All brake rotors & pads replaced

[yogibear18]

Who has replaced all four brake rotors & brake padsAt 25,000 miles ? This is all from my 18 ram 1500

 

[tap4154]

Do you do a lot of mountain driving? I recently had tires put on at 30,000 miles and they said my brakes were about halfway.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

Does not seem rotors last like they use to. Few years ago I started replacing them when I replace the pads.
Recently our '14 Jeep Compass started making some awful noise from the rear when driving.
I pulled the tires and found the rear brake rotors extremely rusty; but not flash rust or the regular surface rust like it had been sitting for a long time. It was more of a corrosion. Had to replace the pads and rotors to fix the noise.

 

[Black-Wolf]

I just did all four - 121,000 +/- miles. I went with PowerStop's full rotor and pad replacement for both front and back with slotted and drilled rotors and extreme pads. Here are some notes about the whole process:
1) I ordered the PowerStop kit from Amazon (PowerStop has a store there). It took about a week, with a slight delay, to get the rotors and pads.
2) The outer box, and one of the inner boxes that the pads came in, were nearly destroyed. This box weighed in at well over 50 lbs (four rotors and 2x sets of pads). Looked like it got thrown around a bit - and I know that shipping companies hate heavy boxes. After checking everything, it all looked ok, and all parts appeared to be there.
3) After a couple of delays, I finally got around to doing the brakes. I started with the fronts. It took longer than I wanted due to other issues (dealer having way over-torqued the lug nuts for one). Anyway, I'd recommend the following tools before you start working on your wheels: C-Clamp (or two); large flat bladed screw driver; regular metric sockets in 10mm, 19mm, and 21mm; 3/8" ratchet; 1/2" ratchet; 3/8" torque wrench capable of 320 in-lbs; 1/2" torque wrench capable of 130 ft-lbs; 1/2" drive x 30" long breaker bar; thin wall impact sockets - I got a kit that included 15, 17, 19, 21, and 22 mm sockets. If you have standard lug nuts, any 1/2" socket for your lug nuts will work, but I have custom ones, and a standard walled socket didn't fit in the lug nut holes.
Once I got started, it was easy enough to do.
4) I finished the front brakes, and went to do the back brakes. Keep in mind, the back brakes are a combined drum and rotor system - the drum part is for the parking brakes, the rotors for the primary braking. If you are pulling the rotor(drum), you might as well replace your parking brake shoes and parking brake hardware. Back to topic: I went to replace the back brakes, only to find that PowerStop sent me two sets of front pads, no sets of back. So, I had to contact them and they sent me the correct pads a couple of days later. There are videos out there how to do your back brakes. HIGHLY recommend you watch them several times, and watch several different ones. The biggest issue I ran into with the parking brakes, was trying to put the shoe retaining pins in. I found it was easier to get all the springs and the adjuster installed, then put the shoe retaining pins and retaining clips in. Another tip: Adjust the parking brakes while the rotor/drum is off. Turn the star adjuster until you are just barely able to get the rotor over it, then back it off two clicks. When the rotor is on, it should turn freely if the brake is off and there should be no rubbing noise from the shoes.

After getting everything in, make sure you break in your brakes: 5x hard stops starting at 45 mph down to 10 mph, then 5x moderate stops at 35mph down to 5 mph, followed by a 5-minute cool down while driving at a lower speed.

Tools I also got from amazon.

The truck stops on a dime now, and there is no fade, chatter, noise, or shudder. Just smooth hard braking when needed.

 

[JRS950]

Very nice writeup on your brakes. So many times people forget about the parking brake. Good job.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Does your truck 'sit' unused for a period of time? Esp because I see you are from MI. They kind of have that look about them.

If not, the other common issue can be, the sliding surfaces can get rusty and prevent the caliper from moving freely. AND, if there are those stainless steel caps where the brake pads themselves fit into the cast slider frame -- rust commonly forms underneath. In Rust-belt states, that rust builds up and pushes those stainless caps up, and 'pinches' the pads so tight and they won't move freely. The rust can close the gap on the pads to the point where a guy needs to use a hammer to tap the pads out of the frame.

I have a car which that happens on the rear brakes all the time. It's real common. Neighbor's car does the same thing. I've learned that just about every fall I need to pull off the rear calipers, pop off the stainless caps and run a file across the rusty surfaces (to knock off the rust). Daub some grease or anti-seize on the newly-cleaned surfaces, put the stainless caps back on and reinstall everything. If I don't do that my rear brake pads won't clamp like they should and the rotors will FOR SURE look just like yours.