Another brake pad question

[petersonj]

Navyjoe, after re-reading Motorhead's post, I think I misunderstood what he was communicating about exercising the calipers. I was thinking that exercising the calipers was driving the truck on a daily basis as opposed to parking the truck for weeks at a time. My misunderstanding. Now that I understand, I still think he makes a good point.

I have owned three trucks (actually one was a van) including the one I have now and I put over 200,000 miles on each of them. The truck I have now is the only one that I have ever replaced calipers. So, really for me the only time the caliper is exercised is when I replace brake pads (collapsing the caliper and the again extending it). Because my two previously mentioned vehicles were 1/2 tons without exhaust brakes, they needed brake pads and rotors replaced much more frequently, so those calipers got more exercise. Maybe that contributed as to why those calipers never had to be replaced.

It is important to carefully clean the debris away from the piston / dust seal area and then inspect the seal for any tears or other damage before compressing the piston with the C-clamp. If the seal is compromised, then you will need to replace the caliper.

One thing for sure is that there are many factors that affect how long the brake system components will last even if they are inspected and serviced regularly. How much weight the truck carries, how much the truck is driven, terrain (curves, hills), climate, road salt, urban or highway driving, equipped with exhaust brake, manual or automatic transmission, rotor and brake pad material, driver habits - these are just some.

- John

 

[navyjoe]

Thanks John and you too Motorhead,

That is all good information. I think come spring I will bleed the system first and then exercise the calipers (spring because I don't have a heated garage). I'm beginning to see the value of changing the fluid as good preventive maintenance. My VW TDI Passat requires the brakes to be flushed every 30,000 miles. If you do it yourself its a hassle but cheap. Harbor Freight has a break bleeding kit for about $30 that makes it easier. Motorhead you have also mentioned a good point about not pushing down on the peddle and running the seal on the master cylinder. That is another reason why I plan on using that harbor freight device since it pulls a vacuum at each caliper and eliminates the peddle pumping.[


QUOTE=petersonj;2457064]Navyjoe, after re-reading Motorhead's post, I think I misunderstood what he was communicating about exercising the calipers. I was thinking that exercising the calipers was driving the truck on a daily basis as opposed to parking the truck for weeks at a time. My misunderstanding. Now that I understand, I still think he makes a good point.

I have owned three trucks (actually one was a van) including the one I have now and I put over 200,000 miles on each of them. The truck I have now is the only one that I have ever replaced calipers. So, really for me the only time the caliper is exercised is when I replace brake pads (collapsing the caliper and the again extending it). Because my two previously mentioned vehicles were 1/2 tons without exhaust brakes, they needed brake pads and rotors replaced much more frequently, so those calipers got more exercise. Maybe that contributed as to why those calipers never had to be replaced.

It is important to carefully clean the debris away from the piston / dust seal area and then inspect the seal for any tears or other damage before compressing the piston with the C-clamp. If the seal is compromised, then you will need to replace the caliper.

One thing for sure is that there are many factors that affect how long the brake system components will last even if they are inspected and serviced regularly. How much weight the truck carries, how much the truck is driven, terrain (curves, hills), climate, road salt, urban or highway driving, equipped with exhaust brake, manual or automatic transmission, rotor and brake pad material, driver habits - these are just some.

- John[/QUOTE]

 

[BIGNASTY]

You should be able to see the rear inner pads from the backside without pulling the wheels off

Wished I'd known this before I pulled off the rears to take a gander "THANKS BOB YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING SOONER" :-laf


actually I like to pull things apart to take a look around on my Before Winter inspection anyway

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Damn I thought I was doing good getting 140K out of my original pads! This is on my 07 2500 Quad cab CTD 4x4 I bought the EBC slotted rotors and their Green Stuff pads. Cost $840.00 but they really made a difference in the stopping power. The down side was I only got 70K miles out of the pads. This last time I used NAPA premium pads and they stop real well. I use to run BFG All Terrains on all my Diesel Dodge trucks ,but several years I started having trouble with tread separation. The BFG's use to last 85K before I replaced them. I now use Bridgestone AT Dueler load range E and get about 80K out of them. I do rotate them every 6K miles and cross the fronts to the rear when I do. It is a good Idea to pull the rear tires off to inspect everything. I have caught leaking rear hub seals this way which seems to a common problem on these.