I have a 1999 Suburban. Did the front brakes 20 months ago at 113k miles and now, with 133k miles, they are toast.

Used NAPA ceramic-metallic pads and rotors. Just gone.

What are some good options to improve the front brakes on these things? They obviously suck..

If I stick totally OEM, what is a good pad compound?

Thanks!

 

Do you tow a lot with your truck? Are you located in the Northern States? Over the past 20 months, did you service the slides and make sure that nothing was dragging? Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why pads and rotors only last 20K.

The NAPA products are fine. You may want to look at full ceramic pads, such as the adaptive ceramic that NAPA has. These are their best.

There are a lot of aftermarket options available, and many of them are very expensive. You may want to check the calipers and make sure that the slide pins are in good shape. If they are not, you are best to replace them or replace the calipers.

I find that you are best to use a very high temperature brake lube for the slides, such as a ceramic silicone. These brakes put out a lot of heat.

Hopefully your next set will last longer.

 

Thanks for the insights. I cannot speak for the slides at this time. I don't remember specifics from 20 months ago, but I do know that with single piston calipers, I always take the time to hit the sliding parts with anti-seize.

Do you think that at 133k miles, the calipers need rebuilt?

I will check those pads out. The rotors are thin now... ugh... and the pads might have 3-4 mm left on them. Yes, I am replacing this weekend coming! Need to order rotors via RockAuto first.

I am in SoCal, and we have lots of hills... cruise along at 45mph and slam on the brakes for a red light, at the bottom of the hill. Fun, eh? No towing... just a long wheelbase, 8 passenger Suburban, all 4800lbs of it!

Thanks!!! Appreciate the feedback!

 

Since you are in Southern California, you don't have to worry about road salt in the winter, which is nice I would be more concerned about the age of our calipers, rather than the mileage. When you remove them, take a look at the rubber boots around the calipers and look for any signs of cracking. It is quite possible that all is well, but you should make sure everything looks good. I would lean more toward the slides maintenance and your slamming on the brakes at a red light.

Good luck with your repair.

 

With heavy usage, in a heavy vehicle, 20 months of brake life

is not unheard of.

Just out of curiosity, do you have drum brakes in the rear?

You want to be certain they are braking properly, also.

If you did not bleed the rear brakes the first time, the

old brake fluid was probably beginning to fade, giving you

air bubbles, and lower pressure on your rear units, regardless of

their design.

 

I do have rear drums, but I haven't inspected them yet - I did 20 months ago and they had quite a bit of meat left.

You are reinforcing my theory that these machines are under-braked. Just not enough swept area to really work for the size.

I have a power bleeder, so bleeding won't be and issue, and I only use DOT 4 fluid. So much better than DOT 3 and well, DOT 5 is just deadly.

 

Will check those out. These are 15 year old calipers... so anything is possible. Then again, remans are pretty darned cheap!

 

don't use anti-sieze compound on caliper pins or brackets. It will cake up, swell rubber and then caliper won't slide properly. the proper product is silicon brake lubricant.


How did you push back the pistons when you install the new parts. A sticking or seized caliper can be detected then;but only if you didn't push it back with a monster C-clamp.

 

Silicone based brake lube, check.

No sticking... I did not use a monster c-clamp. I used a caliper compression tool...