Rear Brakes...HELP

[JORSWIFT]

Hey all.
Got a stupid question for you. I just changed my rear brakes on my '02. The auto story "ONLY" had the premium pads left. I purchased them and they were a bear to put on, and when they did they were extremely tight. It was tough putting the caliper back over them after compressing the piston. Now I drove it 5 miles to work and they smell and seem to be very hot. Do I need to adjust the Emergency brake? Do the pads just need to get seated? Thanks.

[blaz]

Did you grease the calliper slide pins? Did you use a C-clamp to push the piston back? I just bought new callipers for my blazer because after the new pads it was obvious the callipers were too tight. I never use a c clamp, if you can't push them back manually with a lot of force they are too tight. (IMO)

[JORSWIFT]

Yes, I just took them back off and greased the pins. Even grinded on the pad ears to let them slide in the caliper brackets. I just took them for a 60 mile trip and they are smoking, smelling and very hot.

[blaz]

Did you push the piston back with a C clamp or by hand?

[JORSWIFT]

I pushed it in by C-clamp

[blaz]

Take the caliper off again and apply the brakes a couple of times. DO NOT PUSH THE PISTON ALL THE WAY OUT! Then try to push it back by hand. It should require a fair bit of force, but it can be done. If you can't budge it, it is time for new calipers.

[JORSWIFT]

Yea, I went ahead and replaced both rear calipers and flex hoses. All seems to be good now! THANKS.

[blaz]

After the pads are changed a lot of people have this issue. Most people think they did something wrong. An old mechanic told me to always push it back with a hammer handle or something similar. Glad to hear things are good.

[Lil-j]

In my experience the rear disc brake set up on these truck just suck. I've never had as many problems with rear brakes on any of my previous/other vehicles. The rear brakes just get chewed up fast for some reason, new pads, calipers, rotors etc, still dont last more than a year or so.

[roadrunner]

In my experience the rear disc brake set up on these truck just suck. I've never had as many problems with rear brakes on any of my previous/other vehicles. The rear brakes just get chewed up fast for some reason, new pads, calipers, rotors etc, still dont last more than a year or so.

Been there done that. On my truck the one thing that helped on the rear pads/rotors more than anything else was adding 1" wheel spacers to the rear. It gets the wheels out just enough farther so they aren't constantly dumping mud etc on the pads. Additionally the boots on the rear mounting pins are not in harms way all the time either so they last longer and less pin freezing/rusting problems. This was a real pita for me as I mainly use my truck when roads are too bad to take a car on so always in worst conditions for the aforementioned problems. My worth.

[Lil-j]

I've thought about the spacers but always saw them as not worth it other making the front and rear wheels look even. Never thought of helping brakes. Plus on mine the dust shields have pretty much rotted away to nothing.
Where'd ya get the wheel spacers?

The thing that got me thinking about this is the comment about being able to push the pistons in by hand instead using a C-clamp. I've always used the old pad and a C-clamp to push the piston back in. I've never been able opush one back by hand, doesnt seem possible to do that. But even still, with the rear rear brakes, nothing has helped them. I can replace everything back there, pads, rotors, calipers and get about a year out of them before the pads needs replaced, a real head scratcher....

[roadrunner]

I've thought about the spacers but always saw them as not worth it other making the front and rear wheels look even. Never thought of helping brakes. Plus on mine the dust shields have pretty much rotted away to nothing.
Where'd ya get the wheel spacers?

The thing that got me thinking about this is the comment about being able to push the pistons in by hand instead using a C-clamp. I've always used the old pad and a C-clamp to push the piston back in. I've never been able opush one back by hand, doesnt seem possible to do that. But even still, with the rear rear brakes, nothing has helped them. I can replace everything back there, pads, rotors, calipers and get about a year out of them before the pads needs replaced, a real head scratcher....

I found my spacers on E-bay but I don't know if that seller is on there anymore. Dust shields help too (anything to keep slop away from the rotors). Perhaps find a set at a salvage yard? I don't know what they'd cost at a dealer or if they're still available. When I push back any of the caliper pistons on my truck I use a c-clamp but I open the bleeder on that caliper while pushing it back to avoid pushing any possible contaminates backward through the abs controller. It is sensitive and you might get away with not doing so a time or two but eventually it will catch up with you and is a very unpleasant and usually expensive thing to fix. What little fluid is lost is pretty inconsequential. Just top off the master cylinder when you're done.

I originally put the spacers on to even up the track of the truck for better handling on badly rutted roads. The benefits to the brakes became apparent later as I was getting as little as 2000 miles out of a set of rear pads and was tearing my hair out (which I don't have much anymore) until I put the spacers on. As stated I noticed not only increased pad life but also much less problems with rusted/stuck rear caliper pins. By the way I did mean to say 2k per rear set in case you thought it a dropped zero or something and I tried numerous types of pads in the process as well.

I would advise you to make sure your rear calipers are working properly. You should be able to turn the wheels by hand while on a jack after replacing the pads. A slight drag wouldn't be too bad but if it's excessive or requires some force the caliper pistons may be sticking and need replacement usually most economically with reman calipers.

[roadrunner]

Lil-j One other thing I do with my truck to help with the rear pad wear problem is I pull the ABS fuse to dis-able the system. Yeah it turns on the abs and brake light but it , for my application at least, helps the pads at all 4 wheels wear more evenly. Please note when I drive my truck it is always on muddy or icy or snow packed roads 100+ miles at a time (mail route). The logic is disabling the system causes more even braking at all 4 wheels on slick surfaces rather than releasing the front brakes and trying to stop the truck, which is quite heavy, mostly with the rear brakes. Others will disagree with this but it is what has worked best for me in my application. Just a bit more info for you to ponder.

[mars2878]

Dorman makes replacement rear dust shields.
I picked up my set @ autozone for $35 for pair.
Quality looked good, no fitment issues.
I put them on last week, so long term quality is obviously undetermined @ this time.
I found it to be a lot of work if your doing just the shields.
I would wait until doing the brakes @ the same time, plus you get to service the rearend @ the same time.

[Lil-j]

Hey roadrunner, I'll keep that in mind about the spacers. I have been thinking about them for a while, just havent got around to them but I admit I'm a little sketchy about wheel spacer. And trust me, I believe you about 2000 miles on rear pads, that around what I get out of mine. Suprisingly though, front pads last forever.

Mars, thanks for that, I'll have to pick up a set of those as mine are pretty much gone, though I just did the rear diff fluid last fall so I wont be getting in there for a good while. I'm not tearing into the rear diff just replace the dust shields.

[riceburnr2005]

I always have the same problem when trying to fit new pads in the rear.