Power stop brake kits

[CharlesinGA]

Who here has used Power Stop brake parts, preferably entire kits? I need new pads. I don't trust calipers as I have had them seize up when they got hot (on my old Ranger) and my travel buddy had two of them seize up same way, got hot and would not release, on his "04 3500.

I like the powder coating, anything to prevent or delay rust, and the entire kits are a decent buy. Summit Racing has them in stock and I'm thinking of running over tomorrow (yes, open to 4 pm tomorrow, Easter) and getting a complete kit as it shows more than 10 in stock and it a hour plus ride for me, but I wanna get this done. I already have the hoses. Do the hoses use copper flat washers to seal them?

Charles

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Who here has used Power Stop brake parts, preferably entire kits? I need new pads. I don't trust calipers as I have had them seize up when they got hot (on my old Ranger) and my travel buddy had two of them seize up same way, got hot and would not release, on his "04 3500.

I like the powder coating, anything to prevent or delay rust, and the entire kits are a decent buy. Summit Racing has them in stock and I'm thinking of running over tomorrow (yes, open to 4 pm tomorrow, Easter) and getting a complete kit as it shows more than 10 in stock and it a hour plus ride for me, but I wanna get this done. I already have the hoses. Do the hoses use copper flat washers to seal them?

Charles

I haven't used them on any of my personal family's vehicles or anything I've worked on for friends or clients. The price point is suspiciously low in comparison to other kits/ components. I stick with well known brands like Bendix, Centric, Raybestos, Akebono, Wagner, Bosch, Brembo, etc.

From experience I use Akebono pads on everything, They're an OEM supplier, Japanese company with US based mfg. If you can find their rotors for your setup then you're set with a factory quality kit.

Powerstop uses reman calipers(often?), and while the powder coating is nice, its not a selling point over caliper quality.

If you live in a corrosive environment then you just have to add checking the brakes for rust to the general maintenance list, especially with how long the components last on these trucks. It's been said before on the forums regarding brakes that they need touching up(greasing the pins, boots, contact points, etc) from time to time since its not often they get replaced no matter what climate.

From memory they should use a copper sealing washer.

 

[Signal73]

My wife has a explorer she would warp the brakes religiously on every 6 months with Napa or other legit part house brake pads and rotors. I put on powerstop pads and slotted/drilled rotors and it’s been a couple years now without issue. I also put just z26 pads on all 4 corners of my Durango with the big brembo brakes because the oem pads put out dust like I have never seen, I’m impressed with the stopping power no noise and lack of dust compared to the oem.

 

[Topzide]

I've used the pads and rotor kits on my 3500. No noise from them and really can't see where the calipers would give you any issues on the complete kit. I wouldn't have a second thought about using complete kit on mine, if and when needed. Found good price point on RockAuto when I got my pad/rotor kit and couple years ago.
Not bad for frt/rr complete; https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinf...6JoOukH/PL0v/Tr82CjQ/q86W8oQrCCyCt0ppcczA8Jbd

 

[AH64ID]

I used OEM pads the one time I did pads on my 05.

The caliper pins do need lubed every so often, and it’s something I’ve added to my maintenance schedule every other year.

 

[Ozymandias]

I used OEM pads the one time I did pads on my 05.

The caliper pins do need lubed every so often, and it’s something I’ve added to my maintenance schedule every other year.

I'vehad to replace the rubber boots up to once year and more then often the guide pin is corroded too then.
So, by now I buy the kits that have all the hard parts and just replace them.
Never had a brake in my lifetime that needed more attention then this, but on the other hand, great stopping power. Seems there is always a downside.

 

[Topzide]

Guide pins are the one thing that gets over looked! When I made my annual check list, that's one item that I made sure I had on there. Not that bad since I'm pulling wheels to check pad and rotor thickness. Copper anti-seize is what I use on them. I know what I do is over kill, but it's worth the peace of mind.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Well, just got back from Summit Racing. About a year ago, I had bought a set of Akebono pads and put them away. But since then I decided I needed to replace the whole shebang. I reloaded the Summit web page this morning and they have taken another $40 off the kit, making it $937.95. Rock Auto is $1065 plus waiting on them and shipping costs, Jegs is $1122 but has a $150 off deal of some sort and again, gotta wait on them. $1129 on Amazon, and $1222 thru Auto Zone.

Given decent comments from those who have used the products, and the online reviews being largely good also, I could not justify anything different.

I poked around the store and finally picked up the order. It actually didn't take long to pull the order. They also sent someone with me to take it an out and load it in the car. Boxes with two rotors each are heavy, as are boxes with two calipers each.

Truck is on the two post lift now, and I'll pull wheels and wash them today, good time to rotate tires.

We'll see how this goes.

Charles

 

[Ozymandias]

Guide pins are the one thing that gets over looked! When I made my annual check list, that's one item that I made sure I had on there. Not that bad since I'm pulling wheels to check pad and rotor thickness. Copper anti-seize is what I use on them. I know what I do is over kill, but it's worth the peace of mind.

Since i started to use Sil-Glyde (recommended here, thank you) it seems mine last a little longer then a year now. Great product.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've had their pads and front rotors on for years now and their pads out back.
Seat of the pants improvement over OEM's. Zero noise and minimal dust. I live in a very temperate area so I'm sure that helps with part longevity.
That being said my OEM rotors and pads were in great shape at 80K. The manual trans is great on brakes.

 

[AEdelheit]

I have the whole kit, pads and rotors are good but the calipers are garbage, lot of sticking issues so the inside pad wears, never had the issue with OEM calipers between 5 trucks, only the Powerstops.

 

[AH64ID]

I have the whole kit, pads and rotors are good but the calipers are garbage, lot of sticking issues so the inside pad wears, never had the issue with OEM calipers between 5 trucks, only the Powerstops.

That’s what happened to the OEM calipers on my 05 and why I had to replace the pads, and why I now grease the pins regularly.

 

[Blakers]

I have the whole kit, pads and rotors are good but the calipers are garbage, lot of sticking issues so the inside pad wears, never had the issue with OEM calipers between 5 trucks, only the Powerstops.

I live on a dirt road, and we have a lot of dirt roads around here. I've found rear disc brakes do not like dirt roads as the fine grit gets thrown into the rear calipers and sticks them. Once, several years ago. I had a caliper stick and went halfway through the fins on a rotor in one day. Never a problem with the front brakes.

Something new I am trying now is using toilet wax (from the wax ring seals) for lubricating the slides and other parts. He swears it works better than anti-seize and brake grease, and stays on longer as it is resistant to water. It's very cheap and easy. He's been using it for years with great success.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Well, spent Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday doing the brake job. Its a lot of heavy work and both front rotors were stuck to the hubs. On Sunday I started out loading all of the calipers with the pads. Spent a lot of time making sure pads with squeelers were in the right place, right calipers and metal clips, etc in the right places. Then I pulled the Frt RH caliper and discovered the rotor was stuck solid to the hub. I soaked the hub and center bore area with Kroil, also squirted it thru the stud holes in the rotor to get to the back side. Finally got it off and got the rust off and sprayed it down with Amsoil HD Metal Protectant and installed the new rotor and mounted the caliper and swapped out the brake hose.

On Monday the other front rotor came off easier as it had soaked overnight. I didn't like beating on the backside of the rotor with a 3 lb hammer, its not good for the unit bearing in the hub, but no other way. (its a shame they don't spend the money when making rotors to drill and tap a couple of holes in the hub area so you can use bolts to jack the hub off a rotor when its stuck. I have this on the back brake drums of one of my cars, and its a great idea.)

Got done and moved to the rear on Tuesday, that went well. Had to drop the spare tire to get to the upper hose connection at the frame. Got everything changed out and on Wednesday did all of the bleeding and wheel install. 32 lugnuts is a lot to torque one right after the other.

Thursday (today) I did the Power Stop break in procedure and drove it enough to cool them down and let it sit. All seems to work well, but gotta re check the wheel torque and attempt to actuate the ABS on a dirt road near me. May bleed it again after that. I lost all of the fluid out of the system. Only had one leak and that was a line I installed finger tight and failed to wrench it tight (back axle at the junction block)

Edit: Torques, Banjo bolts, 20 lb/ft; caliper pins, 24 lb/ft; caliper mounting bolts, 130 lb/ft front, 100 lb/ft rear; lugnuts SRW models, 135 lb/ft.

Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

Since i started to use Sil-Glyde (recommended here, thank you) it seems mine last a little longer then a year now. Great product.

I just added this to my want list on Amazon. Will order some next order, thanks for mentioning it.
Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

Tonight I stripped the old calipers of pads and the metal clips they slide in, to reduce handling weight before I take them back to Summit Racing. I measured remaining pad thickness for each one.

Front LH (drivers side)
Outboard (fixed pad) 0.146"
Inboard (piston side) 0.278"

Front RH (passenger side)
Outboard (fixed pad) 0.138"
Inboard (piston side) 0.311"

Rear LH (drivers side)
Outboard (fixed pad) 0.361"
Inboard (piston side) 0.416"

Rear RH (passenger side)
Outboard (fixed pad) 0.360"
Inboard (piston side) 0.415

I did not measure the new Power Stop pads, but have a new set of Akebono pads
Front Pads (New) 0.457"
Rear Pads (New) 0.519"

Clearly my rear pads didn't need replacement but I wanted to do the whole truck at one time.
I used a digital caliper, the tail end, to measure the thicknesses, and just now noticed how the left and right rear pads were basically the same wear. On all of them, the fixed pad on the outboard was worn the most, and the front, being down to nearly one eighth inch, they needed replacement.

Gonna do some dirt road driving tomorrow to cycle the ABS and I might bleed the system again. Its a PITA to get it all set up.

Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

Large tube of Sil-Glyde arrived today. In a few months I'll pull the caliper pins one at a time and wipe them off and recoat them.

The brakes run cool now, even in traffic, so the break in procedure did right. The pedal feels fine, but I did lose all of the fluid from the master cylinder res. when I had the rear line disconnected. I guess I got lucky, the brakes work OK and I again tried the ABS on wet pavement and it functioned OK.

I didn't mention but the flex hoses were AC Delco Gold, and yes, all made in China. I used a small amount of anti-seize on the threads of the brake line nuts to insure they will come off next time. The rear line at the frame was the only really difficult one, I had to use a 12mm line wrench and a cheater pipe on the line nut and a wrench on the hose hex (didn't want to round out the hex hole in the bracket). I did miss tightening a line nut on the rear axle and found it during the bleed, so I tightened it up and cleaned off the fluid.

I hate Brake fluid. I have been buying the Prestone branded fluid but have come to the conclusion that its all made in one big factory somewhere and packaged for everyone.

As a side note, I was back at Summit Racing today picking up seals and spare Timken bearings for my travel trailer, in preparation for cleaning and re-packing them. The sales guy said he sells the daylights out of Power Stop kits and has never had anyone complain that they were not happy.

Charles

 

[Ozymandias]

Like said, if the ABS unit is in good shape there is no air entering the inner circuits as they are sealed of against the "normal" straight through line. Only a unit that doesn't seal anymore can have a problem there.