In the fall I replaced my breaks. Last week my rear, driver-side break froze up and was holding harder than the other side. This week, both front break disks are blue from too much heat. Is there a proportioning valve on this truck, and if so, is that what I'm having a problem with?
Thanks for your help.

 

Most common problem is sticking slide pins on the calipers.

 

Like Roland said. Slide pins

 

This shows you what there talking about - Welcome to guzzle's Front Caliper Slide Pin Upgrade Web

 

Most people say slide pins are the main culprit. When I bought my truck, my rear brake rotors were TOAST, and the fronts were new, but the left one had a rock stuck in between the caliper and pads, so there was a groove. It was under warranty, so I was not worried.

So in August, right after I got the truck, I did both rear brakes, new pads and rotors, and the right rear slide pins were fused to the bracket, so I replaced that. I also replaced the front left rotor and pads, because the guy I got it from gave me the receipts, and I knew the people at the parts store, so they honored it.


Then, two weeks ago, my front right caliper seized SOLID. I was only 5 miles from home, so no biggie. I was just kicking myself for not checking it out at the same time as the other three brakes. The rotor ended up being ok, just new pads and caliper, because one piston was stuck. And i mean STUCK. Then I ended up throwing a new bracket on there, because the old one would not compress far enough from all the corrosion.

Then three days later the right rear brake locked up on me. The one that had new slide pins and a new bracket already. I figured it must be a brake line. I took it apart, and sure enough, one of the pistons in the caliper was stuck good.

So it's usually slide pins, but I had two calipers go bad on me within a week. Either way, if you do it yourself, it's not really hard, and it's not that expensive. If you plan on keeping the truck- do yourself a favor and get stuff with a lifetime warranty. It's worth the extra money, because these trucks warp rotors easily, and if you tow, it's extra hard on the brakes.

 

And most of caliper issues are attributed to contaminated brake fluid. Brakes are kind of my specialty, and I can't tell you the number of people who knowingly/unknowingly neglect the brake fluid is unbelievable. If it looks like "tea" it already should be changed... If you have "Coke" in there, stuff is already breaking. These brakes generate a lot of heat, if your boiling point drops, you start boiling the fluid (BAD), causing the water to fall out of suspension, and rust EVERYTHING.

 

It is recommended to flush out your brake fluid every 2 years. Most people neglect to do this because they just don't know. I feel it is an important part of routine maintenance.

 

when I had a front right caliper sticking I searched for a cheap clean/re-use here. Most recommend just replacing the caliper. Do it once and be done. The clean and re-use doesn't seem to be a long term solution.

 

If it turns out not to be a problem with the calipers here is where the ABS control module is. Right in front of and below driver side battery.