Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

  • 0

Disc Brakes


Mid-Lake Rock

Question

I brought my truck into the shop this morning for brake work. I had a caliper fail and there is uneven wear on the pads. Would like some opinions on a few other things they told me.

1. I was informed that the the rotors should be replaced. They were replaced about 13 months (20K) ago. First set lasted approximately 70K. Does this seem unusual? I told them to hold off on this proceedure.

2. They tried to sell me on replacing the caliper that did not fail. Why would I replace it? I did not have this done.

3. Does anyone have any thoughts on getting the brake fluid changed? The truck is at 90K.

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Year make and model?

What part of the caliper failed?

Was this the front brakes?

Where the brakes grinding? Did they measure the rotors. If they did than they could give you there measurement and the minumum machine measurement. I like to have at least .025" to .030" in order to turn the rotors. This will usually give me enough room to "turn out" any imperfection and still have a good rotor left when I am done. There are many vehicles where the nominal thickness of the rotor (thickness new) and the minumum machine thickness are very close. Requireing the replacement of the rotor at almost every brake service. I'd still like to hear what there measurements are.

The reason why they replace both calipers is because they are putting on "loaded" calipers. Some of these are sold in pairs now. "Laoded" calipers come with everything, pads, hardware, brackets, slides, etc. If they put on an unloaded caliper most of the time it is a bare caliper with nothing else. If the slides where frozen this will not help anything because that part of the old bracket will have to be reused.

If they did use 1 loaded caliper than they had to charge you for a set of pads and they will have to discard the pads that came with the caliper. Essentailly wasting your money.

The other reason they want to replace them in pairs is to cover themselves from any "warranty" repair and to make sure you get a trouble free brake repair. If the vehicle developes a pull or the caliper that wasn't replaced decides to hang up and destroy the new pads than your out of luck! Another brake service that you get charged for. This may not happen to you but it does happen often and guess what the customer is usually not happy when they get the news!!

I am a big fan of Brake flushes. I said this a few times before but its good info. Brake fluid likes to absorb moisture. At 90k its had plenty of time to do this. Moister will cause not only corrosion but the potential for brake boil over at lower temps. Brake fluid is designed to resist boil over up to 350 to 400 degrees. Water boils at 212 degrees. Guess what happens when you're pulling a load and you have to stop quickly. Your brakes generate a lot of heat. If it boils the moister you get air bubbles which cause you brake pedal to go to the floor which causes the brakes to fail!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Thanks for the detailed post. It is a 2002 Dodge Dakota. The problem was with the front brakes. I don't know which part of the caliper failed, but it did cause a griding noise. On the work order, it says 901 and 907 for thickness/diameter of the rotors, and machine to 890.

Guy also told me he only did a bleed on the wheel where the caliper was replaced.

Again, thanks for the info!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

You saved your self a few bucks now but maybe gambling for it in the future, it looks like they cut them down to 901, 907, min spec it 890, you may end up with pulsating brakes in the near future, or a brake pull, or another stuck caliper! Or you may not and be fine, they were doing the right thing, more so to cover their butts for come backs. I hope it works out for you!! If I was doing my own I would have done the same thing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

The work order means they mic'ed out at .901" and .907" and were turned to .890" (resurfaced)

Dodge brakes suck, but you stated these are aftermarket rotors.

Unless you ride them puppies, are braking with heavy loads, etc, you should expect a minimum of 40,000 miles before your rotors need help.

Was it the same outfit that did the brakes 20,000 M ago?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Yes, it was the same shop that put in the after market product. Got 70K out of the original and 20K on the after market. Less stop and go driving than before, which is why I though they'd last longer. The only thing that makes me wonder is the response from the tech. I said how much longer will these rotors last. He said could be six months or could be three years. Huh?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

The brakes shouldnt fail after 20k. A caliper can hang up for a number of reasons and cause the brakes to fail.

Disc brakes are very simple. There is a piston in the caliper that presses against the brake pads that squeezes the rotor to stop. There is not a spring to pull the piston back. It relies on a slight wobble from the disk to give the pads clearance. A sticking piston or pins will cause the brakes to stick. Usually 1 pad with wear down till it has metal to metal contact. If you keep driving then the rotors will need to be replaced to.

Look at the brake fluid. Is it nice and clear almost like water or is it brown and dirty. If it is brown and dirty it contain a lot of water and contaminants. This can rust out the insides of the brake system. It can lead to calipers and brake pistons that hang up. Also the water in the system can boil when the brakes are under heavy use. The boiling can lead to brake fade. It is recommended that brake fluid be flushed every 2 years.

A lot of places want to change calipers in pairs since the failure of 1 may indicate that the other may fail. If they don't replace both and you are back again then you will be unhappy.

I would be concerned about the brake job 20K ago. If it needed flushing then and they dint advise you do it then it could be their fault. Also the calipers float on pins that need to be lubed and free. If that wasn't properly serviced the brakes can stick.

Also the rear brakes need to be in adjustment. Most of the stopping is done by the front brakes. Many times the back brakes are not adjusted properly and put to much strain on the front. Any time the front brakes are serived the rear brakes should be checked and adjusted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Another excellent post... Airjer, from what you have seen, how well do the rotors on Dodge/Chrysler minivans hold up?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

The Rotors on the minivans have a problem with pitting on the inside surface. They don't look bad until you try to turn them. The extent of the damage that the pitting has done is prevelent after the first pass of the brake lathe. The pit may only be the size of a dull pencil but it will actually eat away the rotor underneath the surface and can easily be the size of a quarter after the first turn. If there is any sign of pitting the rotor gets replaced!

I've read that this is caused by the rotor not getting hot enough frquently enough to boil of the moisture. I think that there may be some merrit to this as the rotors on the wifes Town and Country have no pitting at all!?!? smirk.gif

As far as pads anything less than a premium line will not last. We tried a less expensive line and 20k was about the average that they lasted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Quote:

The work order means they mic'ed out at .901" and .907" and were turned to .890" (resurfaced)


Actually the .890 is the minimum machine thickness. If the rotor was turned and the end result was thinner than the min. machine spec than the rotor is considered junk. There was .011 and .017 inches left to turn wich is not enough. Most resurfacing is done in a couple of cuts. You can usually tell how its going to go when you zero the lathe. The first pass is a quick cut and I usually start with .003" a side, a total of .006". A minimum of a second cut is usually need to clead up the rest of the rotor. .002 - .003 is my usuall second pass cut, an additional .006" for a total of .012". This will usually get a rotor that is in good shape with no warp completely smooth. A warped rotor could require a third and possibly a fourth for a total of at least .022". That why I like to have a minumum of .025" to work with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.