I'm getting tired of this. Let me give a brief timeline:

Bought my Ex in April 2013

Realized in June '13 that truck would pull to the left a little when I braked. Replaced pads and rotors. Factory pads and rotors looked normal but whatever.

December 2013 - shimmying when braking downhill (not towing). Replaced rotors, pads and calipers with Power Stop.

September 2013 - Everything was good but I now have the the left pull about 35% of the time when I brake. After extended downhill mountain driving (7%+ grade for 15 miles) I get the shimmying. I only get the shimmying in this situation.

When I had my tires rotated (reputable shop) I was told I only had a 2-3k miles left on my pads.

I do drive aggressively so I'm not surprised I need to replace my pads more often, especially on a large vehicle. That said pads wearing out at ~10k miles normal?

I was going to just order new pads and install them this weekend but before I do that i wanted to get some ideas of what is going on. Ex currently has about 64k miles on it.

 

On those loooong downhills are you using a lower transmission gear to control speed or just the friction brakes?

 

Downshifting and OD off

 

how is the front end ..i.e. all the balljoints etc

 

slide pinc ...caliper pins... the lines from the calipers to the brake booster.. might have a small plug in one .. etc .. just thinking outside the box

 

It seems pretty common in 10+ year-old vehicles for the rubber brake lines to deteriorate inside; apparently the rubber lining starts to separate from the casing and forms a sort of "check valve" that holds a few psi of pressure on the brake caliper when you release the brakes... so the pads "drag" constantly.

You easily overpower the collapsed lining when you apply the brakes, but they don't completely release and they wear out really fast.

 

Had a similar problem on mine, the front brakes were all over the place. When I pulled the front brakes apart, I found that though greased, my slide pins were stuck and the boots had deteriorated.

After plenty of brake cleaner and NOT using the Brake Grease seen here: CRC Industries 5359 - Brake Caliper Synthetic Grease | O'Reilly Auto Parts

The problem has all but gone away, guessing the calipers and fluid might need some attention, but it's night and day better.

 

Dammit, beat me to it...

Russell 696490, full soft line replacement kit with stainless braided lines.

 

I did this about three weeks ago. I never had a complaint about my brakes, but the difference is very noticeable, not near as spongy. Not that they were bad, but they are just better.

Thanks for the heads up, Matt.

 

Rubber brake lines or the caliper brackets.

 

Thanks guys, going to order and replace the brake lines with the link posted.

 

I saw you replaced the calipers but not the caliper bracket. I was having similar issues. Slide pins were stuck/dirty and I would always clean them. Finally replaced the caliper bracket and all problems went away.


Whoever posted the link for the brake lines should get a kick back because I am going to order a set also.

 

I put Russell SS brake hoses on my X about 20K miles ago. The caliper sealing washers that were supplied with the hoses were very thin aluminum vice the thicker copper washers. Suggest you get the copper washers before you install and throw the aluminum ones away. After last winter and all of the road salt, the aluminum washers failed on my X. Both front caliper connections started leaking. Checked the aluminum washers and the salt had deteriorated them really bad. I have since replaced the Russell aluminum washers on my X, ZO6 and Dodge Super Bee with copper washers. Hard for me to believe that Russell makes such a quality brake hose and provides such a cheap washer.

Ed

 

Where/how do you get the right copper washers?

I just ordered the Russell lines yesterday... no way I was putting these new pads & rotors on with the 10 year-old lines.

 

Autozone has them for sale individually