nitrochevy

hey!
Newbie here, I've got an '03 silverado 1500 4wd with ~20k on it, have had problems with front brakes. The dealer turned the rotors a few months ago ( warranty) and now they're pulsing again. Also it looks like the front pads are shot and there's barely any wear to the rear rotors, almost as if the back ones aren't working.
Any clues as to where the problem is? Is there a proportioning valve on this vehicle? The truck is now out of warranty and I'm wondering if the dealer should re-fix it for free?
tks,
Elvin

NCHEVYHEVN

Wow that's really strange. How many miles are on it now?

I don't know why but all the newer silverados 99-up have great front brakes. Like I'm talking they normally last around 80k miles or more.

As far as the rear brakes not wearing alot well it may be normal depending on the milage because about 70% of the braking force is on the front due to weight shifting and the motor being on the front.

kcb37

It may be cheap rotors and pads. I have put 2 sets of pads on my 96 in the past 3 years after 75,000 miles, but I have pulled quite a bit without trailer brakes too.

NCHEVYHEVN

They are factory rotors. How can they be cheap. [&:]

O and I think I read the original thread starters post wrong. You got an 03 with 20k on it and the dealership turned the rotors a couple months back, right?

If so than there is something really wrong if the front pads are already worn down. The pads are normally really thick and last a long time.

kcb37

Some of the stuff car manufatures use is chaep. That would be why the tahoes seem to have problems with the window seal on the back windows. It's cheap. I will agree that 20k seems very unusual to have brakes go that quick, but being that it has been looked at and worked on it seems more logical that it would be cheap parts.
That also makes me kinda curious to know what type of pads are put on these factory.

NCHEVYHEVN

I don't think you mean cheap pads and rotors but maybe faulty rotors and pads. The rotors and pads are not cheap. Like I said the newer silverado's front brakes last forever it seems. It's not uncommon for the front brakes to last 50k+.

carpenterbill

I have 63000+ on my '03 and have had no brake work done. I do have a HD so it has bigger brakes than a standard 1500(mine has the same setup from the 2500hd's) but when I checked them at 58000 +/- there was alot of pad left and Im not very easy on the brakes, lots of hard stops, heavy trailers, ect. I can not see how they would wear that fast unless there is a problem somewere else.

kcb37

Yes I do mean cheap, they may cost a lot from the dealer but that doesn't mean it isn't cheap. Also not every part is made as well as some of the others that come off the same line. I would think that like carpenterbill said if it's not a HD it would probably have smaller brakes, they would wear faster, still something seems like it wasn't made right to me. Other than riding the brakes, a sticky caliper, or cheap parts their should be no reason why they should wear that fast.

NCHEVYHEVN

Dude it's not cheap parts. How many times do I have to keep saying it. I'm sitting here saying the brakes are awsome on the newer silverados 1500s, 2500s, suburbans, tahoes, yukons, escalades. They last a very long time.

It's something that has stuck like a frozen caliper, a faulty line, or something like you said but it's not cheap products. HD's run practicly the same stuff. I havn't measured it out and looked up part numbers but they all last a long time.

kcb37

If you read what I originally stated and how I contiuned with it you may realize that I have not stated that it was the rotors and pads, and when I say cheap I mean bad parts. (some of the expensive stuff isn't anygood either) I also said it may just be the rotors he has on his not all of them. But if his pads are gone at 20k and they do last up to 80k like you say even riding the brakes should not be that bad. It sounds like a weak rotor, bad pads, and a sticky caliper to me. If he does ride the brakes i'm sure he would feel it to wear them down that much, or if it was just a sticky caliper he should feel that driving down the road.