I have owned my truck since new and always done my own brakes and other work I can. Due to back problems and a broken Jack, I did not do my last oil change and tire rotation. Obviously the techs did not inspect my brake pads! About two years ago I replaced the wheel bearings, rotors, and disc pads on my front tires.

Tonight when I was about 1,000 feet from my house I heard a grinding sound. I could tell it was coming from the back and did it while driving slow and got worse when braking. I can see the brakes and rotor without taking off the tire. The rear driver’s side looked okay, but the rear passenger’s side brake pad is completely worn down. It is cutting into the edge of the rotor, which is what the sound was. This just started.

Obviously it depends on my rotor thickness remaining as to if they can be turned. My question is, can I just replace the brake pads if the rotor thickness is okay and it will smooth out? Or, do I need to either get it turned or replace them?

That needs replaced, or at least turned. Otherwise it will just chew up your new pads. There aren't many places that will turn rotors these days, and even if you can find somebody to do it, with that type of damage you may be past the minimums anyway. I'd just replace them.

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Originally posted by 92fstech:
That needs replaced, or at least turned. Otherwise it will just chew up your new pads. There aren't many places that will turn rotors these days, and even if you can find somebody to do it, with that type of damage you may be past the minimums anyway. I'd just replace them.

That is what I wondered; would it chew up new pads. Ugh. At least they are not hard to replace. I will order a new set of rotors and pads. Sucks as I will have to ride my motorcycle in this horrible heat until I can do it. Today and all week will be 110 with heat index.

Normin, you need to turn on the Air Conditioning on your bike. BTW motorcycle Air Conditioning is a 5 gallon bucket of water dumped on the rider and should be refreshed every 30-50 miles.

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Originally posted by Scooter123:
Normin, you need to turn on the Air Conditioning on your bike. BTW motorcycle Air Conditioning is a 5 gallon bucket of water dumped on the rider and should be refreshed every 30-50 miles.

LOL. Yeah I try not to ride when it is above 90 because I wear full gear. Tomorrow I have to go to a pre-colonoscopy appointment. That should make for an interesting conversation if I walk in dripping wet.

Just ordered a set of rotors and pads for $151. They will be here this Thursday.

Get a bottle of disc brake quiet and some never seize as well. I put the disc brake quiet on the back of the pads and the never seize on the inside of the disc hub.
Also brake cleaner and brake grease just in case.

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Originally posted by Captain Morgan:
Get a bottle of disc brake quiet and some never seize as well. I put the disc brake quiet on the back of the pads and the never seize on the inside of the disc hub.
Also brake cleaner and brake grease just in case.

Thankfully I have all that from the front end job.

If the driver's side is good and the passenger side is trashed it would seem like you've got something sticking back there. You should figure that out while you're back there as well or you might end up back in the same boat a little while down the road.

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Originally posted by Perception:
If the driver's side is good and the passenger side is trashed it would seem like you've got something sticking back there. You should figure that out while you're back there as well or you might end up back in the same boat a little while down the road.

I will try to see if I find anything unusual. I thought it odd.

If the calipers are 22 years old like the truck, I would replace them with rebuilt.

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
If the driver's side is good and the passenger side is trashed it would seem like you've got something sticking back there. You should figure that out while you're back there as well or you might end up back in the same boat a little while down the road.

Not a bad idea with this era of Chevrolet pickups, and other vehicles with a history of caliper pistons seizing, to check the hub temperature every now and then with a infrared thermometer after a run. Caliper pistons seized on one side rear of my 2003 Silverado with about 50K on the odometer, but when the truck was 15 years old. I noticed fuel mileage was off about 1-2 mpg but didn't suspect a caliper with such low mileage on the truck.

The plastic piston must get barrel shaped and doesn't fit in the bore any more. I replaced the piston and seal and put new pads on that side, didn't do anything to the other side. Been fine since. Mine is close to a base truck and has single piston calipers, yours is probably a twin piston.

quote:

Originally posted by Perception:
If the driver's side is good and the passenger side is trashed it would seem like you've got something sticking back there. You should figure that out while you're back there as well or you might end up back in the same boat a little while down the road.

Replaced the rotors and pads today. The problem was the rods for the caliper were all gunked up so it wasn’t fully releasing the pad from the rotor. It was like gum on the rods. I didn’t used to know to clean up the rods and re-grease when changing brake pads so that was old grease.

I cleaned everything up really good and greased all areas with caliper grease. Now all four wheels have new rotors and pads. My truck brakes great now.

The satisfaction of knowing it was Done Right!

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:
The plastic piston must get barrel shaped and doesn't fit in the bore any more. I replaced the piston and seal and put new pads on that side, didn't do anything to the other side. Been fine since. Mine is close to a base truck and has single piston calipers, yours is probably a twin piston.

I forgot if my rear wheels had one or two pistons. Turns out they have one piston. I didn’t even think about the piston being the problem…….UGH!!!!! Now that I am thinking about it, I had a pretty hard time pushing the piston in on the passenger rear side to be able to get the caliper back over the new pads. The piston on the other wheel was much easier so maybe the piston is also a part of the problem. Would there have been anything else I would have seen to know the piston might be part of the issue?

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
The satisfaction of knowing it was Done Right!

That is exactly why I like to do my own work. Might take me longer, but I am very thorough and make sure to do it right and do all I can while I have something apart.

Next will be to replace oil pan gasket. I will completely remove the oil pan so I can clean it up like new to get any gunk out and also replace the oil pickup tube gasket.