i went to change the pads in my sd today and noticed they were in perfect condition, but the truck breaks like crap almost scary with a load behind it. anyone experiance this and what did you do to fix it?

 

How long have you had the truck and what are you comparing the braking too? When is the last time you flushed your brake fluid?

 

i have had the truck for 5 years now. i am comparing the breaking to a duramax 2500, 03 7.3l, 99 7.3l, and a 02 chevy tahoe. all break a million times better than mine. my truck has 49000 on it and i have never flushed the break fluid.

 

Flush the brake fluid and then relube the slide pins. More then likely the slid pins are in needing of maintenance. The can stick or completely seize and lead to poor brake performance.

 

ya i did that and still bad. actually they werent even stuck when i replaced the pads, but i still cleaned them and relubed. just curious, but what does flushing the old fluid going to do?

 

as the brake fluid ages it begins to break down and simply wont hold up to the heat or apply as much brake force at the piston as new..

have your system "flushed" and refilled with new.. make sure they flush it till you have perfectly clean brake fluid coming outa each calipers bleed nipple..

 

Not to mention that brake fluid adsorbs moisture causing a lower boiling point and leads to increased rust in the brake lines and calipers. Speaking of have you check the pistons in the calipers slid freely?

 

did you replace the pads eventhough they still have meat on them? The old ones might be glazed.

 

Is the pedal firm or soft?

A couple ideas:

1) Definitely flush fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs water. Once enough water gets into piston bore in , it will corrode the aluminum, leading to pistons getting stuck or "frozen". I've also seen crud build up in fittings and hoses so bad that they were fully plugged, but that usually takes 10 years or more of negligence. Wise PM is to flush at least every 2 years.
2) Pull the calipers, one at a time. Try to push the pad on the piston side back in. It takes quite a bit of a squeeze. If it won't move, you have a frozen piston or plugged line.
3) If OK, put a piece of 120 grit sandpaper on a very flat surface (glass is good) and put the pad face down and swirl it around until the glazed surface is gone. I like to use wet or dry paper with water on it.
4) If still weak, get an infrared thermometer and stop the truck from 65 mph or so. Hop out and measure the temperature of all the rotors. They should be pretty warm, and close in temp from side to side, although rear should be cooler than front. If one or more rotors is notably cooler, you know where to look harder.

 

Can you get lock-up or into the ABS on any wheel if braking hard on gravel?

 

I have a 1999 F350 and the breaks have never been good. Flushed, used expensive rotors and pads, cheap rotors and pads done this, done that. Nuttin works. They just suck. Period! Apparently several years after 99 have the same problem. I have talked to several mechanics, and they say that they have been dealing with this same issue for years.

Sorry I didn't give you an answer, Just Ranting. Don't tailgate is all I can say. lol

 

yes i can get it to lock up and abs go off on snowy conditions

 

i will do the flushing thing and i did check the calipers for frozen pistons and they moved freely. maby glazed pads but i through them out allready so i cant check that anymore