Rear brakes: seizing with mud and dirt

[Blakers]

The rear disc brakes on our trucks have got to be the worst design ever for any vehicle that is used in the mud or on dirt roads every day. The sliders and pistons on the calipers are constantly getting packed with mud full of grit from dirt roads and seizing up, thereby causing the piston side pads to wear rapidly with almost no wear on the outside pads. Has anyone found a solution to this? I'm changing rear pads about every 3 months.



GM must have had the same problem with their trucks as they went back to drum brakes.



Blake

 

[07 ThunderRoad]

I have 2007. The rear brakes have 2 slide bolts with 2 accordian boots over them. I think the 2003 is the same.

Dirt and mud would have a tough time blocking the movement of the caliper. Also, the brake pads do NOT move with the caliper. The pads move on the caliper mount independant of the caliper. The caliper pushes on the pads and slides on the 2 slide bolts in a different rate and distance on the caliper stand. A lot of people that do the first rear brake change, find the stainless steel "anti rattle" clips a problem with the new pads and throw them out. This allows the steel pads backing plate to dig into the soft cast iron caliper stand and lock the pad into place (very common with the outside pad). Check your caliper stands. The top mount support for the brake pad is going to be "dug out" by the pads backing plate, causing the pad to stop moving and making the piston side pad fail real fast.

If this is true for your truck, you need to replace the caliper stands, install the "anti rattle" clips ( the clips are more like a cover for the brake pad mounting surface, on the calper mount, and prevent the pads backing plate from digging into the mount), the calipers (because they have been pushing on the pads unevenly stressing the seals and pistons. This will cause the pistons to stick and the new piston side pad to fail even faster), the harware and the pads. I have used all kinds of pads over the years, the Mopar pads are the best fit and the best for stopping. You get what you pay for.

 

[Blakers]

Thanks! I moved the thick outside pads to the inside and replaced the outside ones with half worn pads I kept from before. The slide bolts and stainless clips were fine on the left side, but the bolt bushings were warn badly and the rubber was worn through on the right side. Also, the bottom clip fell out. So I replaced the bushings, rubber sleeves and clips on the right. The pistons went back in nicely on both sides. Hopefully this will help, though I don't know if it will alleviate the mud problem as it gets really packed into everything.

Perhaps better pads would work better? These are the Duralast Gold from Autozone. They are supposed to be their top of the line semi-metalic. Maybe the Mopar pads have a better fit?

Blake

 

[RCorbeil]

Try opening up the rectangular notches in the pad mounting plates a little with a grinder to allow a little more movement of the pad and this will allow the use of the stainless steel covers to protect the soft cast iron. Works good here in the North with all the salt in the winter . Notice I said open up a Little with a grinder.



Happy New Year.



Ron

 

[Blakers]

With the new stainless clips, the pads are pretty tight and don't move side to side much. I'll give it a try like this first.

I understand your theory Ron, and I tend to agree with it. If the pads are allowed to rattle around some, the dirt and mud should shake out of them and drop out.

Blake