2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 3500 rear brakes 2002 disc

[daveshoe]

My '02 needs new rotors badly. I put new[cheap] pads on for now, but I am thinking that ya' gotta remove the axles to change the rotors. Anyone out there have any pointers on a rear r&r including the emergency brake pads? Thanks in advance

 

[BDaugherty]

I'm fairly certain that you don't have to pull the axles and hubs to get the rotors off your truck. I haven't done it on my '01, though. Still, it's not really that hard. Just remove the calipers and anything else that would prevent the rotor from coming off, then remove the rotor just like you would remove a brake drum. This would be a good time to clean/inspect your parking brakes. Lube any points necessary with the correct grease. Install new rotors, maybe adjust parking brakes, etc. Put the calipers back on with the new pads and go break them in.

 

[PC12Driver]

Unfortunately, the axles do have to come out to pull the disks on the 3500s (not so with the 2500s). Pull the axle, remove the spindle nut, and carefully pull off the hub so you don't tweak the seal on the hub. The disk can then be removed from the hub by unbolting it from the backside.



There is a locking wedge on the spindle nut that shouldn't be reused, so you'll probably want a set of those. Or, you can upgrade to a kit from Quad4x4.com that eliminates the wedge and replaces it with a double nut and lockwasher design. The parking brake shoes are just like your average drum brake, and now would certainly be a good time to replace them with the hub removed.