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Brakes Q

HUMMERADDICT

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Location
NH
Hey guys. At the dealership now. Been told I will need new pads and rotors at the next service. I'm not even at 37k yet. Is this normal? After how many miles have all of you guys needed new brakes? Keep in mind, my truck has only been offroad once. :(
 

Ron46

Capt.
Messages
807
Location
NJ
I had to replace my break pads in the first 16k, which I thought was very surprising, but I switched to ceramic pads and I have about 22k now and they are a lot better then the stock pads I had.
 

05Mudiak

Well-Known Member
Messages
731
Location
Lake Charles, LA
Wow I better check our when I get home we just rolled over 40k. pretty sure still on the original set and been on the 325's for over a year now. they were real good when I put the lift on though.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
OEM pads are ceramic so that's what should be going on as a replacement. It is highly doubtful that you need new rotors with the miles that you have. Unless you feel pulsing or have deep grooves evident in the surface of the rotors I would leave them alone. And if they are pulsing or are grooved then a turning of the rotors should cure that. I'm at 96,000 miles and still on my original rotors. I just had the fronts turned for the first time two weeks ago.

As for pad wear it does vary on driving style and also make/model of vehicle. My Civic from a few years ago would need new pads around 25,000 miles. My H3 can easily go 50,000 on the front pads. For some reason I'm getting only that or a bit less from the rear pads.

I highly recommend sticking with the OEM ceramic pads. I did use the top of the line Raybestos during one change and found decreased performance/ increased stopping distances.

OEM front pads can be had for as little as $50 online and can be installed in less than an hour. My dealer occasionally offers $100 specials to do front or rear pads; I think you shouldn't pay more than $150 if there's no sale going on.

I would ask why the rotors should be replaced and if it is a wear/damage issue I would ask for proof - what's the thickness of the rotor vs. a new one, where's the damage. Miles or time do not justify new rotors right now for you.
 

08SolarFlareH3

Super Swampers
Messages
2,525
Location
Finger Lakes, NY
It is highly doubtful that you need new rotors with the miles that you have. Unless you feel pulsing or have deep grooves evident in the surface of the rotors I would leave them alone. And if they are pulsing or are grooved then a turning of the rotors should cure that. I'm at 96,000 miles and still on my original rotors. I just had the fronts turned for the first time two weeks ago.
This may be true in southern states but in NY were they use a ton of salt in the winter, your might be able to turn them once before they need to be replaced. Rotors can get pretty nasty here, even with 40K. I guess it really depends were you live. I do agree that in southern states like AZ, this wouldn't be a problem.
 

HUMMERADDICT

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Location
NH
I'll buy your old calipers if the guy says you need new ones.
He said I could turn them and get more life out of them, so I don't know yet. I'm gonna research some aftermarket before I decide. He said i have a little bit longer. I just noticed some slippage on my brakes so I had him check it out.
 

HUMMERADDICT

Well-Known Member
Messages
252
Location
NH
OEM pads are ceramic so that's what should be going on as a replacement. It is highly doubtful that you need new rotors with the miles that you have. Unless you feel pulsing or have deep grooves evident in the surface of the rotors I would leave them alone. And if they are pulsing or are grooved then a turning of the rotors should cure that. I'm at 96,000 miles and still on my original rotors. I just had the fronts turned for the first time two weeks ago.

As for pad wear it does vary on driving style and also make/model of vehicle. My Civic from a few years ago would need new pads around 25,000 miles. My H3 can easily go 50,000 on the front pads. For some reason I'm getting only that or a bit less from the rear pads.

I highly recommend sticking with the OEM ceramic pads. I did use the top of the line Raybestos during one change and found decreased performance/ increased stopping distances.

OEM front pads can be had for as little as $50 online and can be installed in less than an hour. My dealer occasionally offers $100 specials to do front or rear pads; I think you shouldn't pay more than $150 if there's no sale going on.

I would ask why the rotors should be replaced and if it is a wear/damage issue I would ask for proof - what's the thickness of the rotor vs. a new one, where's the damage. Miles or time do not justify new rotors right now for you.
I asked him to check the brakes because I had noticed some slippage. I was there anyway getting an oil change, alignment and taking care of my air bag readiness light thats been going on.

He didn't say anything about damage, just that the street salt and sand has caused the premature wear. He shot me estimates of about $700 to turn the 4 rotors and get new pads VS. about $900 for 4 new rotors and 4 new pads. This just sucks right now because my wife just bought me 4 new wheels for XMAS and now I have this to deal with. LOL!

For what its worth, I trust this service manager and this dealer.
 

Ron46

Capt.
Messages
807
Location
NJ
I wonder why my pads went so fast then :huh: I don't even break hard, but the dealer did say there was a lot of mud down there lol, I guess mud wears out pads faster?
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
If you need to replace rotors and pads consider finding an independent shop, especially one that will install parts you bring in. Rotors are about $75 each so with two rotors and a set of pads you're around $225 for parts. Labor should be $100-$200. Brakes are not a difficult repair.

For comparison I just had the front rotors turned for about $80 total. It is no more labor (less, actually) to replace the rotors vs. turning them. So considering that GM will do $100 brake jobs, rotors can be turned (or replaced) for $80 in labor, and $150ish for new rotors, you can get a reasonable deal if you work with them.
 

05Mudiak

Well-Known Member
Messages
731
Location
Lake Charles, LA
He shot me estimates of about $700 to turn the 4 rotors and get new pads VS. about $900 for 4 new rotors and 4 new pads.
For what its worth, I trust this service manager and this dealer.

those prices are outragous I would deff check around if you can't do them yourself. O'rielly's auto parts store turns rotor for $10. a rotor, Pads should be about $50.'ish a set. So thats only $140 total for all 4 corners + labor
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
Turning rotors?...Ain't turned any in years. Nowdays you just put some new ones on. I just bought a pair of vented, cross-drilled, slotted, zinc-plated jobbies for $110 delivered. They are all over ebay and Amazon. EBC, Power-slot, mega-stop, Raybestos, Bendix, etc...they go by a million different names but, I think they all come from the same place.....(China).
 

gfbh3t

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
Location
Lockport, NY
Same here as 4speedfunk got all 4 vented, drilled, slotted with pads 300 bucks off Amazon. Only got 26000 on Factory stuff can't be any worse.
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
I don't use brakes.:shifty:

I got over 50,000 on my 06 before I traded and they still looked ok but worn down some.
I got 47,000 on the 08 Alpha and I can see they have gone down some but will watch them. Mic a new set and then you can check the ones you are running at intervals and gauge the life from past experience.
I can sort of remember when we first had some "metallic" pads made for the MGB we raced. There were just flexs of metal in the pads and we grooved them. We had issues with brake fluid boiling away. Finally got some high temp stuff on the market. My Brother drove hard. We gave up slotted and grooved rotors at the expense of heat but more surface area in contact. Rotors that were turned a couple of times were thinner and we thought that dissipated heat more than thick ones. Heck who knows. We did ventilate with scoops and ducts. Gone are the days you had to watch so the rivits would not come in contact with the rotors, scrreech.
Some of our other vehicles we have the shops will not turn because of the lack of thickness to begin with. It seems to me they just want to swap them out to save messing with turning them but some are not recommended to be turned at some point.
It seems the brakes on the H3 for me anyway, are lasting great considering what I put them thru. Ceramic must be the wave of the future, now.
I have always in the past thought harder pads lasted longer but could glaze over or not grip as good as softer ones but they wear quicker.
I guess it depends on where you live and how you use it.
Sounds like Alrock has success with them being turned so they must be heavy duty.
I have always believed a surface turning helps reduce pulsing and makes better overall contact rather than screwing up new pads as they conform to ridges in used rotors. That old adage of "yeah you will have to wear them in at first" used to be normal at shops that could not turn them, or would not.
I think I will go out and check mine.
 

08SolarFlareH3

Super Swampers
Messages
2,525
Location
Finger Lakes, NY
As Alex said I got around 70k miles and had to replace the rear first strange
My rears will be the first to be done as they are closer then the fronts. Pretty common around here to replace rear disc brakes before the front. In my experience, the worst for this are 99+ Silverado with disc brakes and 02 Trailblazers. You get about twice as many miles out of the fronts then you do rears.
 
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08SolarFlareH3

Super Swampers
Messages
2,525
Location
Finger Lakes, NY
I think they all come from the same place.....(China).
This is the truth. It doesn't matter if its ACDelco or Raybestos low budget line or high premium line of rotors, 99.99% are made in China. Out of the 100+ rotors we stock and the thousands of sets we have used, I think I have only seen a few with "MADE IN THE USA" printed on the box.

Turning rotors?...Ain't turned any in years. Nowdays you just put some new ones on.
With 99.9% off all rotors made in China and tons of poor castings and cuttings, all our new rotors get turned before they are even installed. Although we included this in the cost of new rotors. You would be suprized to see how many cuts it can take on some rotors to get a true finish.
 
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alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
FYI, on hummer.com there are service specials including $99.95 pads installed on either axle. Doesn't address the rotors issue but if applied to the overall repair it should bring down the price measurably. I left a message for my service writer on this deal since she quoted me $405 to do the rear pads.

Hummeraddict, I can't give you any feedback on the Amazon kit. I like the OEM setup and am choosing to stay with those parts but of course am setting up better deals than the dealer will initially offer.
 
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