Replaced my brake pads after 21 years

[Elkins45]

I inherited a 1998 Chevy 1500 4x4 truck in 2011. At the time it had 22k miles, now it has 45k. The front brake pads wore down to bare metal and didn't give any indication until I heard one grinding against the rotor. That rotor was too grooved to reuse. The other side had like .1mm of lining left and the but I went ahead and replaced it as well so both sides would be equivalent. Amazingly enough the calipers and rotors came off without drama. I was expecting to have to break out the 10lb hammer and torch to remove the rotor but it fell right off when I pulled the caliper.

45k of easy driving seems premature for a set of pads to wear out. I guess after 21 years they must just have been deteriorated by weathering, or because the rotor had time to rust between every trip?

 

[bullwinkle]

Chevy truck? 4 X 4?? 45K has to be a record for longevity! All our GM vans needed front pads (& usually rotors) by 20-25K.

 

[Dave9]

More likely your driving was mostly stop and go so it's not the mileage but # of stops that wore them, but yes time will cause pad corrosion and disc corrosion and they will both wear down faster unless that corrosion is also reducing stopping power 'cuz it's on the slide pins or rails the pad ears ride on.

It would be a good idea to check your brakes more often. Far more often.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted by Elkins45
The front brake pads wore down to bare metal and didn't give any indication until I heard one grinding against the rotor. That rotor was too grooved to reuse.

This truck didn't have the little "squealer" tang on the pads that makes noise when the pads are getting thin?

 

[Dinoburner]

The 95 in my sig is on the second set of rotors and 3rd set of pads at 140,000 mi. The 77 is on the second set of pads at 180,000. All other vehicles we have owned averaged 50,000 miles between brake repair of some sort. I bought the last set of asbestos pads sold by the local parts store for the 77.

 

[Fawteen]

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Chevy truck? 4 X 4?? 45K has to be a record for longevity! All our GM vans needed front pads (& usually rotors) by 20-25K.


Yet I've had an '88 that went almost 100,000 miles on the original brakes, and a '95 that went 70,000 on the original brakes. My 2014 has over 80,000 on the original brakes. So 45K isn't a "record for longevity". All of them were/are Chevrolet, and all were 4X4.

 

[Elkins45]

Originally Posted by Dave9
More likely your driving was mostly stop and go so it's not the mileage but # of stops that wore them, but yes time will cause pad corrosion and disc corrosion and they will both wear down faster unless that corrosion is also reducing stopping power 'cuz it's on the slide pins or rails the pad ears ride on.

It would be a good idea to check your brakes more often. Far more often.


I doubt I will ever check my brakes again. Rust is going to kill the suspension/steering components long before my new ceramic pads will wear out. As little as ai drive it I doubt this vehicle will ever see 70K.

I wonder what the chances are of removing the rear drums as easily as the calipers and rotors came off the front?

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted by Elkins45
Originally Posted by Dave9
More likely your driving was mostly stop and go so it's not the mileage but # of stops that wore them, but yes time will cause pad corrosion and disc corrosion and they will both wear down faster unless that corrosion is also reducing stopping power 'cuz it's on the slide pins or rails the pad ears ride on.

It would be a good idea to check your brakes more often. Far more often.


I doubt I will ever check my brakes again. Rust is going to kill the suspension/steering components long before my new ceramic pads will wear out. As little as ai drive it I doubt this vehicle will ever see 70K.

I wonder what the chances are of removing the rear drums as easily as the calipers and rotors came off the front?


There's more to checking brakes than pad thickness. Caliper pins, piston boots, shims and retainers all should be periodically checked and lubed. This tool can be used without removing the wheels since you probably don't rotate tires either:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015DMJ2S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Elkins45]

Originally Posted by user52165
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Originally Posted by Dave9
More likely your driving was mostly stop and go so it's not the mileage but # of stops that wore them, but yes time will cause pad corrosion and disc corrosion and they will both wear down faster unless that corrosion is also reducing stopping power 'cuz it's on the slide pins or rails the pad ears ride on.

It would be a good idea to check your brakes more often. Far more often.


I doubt I will ever check my brakes again. Rust is going to kill the suspension/steering components long before my new ceramic pads will wear out. As little as ai drive it I doubt this vehicle will ever see 70K.

I wonder what the chances are of removing the rear drums as easily as the calipers and rotors came off the front?


There's more to checking brakes than pad thickness. Caliper pins, piston boots, shims and retainers all should be periodically checked and lubed. This tool can be used without removing the wheels since you probably don't rotate tires either:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015DMJ2S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Wow...feel the judgement.

 

[GoldDot40]

I rotated the tires on my '02 Silverado Z71 about a month ago. I gave the hubs/brakes a once over. Front and rear pads still have about 60% material left. Got me to thinking. I couldn't remember the last time I put brakes on it.

All my brakes are purchased through Advance Auto parts online. I logged in to my account and combed through my purchase history. Last time I put brakes on it, I also installed new rotors on all 4 corners. That was in August of 2013.....roughly 66K miles ago.

 

[caprice_2nv]

My coworker went 180k on the front and over 200k on the rear brakes on his 2010 Sierra 4x4. The 2013 Silverado in our work fleet has original with 90k miles. We've put one set on the 2005 I drive with 200k on it but it may have been the second set on the front (my boss bought it used with less than 100k).
Different brand but the 2010 Tacoma just needed brakes at 100k.

All of these trucks carry a heavyish load every day (land surveying).

 

[Kira]

The OP commented on brake pads above: "The other side had like .1mm of lining left and the but I went ahead and replaced it as well so both sides would be equivalent."

1) I still can't believe someone actually said that.
2) The OP must be cheaper than me (hard to fathom) NOTE: 0.1mm ain't much!

 

[Elkins45]

Originally Posted by Kira
The OP commented on brake pads above: "The other side had like .1mm of lining left and the but I went ahead and replaced it as well so both sides would be equivalent."

1) I still can't believe someone actually said that.
2) The OP must be cheaper than me (hard to fathom) NOTE: 0.1mm ain't much!


I meant that I replaced the rotor even though it wasn't grooved like the other side. That pads on that side hadn't worn down to the backing plate. I realize now that what I meant and what I wrote are two different things. I'm not THAT cheap

and anyway pads should always be replaced on both sides at the same time.

 

[Driz]

I can't see how in the world it could do that unless you never drove it. I've got one of those, 2000 Sierra. That thing has rear brake pads that are the size of my Honda Civic🤬. About the only thing good about them is it there so easy to just flip up and shove some new pads on there which is a good thing because it needs them all the time. You must live in the south because anybody who could keep a frame on one of these for that many years is a magician. I ended up making my own but the one that I took off it look like a piece of unit body tin. It's not a terrible truck especially compared to what came after that it's a far cry from when I made real trucks in the 1970s and 80s.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted by Driz
I can't see how in the world it could do that unless you never drove it. I've got one of those, 2000 Sierra. That thing has rear brake pads that are the size of my Honda Civic🤬. About the only thing good about them is it there so easy to just flip up and shove some new pads on there which is a good thing because it needs them all the time. You must live in the south because anybody who could keep a frame on one of these for that many years is a magician. I ended up making my own but the one that I took off it look like a piece of unit body tin. It's not a terrible truck especially compared to what came after that it's a far cry from when I made real trucks in the 1970s and 80s.

Yeah, those early 2000s GM trucks def had some frame rust issues. GM went back to drums for a while as that's what my '12 has. I think now everyone uses disc on the rear.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted by Elkins45
Wow...feel the judgement.

Gotta be on top of your game when posting at BITOG (thick skin and everything). No mistakes allowed. Being that you are from Kentucky, it applies double

.

Hey, thanks for sharing your brake experience.

 

[Linctex]

My 2008 F150 got it's first set of rear pads ever right around the 200,000 mile mark

fronts last about 60,000 miles a set

 

[Elkins45]

Originally Posted by Driz
I can't see how in the world it could do that unless you never drove it. I've got one of those, 2000 Sierra. That thing has rear brake pads that are the size of my Honda Civic🤬. About the only thing good about them is it there so easy to just flip up and shove some new pads on there which is a good thing because it needs them all the time. You must live in the south because anybody who could keep a frame on one of these for that many years is a magician. I ended up making my own but the one that I took off it look like a piece of unit body tin. It's not a terrible truck especially compared to what came after that it's a far cry from when I made real trucks in the 1970s and 80s.


It was my dad's truck. He bought it new in 98 and essentially stopped driving it in 2008 when he went into an assisted living facility. He only drove it about 14 miles a week (town and back) plus trips out of town for doctor visits. When I got it in 2011 it had about 22K miles. I essentially doubled that in 8 years so I've put less than 3K per year on it. It usually gets started about once a week to haul off the garbage or pull my tower trailer. Like I said, it will probably die from frame or suspension rust before it needs new brake pads.

It was garage kept until I got it, so the body still looks good. Most of these trucks don't look nearly this good.

 

[caprice_2nv]

The frame on the 2005 Silverado I drive for work looks better than the 2010 Tacoma also in our fleet (with half the mileage). Both trucks were oil sprayed every 2 years up until they stopped doing mine a few years ago when they decided it should be on its last legs.

I took the liberty of spraying some key areas with a can of rust check because I don't want a new truck.

They aren't the best frames especially when I compare it to my 78 Chevy k10 that still has the original paint on the frame despite the body being completely rotted away, but they aren't any worse than the other brands from what I've seen. My friend did have to weld one side of his 2000 Silverado frame at around 400k miles but most of it was still in decent shape.

 

[wtd]

I have a 98 K1500 chevy 4x4 that I bought new that now has about 138,000 miles on it. It's on it's second set of rotors and probably it's third set of front pads and it will probably need new front pads again soon. The rear shoes have never been touched.