Ok...don't shoot me...I really do know what i'm doing as i've been working on vehicles for most of my life....i put on ceramic pads about 5000 miles ago....they're almost brand new....but the rotors are now starting to warp....i'm thinking of having the rotors turned...and sanding down the pads to clean them up back to flat on a belt sander.....anyone ever tried this...I hate to replace a 80 dollar pair of pads when they're almost brand new........again.....just wondering if anyones ever tried it...

 

Never tried sanding the pads down but I did have a set of ceramics warp the rotors on my mustang after a couple thousand miles. I had the rotors turned and put the ceramic pads back on. I ended up with a decent vibration and it felt as though the pads were "floating" on the rotors as they didn't seem to grip the rotor. I ended up putting a set of new pads on.

 

good luck with that...I'm thinking you're just going to waste alot of time trying to get them useable.

 

I have used belt sander to knock the glaze off of pads that squeak before sucessfully. I have also just roughed them up a little by hand with 80 grit just enough to get rid of glazing. I would use ceramic pads if I were to tow as they have better stopping power. If the truck isn't going to be used for towing, Bendix makes a good quality semi-metallic pad that does not give off the brake dust that the factory pads do. I have towed with Bendix pads on my old 95 F-150 and they were ok, but they do fade like the factory pads do under severe use. The Bendix pads aren't quite as hard on rotors as ceramic pads, though. I hope this helps you make a choice.

Greg B

 

I finally installed the rotors and brake pads on my truck.
I bought the Chiltons manual and as usual it sucks!!!!
If I had not done brake jobs in the past I would have not been able to get the job done.
The front pads had about 2/3rds of the pad left but the rear pads were worn down to the backing plates with 32,000 on the odometer.
The truck seems to stop much better with the new rotors and pads and doesn't shake rattle and roll when I press on the brake pedal.
I hope the new Wagner pads will eliminate the brake dust problems I had in the past.
I will keep all posted.

Phil

 

You will love those pads, they will do away with the brake dust problem.

 

Well I had a little problem with one of the calipers, the right rear. When I was pushing the piston in on the right rear caliper it seemed to be very tight and required alot of pressure from the c-clamp. After driving to the vet to get my dog a blood test I smelled something funny and began to touch all the wheels with my hand to see if a caliper had frozen. Sure enough the right rear wheel was VERY hot compared to the other wheels. I picked up a caliper from CarQuest today and took the right rear caliper off and saw the rubber seal around the piston had heated up so much that it was brittle. I put the new caliper on and am waiting for my wife to help me bleed the brakes.
Do I bleed the brakes with the engine running or with the engine off, of course the Chilton manual doesn't tell me.

Thanks guys, Phil

 

I used an old trick that I used when bleeding the brakes on my race car, gravity bleeding, I just cracked the bleeder slightly for about 2 hours and let the brake fluid gravity feed out of the bleeder screw.
My wife just came home and she helped me bleed the brakes, with the engine off, I got very little air out of the bleeder. I had her depress the pedal 4 times and made sure that I heard and saw no air coming from the bleeder.
I took a test drive for about a 1/2 mile and the brakes seemed fine.
I will keep you all updated, Phil

 

I used an old trick that I used when bleeding the brakes on my race car, gravity bleeding, I just cracked the bleeder slightly for about 2 hours and let the brake fluid gravity feed out of the bleeder screw.
My wife just came home and she helped me bleed the brakes, with the engine off, I got very little air out of the bleeder. I had her depress the pedal 4 times and made sure that I heard and saw no air coming from the bleeder.
I took a test drive for about a 1/2 mile and the brakes seemed fine.
I will keep you all updated, Phil