New rotors & pads at 60K?

[BWL]

Should be obvious, but let the brakes cool before you stick your hand in there.

 

[Wild one]

How do you measure the pads? Do you take the wheel off?

No you leave the wheels on,and use your detachable eyeball to look at them. You probably shouldn't work on your own truck if you have to ask that question

 

[BWL]

No you leave the wheels on,and use your detachable eyeball to look at them. You probably shouldn't work on your own truck if you have to ask that question

All the guys I know with detachable eyeballs can't see out of them. Elon give you some kind of new prototype?

 

[Wild one]

All the guys I know with detachable eyeballs can't see out of them. Elon give you some kind of new prototype?

You mean Blind in 1 eye and can't see out the other eye

 

[Jane S]

All the guys I know with detachable eyeballs can't see out of them. Elon give you some kind of new prototype?

That's the third eye.

 

[BWL]

I actually have 2 friends with 1 artificial eye. Have to remember which one is real to know where they're looking sometimes. One is an avid golfer and I keep trying to get him to get one that looks like a golf ball.

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

That's not a flash light. THIS is a flash light.

Man loses eye to cancer, turns prosthetic eye into flashlight l GMA

Brian Stanley was diagnosed with retinoblastoma when he was 6 years old. After years of wearing a prosthetic eye, Stanley used his skills as an engineer to c...

youtu.be

 

[Daniel Ortiz]

How do you measure the pads? Do you take the wheel off?

To answer your question, yes. I rotate my tires when I do oil changes, and take the opportunity to peek in/under the brake calipers to see how much thickness the pads have left on them. You'd need to remove the wheel to get a decent look, barring Go Go Gadget eye or other spiffy mirror design.

Should be obvious, but let the brakes cool before you stick your hand in there.

That's a mistake one usually only makes once. Sad to say I made it in my younger days. Do not recommend.

 

[1SloRam]

To answer your question, yes. I rotate my tires when I do oil changes, and take the opportunity to peek in/under the brake calipers to see how much thickness the pads have left on them. You'd need to remove the wheel to get a decent look, barring Go Go Gadget eye or other spiffy mirror design.


That's a mistake one usually only makes once. Sad to say I made it in my younger days. Do not recommend.

I definitely learned my lesson with brakes being hot. Caliper seized up on a shakedown run, pulled the wheel off so I could remove the caliper bolts..the wheel was warm, but the caliper was HOTTT.
Only had to make that mistake once.

 

[2020PW]

You can check for general brake wear by looking at the master cylinder. New brakes, master cylinder is full, as the brakes wear the fluid level drops.

 

[91loriderhog]

I did front and rear pads and rotors at 89,000 and I think they would have lasted another 10,000. If you are having the dealership do them check their specials. I found a dealer and Mopar break pad special for $199.00 and pads and trim rotors for $299.00 per axel.

 

[PlainPractical]

Replaced mine around 30k (LOTS of stop and go traffic) and put on aftermarket pads and rotors I got from Amazon. The backs could have gone longer, but on the fronts, the inside pads had gone down to metal and started eating the rotor. Replacements were not cheap, but they were a huge improvement (even over the original new brakes). I got another 30k out of the fronts, and decided to replace them before I ate more rotors. Got the rotors cut (VERY tough to find someone to cut rotors in my area, and cost me $55 a disc - close to what retail would be - but at least I did something for the environment. I'm old enough to remember almost ALWAYS opting to have rotors cut, and was sure someone in Heaven would be watching and commenting if I didn't at least try). I'm too lazy to properly adjust the emergency brake shoes, but everything else works well.

 

[Dusty]

Just shy of 60K on 2018 RAM 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab. Dealer wants to replace pads and rotors front and rear.

We have the dealer do all our service work b/c we bought the Mopar Certified Maximum Care warranty.

Two questions: 1) is replacing pads and rotors at 60K typical? We've put 30K on this Certified Used truck in three years, with light trailer towing (less than 3,000 lbs) four or five times. We do live in southern Colorado but in town - paved roads (sorta) and rarely do the gravel roads/Jeep trails.

2) Are OEM pads and rotors worth it? Spoiled by our Camry Hybrid with 160K+ and still wearing OEM pads and rotors.

Was hoping my "get out and get under" days were over! Thanks in advance.

I would ask for an actual measurement of the remaining pad. Depending on your tolerance for risk, if there is more than 4/16ths on both inside and outside pads, and you don't anticipate putting a lot of miles on the vehicle over the course of remaining pad life, or doing some towing. I'd wait.

Some will advise replacing rotors anytime you install new pads. Others don't. Opinion on replacing rotors greatly depends on surface condition and whether you are experiencing any brake issues, like pulsing.

There are a legion of folks who believe anything other than factory is better. That has not been a universal experience for me. I've gotten over 100,000 miles on two previous Rams without replacing pads or rotors. A lot has to do with your driving style.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 89230 miles.

 

[just_me]

Spoiled by our Camry Hybrid with 160K+ and still wearing OEM pads and rotors.

Was hoping my "get out and get under" days were over! Thanks in advance.

1. Pad and rotor wear are very dependent on use. No one should answer based on mileage. My sports cars need them all the time.

2. The magic word here is hybrid. You may not understand the basic hybrid cycle, but it is as follows:
a - battery drives electric motor to move or augment the gas motor
b - when you brake, the motor works in reverse as a generator, charging the battery
c - the energy needed to generate the electricity ( the back EMF) slows the car.
d - physical brakes only augment what is called "regenerative braking" (what iu just described).

basically in your hybrid the brakes do little. They can last near forever.

On your truck, your brakes do a LOT more, especially if you tow. a 5500 lb truck plus a 3000 lb trailer = lots of mass to stop.

Plus, you are in COLORADO. I hear they have mountains. (note: i live off 285)

I think 60k is great. I will never make it that far.

 

[Light299]

You beat me to it just_me .... hybrid is the biggest difference. Weight of the vehicle makes less difference as I'll bet the surface area of the ram's pads is *just a bit* bigger than the 'yota's. Likewise further out from axle centerline...

 

[Tracy Stinnett]

I used to manage.several brake shops in Memphis,TN. Rear brakes should not be worn out at 60,000 miles. Your front brake take about 70% of load when you stop so rears should always last longer than front.
As for replacing rotors, they should measure the thickness with a micrometer. Typically rotors don't need to be replaced on a first brake job, they can be turned on a brake lathe. If they are close to minimum thickness they should be replaced. If not, they generate too much heat and warp the rotors which causes them to vibrate when you brake.

 

[CamperMike]

I used to manage.several brake shops in Memphis,TN. Rear brakes should not be worn out at 60,000 miles. Your front brake take about 70% of load when you stop so rears should always last longer than front.

How long ago did you manage the shop? These days there are definitely some cars where this is not true these days. On our old Ford freestyle the rears wore faster than front and it was a known issue for the model. On my ram the rears could have gone a little longer than the front but not much. They were close to worn at the same time as the fronts and pad wear was even.

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

That use to be true, front would wear faster than the rears with all of the different vehicles out there now 4WD, AWD and ABS with all of the SUV's and trucks out there, the proportioning of the brakes would be more stopping power in the front, now they are 50/50 stopping power and sometimes more in the rear so you have equal stopping power with people hauling travel trailers 5th wheels etc.

 

[Tom Davis]

I used to manage.several brake shops in Memphis,TN. Rear brakes should not be worn out at 60,000 miles. Your front brake take about 70% of load when you stop so rears should always last longer than front.

I just replaced the rears at 74,800 otherwise would not have passed state inspection. The fronts passed with flying colors. I'll probably go ahead and change them (just me I like doing them all at once).

 

[BWL]

Both my ram 1500s I do the fronts every 2nd brake job. My rears are always done in half the time of the fronts.