Brake woes

[agrossm]

Yesterday I had a horrible vibration while braking so when I got home I pulled the front tires and found my pads and rotors where shot. I've only had the truck a little over 6 months and never checked them (my fault).So, I went to NAPA and spent $250 on rotors, pads, seals, and grease. I started w/ the passengers side first since it was the worst. I cleaned and repacked the wheel bearings and installed the new rotor (my truck is 2WD). When I went to install the new pads and the caliper they simply would not fit. I compressed the piston in the caliper w/ a c-clamp as far as it would go and still couldn't get it to fit. Now I'm thinking my caliper is bad, the piston is scored or debris is in it and that's why the passengers side was the worse. So, I head to NAPA, they are closed, so now to O'Riely (my second choice). I pick up a new caliper, go home and still the same problem.Long story short I just got home from NAPA this morning. I took all the parts and had them double check. I've got all the right parts according to them. Their only suggestion was to install 7500 GVWR pads. I took the 7500 pads b/c we've got a winter storm coming and I want to get the truck off the jack stands and out of the driveway. Here's a list of the NAPA parts I purchased yesterday:Pads: ss-7339mRotor/Hub Assymb: 4886452Wheel Seals: 21756The pads they gave me today are p/n ss-7260mThe 7260 pads appear to be almost identical to the 7339 except the steel plate for the inboard pad isn't soild where it slides into the caliper and the pads are not as thick.The sticker in my door clearly states that the truck has a 8800 lb GVWR. Has anyone else had this issue? I'm at a loss as to what to do. There has to be a reason why they make two different rated pads and I'm afraid to drive the truck now (especially w/ a load) until I get this resolved. In the mean time I need to get it out of the way so my wife can get her car in the garage.Any help or advise is appreciated greatly.

[Mopar1973Man]

As for the old caliper you can service them out completely and fix the hang up you got right now. http://mopar.mopar1973man.com/cummins/general/brakes/brakes.htm Just disassemble the calipers using compressed air to push the pucks out. Just remember to protect the pucks with a piece of wood like a 2x4. Also keep your fingers away from them (crushing hazard). Then remove all seals and wash the entire caliper with soap and water and blow dry with compressed air. Now check your pucks without the seals. The pucks should drop to the bottom of the bores without being pushed. If not then using fine grade sandpaper lightly sand each puck till it fits the bores. You'll find there is a light film of dried brake fluid that causes this problem. Once you done re-assemble the caliper and re-mount on the truck. Bleed the system...

[guesswho512]

i also had similar problem as this a while back. i am going to link it for continuity. http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/1863-front-pads?highlight=brake i have also been sold the wrong rotor before and the store closed for the night before i could make it back up there. i have a beef with NAPA. where i live, there are very few. when a member on this forum tells me they got a certain part for a certain price, local napas tell me that they don't have parts, are not on sell, etc. almost always they are $5 dollars more for the exact same part from orielly's, autozone, advanced auto. i always hear about sells on VALVOLINE PREMIUM BLUE, but when i go to the store its $17 a gallon.(they don't carry prem blue at oriellys(at least here) and on sale price at autozone is 10.99 when walmart's every day low price is 12.00. sorry for the rant, back to your problem. i have only had that problem once on my 99. i think i was the 1st or 2nd pad change since i bought the truck. i suspect that when i was using my "C" clamp to compress the piston, it didn't push dead straight. it put the piston in a bind(i couldn't tell from looking cause it was push almost all the way in and "looked" fine). either push the piston back out or keep trying. just remember that if you take the caliper off, DON"T loose the little copper washer :banghead: hopes this helps

[Rogan]

Here's what I found on my '01, shortly after taking ownership of it, last year..

New on left, what I took off the truck, on RIGHT.. lol

[guesswho512]

whoa! i've seen caliper pistons go before it ran thru a side of a rotor!

[dripley]

that rotor on the right is pretty aggresive. did it stop real smooth?

[Mopar1973Man]

Ummm... You got all the life out that one...

[Rogan]

haha! Yeah, that one ended up on the wall of shame, where I keep all the unreal broken parts and such...

[agrossm]

To follow up, I got the brakes put back together yesterday. The 7500lb pads fit and the truck seems to stop fine, although I still have concerns about the weight rating on them.

i suspect that when i was using my "C" clamp to compress the piston, it didn't push dead straight. it put the piston in a bind(i couldn't tell from looking cause it was push almost all the way in and "looked" fine). either push the piston back out or keep trying. just remember that if you take the caliper off, DON"T loose the little copper washer :banghead: hopes this helps

I thought the same thing and gently applied the brakes to push the piston out a few times. I would also apply pressure with the c-clamp and wait a few seconds and then apply more pressure. My problem was that the piston was bottomed out, which I proved by buying a re-man'd caliper. I'm just frustrated w/ NAPA and the fact that all the "Right" parts they sold me didn't fit.

[jshmohr]

Hey sorry to here your frustrations with NAPA!! I manage my parents NAPA and we don't opperate like that I did check the #'s you posted and they look correct the only thing I could think of is if the rotor was not machined right the rotor should have a 1.29" thickness when new so if you have a micrometer you could check it. Also I have run into when you depress the piston on the caliper crack the bleeder, see the caliper is the lowest part of your brake system and that is where you will find most of the debries so when you crack the bleeder it will remove most of this. GOOD LUCK and hope you don't hate NAPA!!

[Mopar1973Man]

Actually you might have to disassemble the caliper still to clean out the debris and check the puck for size too. I wish I got got pics of mine now but I had a small goob of debris that pooled and turned semi solid in the bottom of the calipers causing the lower pucks to bind. Still its best to disassemble them once in while and actually look and see...

[Rhagfo]

It is a given when I do my brakes, Calipers get rebuilt! It is not a hard thing to do. I have never had less than dual piston calapers on my first two trucks (F250 Gassers). First time I went to do it parts guy told me that I wouldn't get them right and the brakes wouldn't last. He was right I needed to replace them after only 79,000 miles! If you do it right and get the correct parts it is still a tight fit, seems like the rotor or pads are too thick, but once in place and pedal depressed and release all turns freely.