Disk brake HELP needed!!!

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I just removed the front wheels on my 99' 4x4 2500 (21,000 miles)to rotate my tires and checked my front disk pads for wear. What I found was, the inside pads on both sides are much thicker than the outside pads and my driver side outside pad is visibly thinner by 1/8" than the outside passenger side. What gives??? Are the inside pads thicker due to the single piston caliper? Is the extra wear on my outside driver pad due to a dragging caliper? The truck sometimes pulls ever so slightly to the left. I need some advice before I go up against the "DEVIL" dealer and get fed a bunch of crap. Thanks all!!

 

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This is normal. The piston pushes only on one side of the caliper and this causes the uneven wear. What you look for if there is a pulling left or right is that the "mirror image" pads fom either side of the truck have uneven wear.

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2001 HO 6 speed Regular Cab SLT 4x4 3. 54 anti spin 2500. Used for the daily grind and sneaking away to some secret Baja beaches toting a cabover

 

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O. K... . I understand the single piston caliper pushes from only one side thus causing uneven wear. correct me if I wrong but, doesnt the piston push from the inside side? Therefore I would expect that the inside pads to have greater wear not the outside ones as in my case. What the deal?? Anyone shed some light on this?

 

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Basing my thoughts off of every vehicle I've ever changed brakes on... Everything seems normal to me. Probably why they put the brake squealers on the outside??
As far the drivers side showing an additional 1/8" of wear, again, sounds. . fairly normal or should I say within tolerances. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your forgetting that no two parts are absolutely 100% IDENTICAL. Worse yet, brakes are comprised of multiple parts, thus magnifying the situation. Why will one motor push an extra HP or 2 over the one behind it on the same production line? This very issue is why parts have "Spec'd" tolerances. Or range of operation. If you still feel uneasy, I would venture a guess at moisture or air in the passenger side line.

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98' 24v 2500 Auto/3. 54 4x4 SB QC. Everything but leather. AMSOIL oil filter relocation kit w/secondary by-pass unit,Smittybuilt Stainless Steel Nerfs, Rhino Liner, K&N. Somehow lost my silencer Ring.
Still wishin I could put my M3's mile deep paint job on the truck. Or maybe I should wish to swap its perfectly engineered automatic. Or maybe... . Ah heck, Just wish BMW would start makin a truck using the ISB!

 

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The explanation is quite simple. The brake caliper pistons have rubber skirts around them to keep dirt and moisture from contaminating the piston sides and fluid. When you take your foot off the brake, these skirts tend to retract the piston ever-so-slightly, thus taking pressure off the brake shoe on this side.

The other side isn’t so lucky. Since the other brake shoe is firmly attached to the whole caliper assembly, this assembly has to "slide" on it's pins in order for pressure to be relieved on that shoe. These pins tend to rust and begin to hang up so eventually, not all the pressure gets relieved. So, consequently more wear on the unpistoned side.

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'00,2500,4x4,QC,LB,6spd,3. 54,4wABS,Camper-Trailer packs,BD Brake w/ECM ctrl,Pullrite 20. 5K 5hitch,Tekonsha EnvoySV,12K# Damon Escaper, CobraCB,Flame Red/Silver.

 

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WOW!!! Good explanation! Makes perfect sense. . but now, do I have a problem with the driver side outside pad being 1/8" thinner than the passenger outside pad?... . or is this within the tolerances of wear like Deezal Man suggests. Gotta love people who know their
sh*t!! Thanks.

 

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The fact that one lining is thinner by 1/8" (or any other value for that matter) then the other, would not concern me as long as the vehicle brakes effectively and straight ahead.

The Y2K maintenance manual say's that riveted linings are worn out when within 1/32" of the rivet head and bonded linings are gone when 1/16" remains. Personnally, I would replace them at 1/8" or more and have the rotors and drums turned if they have any grooves or waviness (which they most likely will) and clean the pins so the caliper will slide again.

BTW, I have found the life of linings to vary significantly between automatics and manual trannies so be sure to compare your wear rate to a truck with the same transmission.

Hope that helps.

Ron.

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'00,2500,4x4,QC,LB,6spd,3. 54,4wABS,Camper-Trailer packs,BD Brake w/ECM ctrl,Pullrite 20. 5K 5hitch,Tekonsha EnvoySV,12K# Damon Escaper, CobraCB,Flame Red/Silver.