Front brake maintenance reminder!
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Front brake maintenance reminder!
Our trucks were designed back in the dark ages, back when disc brakes were a new phenomenon and people were used to doing regular maintenance. These trucks use single piston floating calipers that need to be free to slide side-to-side as the pads wear down or the pads will drag and wear unevenly. More modern designs enclose the sliding mechanism, but ours are open to the elements. This means they get rusty and stick if you don't keep after them. I was reminded of this last week when I felt/heard a grind while coming to a stop. I pretty much knew what had happened as soon as I felt it.
Here's what my neglect did to my rotor:
I knew better than to let it go, that's what bugs me. My only defense is that due to my current living situation I have to drive an hour to take the wheels off the truck, but the fact is I got lazy and it cost me.
The lesson here is this: At every oil change, pull the front wheels, pop off the calipers, wire brush the sliding surfaces, apply anti-seize, and put it back together. Yes, it takes about an hour but do you want to spend a couple hours a year doing free maintenance work or buy a new rotor?
Here's what my neglect did to my rotor:
I knew better than to let it go, that's what bugs me. My only defense is that due to my current living situation I have to drive an hour to take the wheels off the truck, but the fact is I got lazy and it cost me.
The lesson here is this: At every oil change, pull the front wheels, pop off the calipers, wire brush the sliding surfaces, apply anti-seize, and put it back together. Yes, it takes about an hour but do you want to spend a couple hours a year doing free maintenance work or buy a new rotor?
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BDude555
3rd Gen Engine and Drivetrain -> 2003-2007
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03-07-2004 01:09 PM