Front Pads, rust scale from rotors...

[jelag]

I'm getting around to putting front pads on my dually, now has 140K miles and the old pads have between 1/8" - 3/16" of material left... I had some spare time, sitting here in AZ and so it was time. .



I've been careful over the years to bleed and flush the brakes every 2 years... and the new pad installation was a cinch. . most of you know that I owned a HD clutch rebuilding business and had a group of these trucks...



I can't remember one of the Dodges needing caliper kits yet all the Fords had the boots damaged from heat... BTW all the trucks ran PacBrakes. . and I've seen up to 170K miles on pads... This truck tows 15K lbs of travel trailer and I don't think I've gone 10K without a tow behind the truck... at one time we towed with this truck a 20K work trailer... Oh yea, cracked rotors on the Fords as well. .



Inspected, and wire brushed all the moving surfaces on the caliper, its mounts, and lightly lubricated the metal to metal moving parts... installed the pads, wire brushed the bleeder valve, wheel studs and reinstalled with a light film of grease...



I don't turn rotors unless they are out of spec, and I don't rebuild calipers unless there is a wear problem on the pads that are removed. . practice over 40 years has shown that care to begin with is the key... I used to sell the old trucks with close to 500K and a lot of them were sold with the factory rotors and calipers... except the Fords...



For the first time I gathered all the rusted metal that has flaked off the rotors from scraping and wire brushing... I own a digital scale used in reloading and found that I had about 2 1/4 oz of rusted metal flakes from the edge and vents of the rotors. . BTW we always would wire brush the cavity to clear mud and dirt so that the complete rotor would vent... . was surprised at the weight. . and can only assume that the small diameter of the rotor means that its not far out of balance... at least it can't be detected when driving... .



I'd love to have the comfort of a Chevy, the Frame and cab of the Ford and the drive train of the Dodge... but this is a great truck and expect to drive it for another 200K miles at least...

 

[cerberusiam]

I am sure the EB helped the toro life a lot. Normal use without an EB towing trailers with a smart driver by the time you get 120-140k on them the rotors are warping and causing vibrations. Still may be in spec but they are out of tolerance for balance. If the driver is heavy on the throttle and brakes 30k is enough to waste the rotors.

Calipers with the composite pistons are impossible to tell how long they will last. The less heat they take obviously the better but there is no telling. Most places will only do loaded calipers on a brake job because of comebacks. I have had a rear caliper hand at 180k and a front at 40k with no indication of issues on pad wear or boots. I would hate to ruin a $150 rotor ignoring a $50 caliper, but thats me.