Front Brake Pad Material?

[Bochuck]

This is my first post, so please be patient. I did a search and could not come up with an answer to my question. I have an 04. 5 CTD/48RE 2500 4X4 that needs new brake pads up front. I tow a 7,200 lb boat and trailer with it so stopping power is very important to me for obvious reasons. My last truck was a 97 Dodge 1500 4X4 w/5. 9 Gas/47RE and it initially stopped this load fairly well when the the truck was newer until I replaced the pads. When I replaced the front pads on it the first time, I used the top of the line Raybestos metallic pads w/new rotors. Even after appropriate break-in, I had lost, in my opinion, what seemed to be 20% of my stopping power. I took the truck to my local Dodge dealer and had them check to see if I did anything wrong and they said it was done correctly. I then tried some normal, non-metallic pads and it still was no better. Then I tried the top of the line high performance pads. It was even worse. After 3 sets of pads and 2 sets of rotors over 150K miles, I never attained the same stopping power. It seems as the brakes were fading. Please note that I had no problems until I changed pads. My 04. 5 can stop my boat on a dime, but I'm worried about what type of pad I should use. Should I go with the exact same OEM pads, or is there something better I could use? I'm nervous about using ceramic or any of the high performance pads because of the results I had with my previous truck. I spoke with the dealer and asked his suggestion. He acted as though he didn't care. He told me "They all stop the truck". When I pushed him more and asked if it would be better to put OEM pads on he said he had no idea, it was up to me. A second employee agreed with him. Any help or suggestions on what pad to go with will be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone! Bob

 

[J&LRam]

Ceramic pads make a poor choice for HD stopping power. I use Hawk and Waggner priemium semi metallics with good sucess pulling over 26000 lbs. Do a google on HD brake materials for our trucks.

JIM

 

[jelag]

Power brakes are dependent on hydralic pressure to make them work... . some brands of friction require more pedal pressure to function... . its all based on the coefficent of friction of the pad and how much work they will do... You don't give me enough information to tell you what is up... But I'd suggest basic pressure tests to see if your power brake system is putting out the correct pressure..... after all, all that happens is to multipy the pedal pressure to stop the truck...



Let me give you an example... lets say that when your system is working normally that 25 lbs of pedal pressure is equal to 1000 lbs of hyd pressure... . and that 50 lbs of pedal pressure is 2000 psi of hyd pressure... . most good disc brakes need up to 2000 psi to panic stop... . but lets say for a minute that either the co-efficent of friction is not correct or your ratio is down... . so with 25 lbs of pedal pressure you get say 600 lbs of pressure out... . well the pedal will still be hard, but you won't get enough braking force to stop the truck...



I'm going to guess that your problem was in the power booster... as you said you changed the pad several times... and nothing seemed to help... I'm also almost willing to be a reasonable amount of money that 90% of the techs at the dealer ship wouldn't have the clue how to test for this problem let alone fix it... .



Hope this helps...

 

[rbattelle]

Should I go with the exact same OEM pads

YES! Learn your lesson: you're not happy with aftermarket pads. Therefore, don't use aftermarket pads!



Get yourself a set of OEM pads straight from the dealer. You know it's the only way you're going to be happy at this point.



Piece of cake.



Ryan

 

[DPKetchum]

Factory pads and if rotopr surface is ok don't turn them.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

At 78,000 miles I got tired of waiting for the stock pads to wear out. I was happy with their performance so got another set of stock pads. Price was reasonable vs. aftermarket pads, too. I put them on without turning the rotors. The truck resumed original braking performance, and I'm happy with them.

 

[DPKetchum]

Seem them at 150k and finally worn enough to reolace pads only braking performance staying the same. If rotors are cut put a swirll finish on them as the last step. Helps braking performance and seating in.

 

[Bochuck]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll update everyone when I get the new pads on. It looks like I'll go with OEM or the Hawks.

 

[MyDiesel]

I learned a leason bleeding brakes on my Vette. A Firestone bled my breaks with a blader on my master cylinder several different times. (Lifetime warrantee) This was done 45 minutes from where I live. Almost every time I was in the town they were needing to be bled. I done some reading. In the end, putting a shop vac on the blead valve with a isolation chamber to collect the fluid worked well. Keep the master full and suck the fluid through to each wheel. Don't pump the break. I change the break fluid the same way. I stopped at the Firestone dealer to inform them how to get the job done the first time. I guess they were getting tired of all the man hours on my Vette. They had discoverd the same solution and orderd a venturi powered by their air compressor to suck the fluid through.

 

[Bochuck]

Well, after a long winter of no boat towing, I finally replaced the front pads. I took them to the dealer and asked them to replace them with the OEM pads. When I went to pick the truck up, I noticed on the receipt that they put the Mopar Value-line pads on instead. I wasn't too happy. The service writer said he would order the pads in and replace them for the difference in cost between the two. It's been a month and they still don't have the pads in. I haven't towed anything since the new pads went on, but now I have a very loud squeal when I'm slowing down. I can make it go away a little by raising or lower the amount of pedal pressure I'm exerting, but it's very annoying! I really hope that the new pads come in soon so I won't have to contact Chrysler. What a pain this has been. I'm also wandering if they properly seated the new pads.

 

[DPKetchum]

Sold and installed many sets of Dodge value line pads. Never had a complaint out of them. Have them on my 1998 1500 . Have more miles on the Dodge value line then I did the originals.

 

[Bochuck]

Do you think they installed them improperly or maybe didn't follow the break in procedure?

 

[steved]

Factory pads and if rotopr surface is ok don't turn them.

Agree'd...



I'll probably get 200k out of the brakes... will probably replace rotor/pads/calipers all at once...



As for you older truck, they have a problem with the calipers "sticking" or "seizing"... my 94 did it (lost braking power) and my 99 did it too (also lost braking power)...

 

[Bochuck]

Final belated update

Well, it's been a while and after waiting three months for the dealer to get the OEM pads back in, they were finally installed. Gladly my full stopping power is back and has been for 9 months now, with NO squealing. It's a no-brainer to me, it'll be OEMs from here on out until they stop making them. Sorry for the late follow up on this and thanks again to everyone for your advice.

 

[mconstable]

Thanks for posting the followup... I'm ordering new pads on Monday, and was set on OEM based on research done here, you just cemented my decision.

Thanks!

 

[steved]

I was planning on OEs, but I went with Monroe-brand pads after finding the OEs were around $300. The local parts house sells them and they come with new shims and lubricant. They perform(ed) very well on two other cars we own(ed), so I decided to go that route instead.



They have performed as good as the OE pads for the 3k they have been installed... will have at least another 5k on them very soon. No noise, low dust, and stopping power is every bit as good.



I just couldn't justify the added cost of the OEs... plus, I found most of my braking issues stemmed from seizing slide pins...

 

[Bochuck]

Hey Steved!

Glad you found a pad that works for you, but I'd check with your dealer on their price for the OEMs. I paid $160 for my set. Did you mean $300 for all four corners? If not, I'd find another dealer. Keep us updated on your pads.

Bob