the caliper pushed back in with little resistance you should be fine. Two things to think about are 1) flushing your brake fluid if ithasn't been done in the last 2 years, and 2) replace the front brake hoses if they are more than 4 or 5 yrs old.

 

[SnoKing]

Diesel4life. Ha! Ha! Truck has 108K on it and is 12 years old. Brake fluid is OEM along with calipers. The new pads did come with new little SS clips that the pad slides on. I did not however remove and service the tube that the retaining bolt goes through.

I do now recall last winter in Arizona smelling something hot when I pulled into our RV lot and asking my wife if she smelled something hot. So the problem started in Arizona this winter. Will check it out more. Rebuild kit and hone will be cheaper than new questionable calipers. Thanks. Snoking

 

[JR]

If it were my truck, I would start off by replacing the rubber hoses that connect to the calipers and flush the brake fluid. The hoses can collapse internally and prevent the caliper from releasing. You can buy them after market through an auto parts store for less than 20 bucks per side IIRC. Good luck!

 

[SnoKing]

If it were my truck, I would start off by replacing the rubber hoses that connect to the calipers and flush the brake fluid. The hoses can collapse internally and prevent the caliper from releasing. You can buy them after market through an auto parts store for less than 20 bucks per side IIRC. Good luck!

JR. Thanks for the guidance! It will be a few weeks until I can get back to work on this issue. Opening Day of Boating for our Yacht Club is on the 11th and I am Rear Commodore with lots to do for the event. Snoking

 

[JR]

Sounds like fun. I was just out on the lake (Erie) for a few hours yesterday. The weather has finally broke around here, up until last week the marinas have been all but ghost towns. People are just now getting their boats in the water for the summer.

 

[VolsFan]

I replaced the front hoses on the 99 not too long before I sold it, and I recall them being expensive. One side, cant remember, was a fair amount more than the other, think it was the drivers side. They were NAPA hoses also

 

[Sticks]

At least your pads stayed attached. Mine delaminated from the backing plate at 78k. Still had plenty of life left in them.

On an aside, always get the hardware kit when you do pads or shoes. Should come with the stainless clips, boots, and slide pins for pads, complete spring set for shoes (drum). Anti seize the pins for both the bolt and sliding inside the caliper housing.

Some brake sets come with the hardware, some don't.

 

[tripl-e]

Diesel4life. Ha! Ha! Truck has 108K on it and is 12 years old. Brake fluid is OEM along with calipers.

Are you saying that the brake fluid is 12 Years Old?!?! OMG, that stuff is half water by now. Purge, purge and purge again. There may well be enough rust in the piston bore to prevent free travel of the piston in the sticking caliper. A caliper rebuild may also be in order to restore free piston travel.



As a general remark: Brake fluid is alcohol based and absorbs water from the environment regardless of rubber hoses and seals. It should be changed every couple of years to be kept fresh. Further, although the alcohol/glycol fluid boils at 350 degrees or so the accumulated water still boils at 212 and it is a lot easier to imagine a caliper reaching 212 than it is 350. But it doesn't really matter what boils, it only matters that something boils. If something in the hydraulic brake circuit boils you have no brakes. In general that sucks. For you guys and gals that tow in hill country this is especially important.

 

[SnoKing]

This is really strange, I keep getting Emails that people have posted to this thread, but when I go to the thread I do not see the posts???? I see Tripl-e last post as #14 and mine as number #15. SNOKING

 

[Sticks]

This is really strange, I keep getting Emails that people have posted to this thread, but when I go to the thread I do not see the posts???? I see Tripl-e last post as #14 and mine as number #15. SNOKING

I think the forum has a bug. I've been experiencing this for a month now.

 

[SnoKing]

I just forward an email about a new post that did not show up to them. Snoking