Brakes

Just wondering how many miles you're all getting before changing brakes pads/rotors...

I've got 73,000 miles on my originals and I'm not noticing any signs of them needing replaced (knock on wood). Thanks to this forum I've saved a ton of money by doing my own maintenance on this truck but I'm a little concerned about tackling a brake job on my own. I know the DIY on here is pretty explanatory but I'm not sure if I trust myself doing brakes but the thought of using a dealer for the job scares me even more!

I know there are many variables regarding brake pad life but I ask you all how many miles did you get on your pads and did you replace rotors at the same time just to start fresh again?

Thanks in advance...

 

Brakes really aren't bad, at least the fronts. You most likely don't need to worry about the drums for a long while yet. I would recommend getting front pads AND front discs and change both, makes the bedding in process more trouble free. If you haven't done it yet you should also replace your brake fluid as well. Again, not terribly difficult, especially if you buy a brake bleeding tool like the Motive Products. It's a little expensive but if you have more than 1 car it makes your life way easier.

A tip if you decide to DIY, spray the brake caliper pins and bolts with break-free or PB blaster or similar and let it sit overnight, it may be a little rusty down there. You might also want to have some new pins on hand in case you can't reuse your originals. I live in MA and I had to dremel-cut my old 2001 pins because they were rusted into place.

 

No towing and a 50/50 split of highway/city miles and I just replaced mine at 89k. I might have been able to squeak another 1-2k out of them, but for 115.00 or whatever it was from RockAuto, it was a quick and easy replacement not worth trying to stretch any further.

 

73k is a lot more then I got on pads - check the pads if they are near the thickness of the plate replace them before they get a chance to score the rotors.

 

I just replaced my rotors for the first time this weekend. 174000 miles, and probably 4 sets of pads up till now. Checked the rears and it will be time for new shoes within the end of the year. Pretty amazing I know. Not sure how it happened. There was no pulsing when braking so technically I could have stretched them longer but the rotors were starting to wear unevenly (inside vs outside). Replacing/upgrading was a no brainier. Red Lightning deserved it.

 

I have never replaced pads or rotors at less than 110K Miles on any car or truck I have owned with disc brakes.

 

I'm at 142,000 miles and still counting on the original pads.