I have a 2000 Suburban 1500 that I have had for about 10 years. I have NEVER been happy with the brakes.I have 3 350 (1 ton) series Ford vans and the brakes on them are excellent compared to the Sub.And they are loaded to 8500 lbs every day.I have replaced pads a number of times ( different composition each time) and it doesnt seem to make any difference.To get the Sub to stop in any kind of hard braking situation,you have to STAND on them at the last second. They have been bled numerous times. I have a good friend who is an ASE mechanic and he says he has the same problem with his wife's Tahoe.
Anyone else have this problem? Or come up with a solution? To be specific, there is nothing mechanicly wrong with the brakes...they just SUCK. Any ideas? thanks

 

Welcome to the forum.

Are you "STAND"ing on them hard enuf to engage the ABS?

 

NO, just to use "normal" pedal doesnt do the job. I have to provide progressivly heavier pedal pressure and it just doesnt seem to do the job. Then as you get REALLY close to the car in front of you, you really have to get on them. They dont seem to have the stopping power that should be there ,given the amount of pedal pressure that is being applied.As I said,my heavy ford vans have so much more stopping power,even given the additional weight, that I am NEVER concerened about stopping with them. Both my daughters feel the same way.Their Honda and Hundai FAR outperform the Suburban.I was wondering if there was somekind of update vis-a-vie master cyl bore size,pad material,etc that had been updated since 2999.Thanks for the reply. I am not on this site very often. most of the time I am on the "Corvette forum" or the "Ford van site" rick

 

Might be time for a new booster and master cylinder...

 

I typed all this out and then realized that this truck is right at the year where it may have 4 wheel disc brakes. All this pertains to rear drum brakes. A stuck caliper slide on 4 wheel disc and even disc/drum set up gives the feeling of crappy brakes also. Take the brakes apart and make sure the slide move freely.


That is a very common complaint for these trucks. Two things can be done to make it better. Most people are perfectly happy with option #1

#1 Have the rear brake adjusted PROPERLY and often. There is actually a tool to do it correctly. You use one side of it to measure the inside of the drum, then you turn it over and slide it over the shoes. The adjuster is then turned until the shoes touch the tool. You must make sure there is no real lip in the drum as it will be hard to put back on.

http://www.google.com/url?source=img...lPZ9gA51vtJ6JQ


http://www.google.com/url?source=img...17om4FprtsoEAw


#2 Do a rear drum to disc conversion

1994-2000 Chevy Suburban Disc Brake Conversion Kits - SSBC A126-5R - SSBC Disc Brake Conversion Kit

2000 SUBURBAN 1500 Summit Racing® Rear Drum-to-Disc Brake Conversion Kits - SummitRacing.com

 

It has 4 wheel discs. I think the rotors are just too small and/or the master cylinder bore is the wrong size to do the job properly. Thanks for the responses..

 

My recently acquired (last Saturday) 1996 K2500 seems to have under powered brakes as well. I have also noticed that there is a pull to the right when I first hit the pedal. I think I might need new flex hoses behind the wheels. I'm going to check it out this weekend.

 

You never said if you could get the ABS to engage or not. My suspicion is something's wrong w/ the power brake system. Does it have Hydroboost?

 

The brakes on the 4 wheel disc truck seem to feel pretty equal to a ford truck. Never had anyone complain. Check to make sure all the caliper side move freely. Also put grease between the pad and the bracket. We service a fleet of express vans. Had one come in brakes felt ok but not normal. Would have sworn it was a hydraulic problem. One of my guys called the master cylinder and a brake flush, no change. Then he put on all 4 brake hoses, no change. Brakes felt ok just not right. At this point I took over the problem. I then drove another van just to make sure they we not normal. Definatly felt weak compared to another van. I started taking the brakes apart and found 1 stuck slide on both rear calipers. I serviced all 4 calipers and it was like a night and day change.