Post your latest brake job

2018 F250 RWD

Out: front a rear factory rotors and pads.
In: Napa rotors and semi metallic pads

The front wheel hubs and bearings had zero grease left. Bearings were trashed.
The pads weren't bad at all as far as wear was concerned but the rotors didn't look good. Replaced all for good measure.

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Took 9 hours over the course of two days to get all new pads, rotors and the brake fluid flushed on my 2013 Dodge Charger R/T.

Everything I needed was delivered and correct. I started jacking up the rear end of the car in the driveway. Then I emptied the master cylinder and filled it with fresh DOT 3. I pulled a vacuum on each rear caliper from the bleeders until fresh fluid came out.

I removed the caliper, pads, and caliper bracket. Then I hit a wall when I realized the rotors were seized onto the hubs....Hammers, bolt into the caliper mounts to push the rotor off, heat, more hammering. Each rotor took close to an hour to release from the hub.. That wore me out.

Next day.... got to the fronts, rotors not seized but the caliper bracket to knuckle bolts were hella tight,,, needed to deploy the 1/2 impact gun on those bolts. I had to pry the calipers off as it seemed the pads were glued to the them. Then the front left bleeder bolt was stuck...

Got it all sorted out and back together, and it stops great. Went with the Raybestos Element3 pads, I have them on another car and they are extremely low dust. Quiet and they grab well too.

When I was younger it seemed like working on things took way less time than anything does today. I swear I had engines in and out of cars in a day, brake jobs done in two hours, coolant flush 30 minutes, spark plugs took 45 minutes..... I can't get out of my own way now. LOL>
 
Arrgh!! Got smoked on my brake job.... Went for a longer drive and the car started feeling slower. I got out and the front brakes were very hot!! I made it back to the house where the front rotors were 350*F .........I could barely turn the front wheels with the wheels off the ground even when the brakes cooled down. The rear rotors were 85*F , no issues in the back.

After much diagnosing I discovered the pistons in both front calipers were partially seized. First, the car had worn down brake pads so the pistons were further out in their bores allowing the brakes to release fine. No drag.

I found that pushing the pistons in all the way staged them in an area where they did not like to return causing the drag. I am thinking there is some type of corrosion inside each bore and that is what is making the pistons hang up in that spot. I did not notice this on the short test drive.

I used a brake caliper clamp to push the pistons back home and put the old pads back on. I then pumped the brake pedal to push the pistons out and use the clamp to push them back in, working them in and out several times. I reinstalled the new pads and found they were still seized at that particular spot in the bore.

Tomorrow I will disassemble each caliper and try to rebuild them with new seals, IF the bores are not too corroded.
 
None of the parts stores around me carry the correct seals and autozone does not offer brake caliper seal kits for the front brakes... incomplete and conflicting information as Dodge offered a large number of caliper configurations on their Chargers....

>>> I ordered remanufactured calipers from Detroit Axle... we will see how it goes, expect a report back in a few days.
 
Update: I received the Detroit Axle calipers which are stock Dodge twin piston calipers that have been rebuilt. The left wheel is now free after the install however the right caliper still has a little bit of drag to it. There are no 'anti drag' springs on these calipers.

What I am able to gather is the pistons are made of a phenolic material that, over time, swell slightly with moisture and use. These pistons while great for not transferring heat to the brake fluid are not good at staying free in the bore.

I can drive the car again and have very close reading on the calipers (80-90*F) and rotors 115-145*F after normal driving. I even coasted into a parking lot on the side of the road and jacked up the car to feel the drag. Yep, right side will only spin about half way around then stop when you let go of the wheel. The left side spins about a turn and a half, maybe further.

Soooo. I was playing around with the old stuck calipers and after popping out the pistons I noticed they would get stuck when reinserting them into their bores even with no seals on them.

I found STEEL replacement pistons at Carlson Brake parts and ordered a new seal kit. I will replace the phenolics with steel soon and report back.

Oh, and just for the fun of it I replaced the brake hose on the right side as well.
 
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Update: I picked up the Carlson caliper pistons, they are not steel, but the original phenolic material with a steel face where they contact the back of the brake pad..... I will have to find if anyone makes 100% steel pistons for these cars.

I may be forced to use these.
 
Bailey28 said:
Update: I picked up the Carlson caliper pistons, they are not steel, but the original phenolic material with a steel face where they contact the back of the brake pad..... I will have to find if anyone makes 100% steel pistons for these cars.

I may be forced to use these.
Click to expand...
Would it have been more beneficial to buy new complete front calipers?
 
At this point, I want to be the one to fit the parts together and make sure they work right. The reman calipers were coated and rebuilt however I do not know if they used new pistons in those or if they measure a handful of old pistons and pick the best ones.

The left caliper works great. No drag. The right caliper has a very slight drag. Not enough to notice when driving however. But I would like it to have no drag.

I did not have to return the old calipers for cores. With that in mind, I bought two new pistons and the seal kit will arrive shortly. I can tell you already that just fittng the new pistons into the old caliper is eye opening. The new pistons fit flawlessly with my guess around .001" or less clearance. Yes, they are that close. Lubricant will not go into the bore but brake cleaner will leak through. How these things aren't jamming up on people is beyond me.

If my home built right caliper works and is more free/less drag than the Detroit caliper, I will return their right caliper only and keep the left one.
 
Bailey28 said:
Update: I picked up the Carlson caliper pistons, they are not steel, but the original phenolic material with a steel face where they contact the back of the brake pad..... I will have to find if anyone makes 100% steel pistons for these cars.

I may be forced to use these.
Click to expand...
Phenolic pistons degrade and go a bit "barrel shaped" over time....they should be replaced. Nobody makes a steel piston for that caliper...new phenolic is fine and will last another 10 years.

Most of the rebuilders now are running used phenolics through a centerless grinder and re-using them.....they're dimensionally OK, but already structurally compromised and they'll change shape again quickly and stick, as you've seen happen.

We sell a kit with everything you need, https://autobrakesolutions.com/prod...-challenger-2-piston-caliper-front-master-kit
 
JeffKeryk said:
Our '13 Lex GS350 F Sport came with Textar pads. Unfortunately the squeal is legendary on these cars. The fix is an Advics pad.
Click to expand...
Pad material differences.

Lexus pads is Organic.
Textar aftermarket is Semi-Metallic
Advics aftermarket is Ceramic.
 
iCurious said:
Pad material differences.

Lexus pads is Organic.
Textar aftermarket is Semi-Metallic
Advics aftermarket is Ceramic.
Click to expand...
Thanks.The Textar pads were expensive but squealed like a pig. The GS350 F Sport came with them. I would clean and lube them to stop the squeal, but didn't last. There is a TSB (see below) for the Advics pad. I got them from the dealership.


Introduction
Some 2013 – 2020 model year GS and RC model vehicles may exhibit a squeal/squeak noisefrom the front brake pads. This is only applicable on 2WD F Sport vehicles. This condition may bepresent at city, highway, and/or parking lot speeds. For customers who find this characteristicobjectionable, an updated front brake pad kit is available.
 
SatinSilver said:
Where did you buy the pads, rotors and Bosch fluid from?
Click to expand...
The pads from eBay (NOS clearance from some auto accessories customizer store)
The rotors from Rock Auto
The fluid probably from Amazon, though I don't remember since I've had it quite awhile, though it still looked new and yellow)

EBC has changed the Greenstuff formulation many times over the years. This seems to be an older formula.

amateurbob said:
How often do flush your brake fluid using ESI6? Also in the past, l read you used Wagner 5.1, what made you change to the Bosch?
Click to expand...
I usually flush brake fluid when replacing pads/rotors/drums/shoes.
Bosch seems to be the cheapest DOT 5.1 now, though Wagner was the cheapest one before Bosch started selling the ESI6. Also, the Bosch comes in a metal can, while Wagner switched to a plastic bottle.
 
Just now swapped my 2018 GMC Sierra’s original OE ACDelco rotors for NAPA Adaptive One Truck & SUV. I can’t feel my back anymore. ;)

95K miles on the truck and the OE did pretty good (I think) with our western PA weather and overly salted roads. I replaced the OE pads about 40k miles ago but didn’t swap the rotors at the time. Today both were done.

I had no issues with ACDelco rotors and pads but when I was shopping around, I saw the price. Holy moly!
 
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