Avalanche brake Job

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spasm3

spasm3

Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
16,767
Location
North Carolina
I bought the avalanche in 06 its an 03 it had 35k on it then, currently 63kmiles. I use it mostly for towing the jayco 23b rv. I change oil in it about once a year so i'm not under it often. Recently i noticed that the braking was not so responsive and well poor. It did not pull , just took a lot of pedal pressure. Since i have never done the brakes i went ahead and ordered pads and rotors. Today i started going into them. first pic:
[img:center][/img]

Houston we have a problem!
It took a torch to heat the caliper bolts before i could get them out. When i got the rotors off i saw this!
[img:center]http://[/img]
[img:center][/img]

The calipers looked like this:
[img:center]http://[/img]

The brake line:
[img:center]http://[/img]


I had to beat the rotors off with a bfh, so i coated the hub with antiseize.
[img:center]http://[/img]
New calipers lubed them with my lube over whatever they use when they refurbish them.

Here are the pads and rotors i used.
[img:center][/img]
[img:center]http://[/img]
[img:center]http://[/img]
Assembled with new brake lines.
[img:center]http://[/img]

I bedded the pads in per instructions and it is much smoother and brakes well, i expect this to improve in the next 100 miles or so. Obviously this truck was on the beach by the previous owner. I have never had so much rust on a rotor and caliper before. I can appreciate what you guys up north deal with , it took almost a hour just to get the caliper bolts out. the slide pins were impossible. I did use antiseize on most of the bolts so i can get this apart next time i need to. It also i think illustrates the effects of a truck sitting a lot, moisture underneath it. Its stored under a metal shed along side my rv.
 
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Excellent excellent job on that thing sir. Yes, I am in the rust belt. Everything looks like that here. The torch is my best friend.
 
Good thing you got those death traps off there.

Same thing happened to me when i went to get caliper pins at two different Oreillys, one had the older stock and one had the newer one. If im not mistaken the silver bolts have a grade on them and the gold ones are cheap with no marking.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Good thing you got those death traps off there.

Same thing happened to me when i went to get caliper pins at two different Oreillys, one had the older stock and one had the newer one. If im not mistaken the silver bolts have a grade on them and the gold ones are cheap with no marking.


I did'nt mention that but yes i did not use the gold cheap looking pins that came in the calipers, they did not engage the rubber boot like i wanted to see and dirt could get in, and as you say they were not marked, i think the ones i used
were marked 8.8
 
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Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
Nice work!

Putting antiseize on the face of the hub also helps stop squeals dead in their tracks, but I would've used brake specific grease.


I did not know that could affect squeels, i did it mainly because the rotors were so rusted to the hub, i've never had to do that on any of my cars.
 
Nice! If you had 17" wheels you should have done the 03-06 OEM big brake upgrade. Later Silverados had disc/drums vs the early disc/disc but they put bigger calipers and discs for better front braking.

My recent brake job on my 02 Silverado were Oreilly white box rotors and Wagner TQ pads. I plan to acquire some 17" wheels when I do the upgrade.
 
I was going to comment on how little rust there was for a 11 year old vehicle!

Looks like the calipers may have hung? If you tow with it, I can't imagine the rotors getting that bad.
 
Looks good now. I disassemble my brakes once a yr, usually in the spring, give them a good cleaning and lube everything up.
 
Good God those rotors were bad! About the only worse rotors I have ever encountered were rotors on a Suburban that were worn clear to the internal vanes.

Nice rotors you got there now.
wink.gif
 
OP,

If you haven't already done so, I recommend replacing all the metal brake line on the vehicle. Last summer I bought an 03 Sierra and noticed that the brake lines running along the frame were very rusty. Apparently it's a known issue with these trucks. I was able to get a set of AC Delco pre-bent lines from Amazon for $65. The part # for my ex cab SB is 22932587 but yours may be different. I had a dealer verify the part # and a nice local shop put them on for ~$250. They told me they do about 4 of these jobs a month and it's usually after one of the lines have ruptured.
 
Originally Posted By: Carbon12
OP,

If you haven't already done so, I recommend replacing all the metal brake line on the vehicle. Last summer I bought an 03 Sierra and noticed that the brake lines running along the frame were very rusty. Apparently it's a known issue with these trucks. I was able to get a set of AC Delco pre-bent lines from Amazon for $65. The part # for my ex cab SB is 22932587 but yours may be different. I had a dealer verify the part # and a nice local shop put them on for ~$250. They told me they do about 4 of these jobs a month and it's usually after one of the lines have ruptured.


Thanks, i need to check mine the next time i'm under it.

I wonder if the ac delco lines are nicop?
 
Good job on getting that mess off.

Maybe it's the lighting or my computer screen. The hat finish looks similar to the pad braking surface on the new rotor. Is this just the color of the whole rotor, or is there some kind of anti-corrosion finish being used?
 
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