Brakes on my truck have been squeaking lately and I figured they needed greased. Today I've decided to check them out and good thing I did. This is what I've found. Im not sure how this has happened, brake pads looked good last time I looked at them (in the spring) Ive changed brake fluid and added speed bleeders.
Both pads completely disintegrated and came off backing material. I wonder if these are cheap pads. Drivers side pads were in good shape. I still replaced them on both corners with AutoZone duralast gold pads, hopefully they will last better than these did.

 

Wow, That's a first for me.

I always wondered why some pads had a "lifetime" garauntee.

 

These were on the truck when I bought it, so I have no idea which brand they are and of course have no receipt.

 

Right there is a fine example why you don't want to use cheap pads of a 7000lb vehicle that may tow 20,000 lbs.....

 

I think that's more "crappy pad" related, and may not be "overheat" related.

 

Pads on the other side were fine but I can't identify which brand they were.

 

Dang, those didn't have much 'stop' left in them

 

I cant say for sure what caused that, but I can say that if you live where road salt or calcium chloride is used then corrosion can lead to sticky calipers. Maybe thats what happened to yours since only one pad is toast which usually means that the caliper stuck and didn't slide back. The inside pad moves without the whole caliper moving. If the pad actually got hot then that side of the rotor would look overheated too.

Also, you mentioned greasing the brakes. I never grease the brakes but rather do what I can to keep them clean because grease attracts dirt which causes sticking calipers.

 

What Katoom said...

I use the sticky red no sling grease on the caliper sliders, but nowhere else. Its an extra 15 minutes when rotating your tires..

 

Drove truck the other day and seemed like I smelled burning brakes again. I'm thinking I'll replace that rubber line going to the caliper, maybe it's swelled up on inside.

 

Have seen lots like that on these rear disc-equipped trucks and I've always attributed it to overheating. The front wheels kick up so much grit and gravel that damages the rubber slide boots on the rear calipers, then the slides seize up like Katoom mentioned, and cook the pads. Every time I look at rear brakes on these trucks, the slides are seized. The slide bores in the caliper will be full of rust, which greatly expands when it gets warm and prevents the slide from moving (even if it moves freely when it's cold). I've found that the most important thing you can do on a brake job is to remove the rubber slide boots and hone all the rust out of the bore, right down to bare shiny metal. Now put some protectant on the bare metal and install new slides and boots.

 

Hi torquefan - can you elaborate a bit on "Now put some protectant on the bare metal and install new slides and boots."

What kind of protectant do you recommend, brand type, brand name or whatever?

Thanks

Mike

 

If it was me I would check and be sure your caliper is not hanging/sticking. May need to replace the calipers if the pistons are sticking and not moving freely.

 

Bingo!!!!! I work for a county in Colorado, we have a Dodge 5500 little dump and a salt sand spreader, we use salt sand mix and the state uses mah chloride on their roads. The factory pads do this as well, both inside & outside pads desintrigated, even the replacement Mopar pads do it.

 

I hear its cause factory uses cheap phenolic pistons in the calipers that they bind. I might rebuild factory caliper and install new brake line on that side just to make sure its not swelled up on inside.