I experienced something new yesterday. Was going down the road about 50 mph and went to pass a slower car. Just as I pulled out, there in front of me is a big honkin' chuckhole. I hit it HARD, and was adding to the front load by standing on the brakes.

About a mile further down the road, got a hard right pull. Found out my inside pad had disintegrated, nothing left but metal plate.

The rotor has not been turned before. Now has some serious gouging from the plate. Don't know whether too replace it yet or not.

Driving the 89 gasser 350 for now. Forgot how much fun that little dump is to drive.

Ed

 

Here is where "lifetime" pads come in. If you have galled, scratched, or mared the rotor I have installed "lifetime" pads to clean up the rotors before I reinstall regular pads. Run them for 2-3 hundred miles. Now I know I'm gonna get flamed big time. But it worked for me and my rotor was galled pretty good! It can't hurt to try.

180K miles on the original rotors never turned them, 6 sets of pads. Always get the cheapest pads you can IMHO.

 

That is the first nice thing I have heard about lifetime pads. Seems reasonable to me but it only costs $20-$25 to have them turned. How much were the pads?

 

Disintegrating pads/shoes is common if they have become oil soaked at some point due to a leak. They many hold up for a long time after getting soaked but the first time they get hot fall apart.

I don't mess with turning rotors, most times they come in under spec.
New high quality Brembo rotors from www.tirerack.com are only about $55 for a 4wd.
And yes I have replaced just one side without any problems.

 

I'm finding that rotors are less and less worth turning. (as per infidels post) They're realatively cheap unless you are talking about a really fresh model vehicle that they are not pumping out parts for (in which typically wouldn't need brakes on).
I still have the oem's on, but also only have 73k on them. When I have the slightest reason to think there shot, they'll be scrapped, not machined.

 

Must be the older ones, my rotors will fall off on your toe if your not careful. My brother in law has a 97 gasser, he has a 2 hr. front end disassembly with special tools and all??
Trust me, once his came off there was no turning about it, he got new ones!!

 

Don't know exactly what I'll be doing yet. So far, all I have had time for is to just get it in my shop. Hopefully this weekend will get some answers.

I did notice an incredible amount of oil all down that side of the truck the other day. I checked ALL fluids and all were OK. Not sure yet where it came from. I'll be checking again in the morning when I get home from work.

New parts alway make it run so much nicer

Ed

 

That's a fact!

The rotors on my truck are hard to get off. If they were I would have replaced them too.

 

Had the rear pads come apart on my truck. Pulled the wheel off and got a good look and found the calipers were not sliding on the pins very well and had destroyed the rotor on one side. One side of the rotor was about 1/8"thick and the other side of the same rotor was at least double that.

 

Well, I ended up just putting new pads on. Decided to wait until next time to replace the disks. Stopping very nicely now.

Adjusted rear shoes, still look like new.

Flushed tranny and new filter.

Bit the bullet and replaced the TPS. Had followed advise found here (Bill?) about cleaning it. That lasted about a year and a half. NAPA had one in stock for $179.00.

Enough new parts for now, time to start saving for 6 new tires, stacks, gauges, paint, and other goodies.

Thanks for the advise.

Ed

 

I put the cheapest set of pads I could on my truck and it chewed the rotors to bits. I put the expensive ones on now and they are slowly working the rotor back flat. Never again will I use the cheap pads.