Ok, I had the front calipers and pads done. I haven't driven it much, so I can't really say yet that it solved the problem. They said one of the calipers was not sliding properly. What was funny is that the driver front caliper had to be replaced TWICE. I left the shop, drove only 4 miles back to my apartment. I wasn't even moving faster than 30mph. I saw no improvement in the brakes. If anything they were worse than before and they wouldn't hold the truck on VERY shallow slopes. When I opened the door, I immediately smelled something like burning rubber. I looked at the front left wheel and saw smoke coming from the caliper and the wheel was burning hot. I called the shop, they told me to bring it back. I drove it slowly back to the shop. At this point, the brakes were barely working and I almost rearended a car when I was preparing to make the turn to get into the parking lot. The driver side caliper was immediately found to be defective and was stuck. The passenger side was fine. They replaced the driver side one again. They were very good about it and didn't charge me anything else. I liked how they did not tell me to f*** off like the other shop told me to do when I brought the truck back because of a defective part. The burning smell is much reduced also. I guess some smell is normal when brakes are new?

 

UPDATE: The second new caliper is defective. I burned my hand on the wheel it is so hot.Passenger front wheel and rotor was cool to the touch. I drove the truck 35 miles and found this. Brake pedal is firmer than usual. Only other weird thing i found was grease from the ball joint all over the brake hose. I am getting the caliper replaced AGAIN tomorrow. Now to take care of the 1st and 2nd degree burns on my fingers and hand...

 

It is good that the shop replaced the defective caliper, most shops around here will replace the defective part but charge you for the labor. Its got me wondering tho that cv shaft is going bad since it is throwing grease, and also I can see that you can get a defective caliper now and then, but 2 in a row? Hopefully they will have you come back and they will replace the caliper again, also see if you can have the mechanic drive it, and you could possibly ride along and the mechanic might be able to tell if there is something else at fault

 

The mechanic did drive it around the block a couple times, but it wasn't until I drove it 4 miles (NOT aggressive and 30 mph max) that the first caliper went up in smoke. When I took it back the mechanic drove it farther and slammed the brakes on and found out it was pulling to one side. He got a new caliper installed. I drove the car 35 miles (normal highway speed. I didn't pass 55-60. Limit was 65) to see a movie (I typed my last message in the theater on my cell phone so I can get a good response to this tonight. Thank you for the advice, by the way). The second caliper was overheated in the same fashion when the rear right caliper had new pads put on it when the rear left caliper was replaced. The new pads caused it to stick and overheat. The rear left was destroyed and was what caused the 2 brake failures in one weekend 2 months (TO THE DAY) ago. It was making some noise when I make sharp turns. I had it checked by 3 mechanics 4 times. They said nothing was wrong and I was hearing things. 8 months after the pads were put on it, the pads were gone and the metal on metal friction generated enough heat to boil the brake fluid and disable the brakes.

I already know the problem is limited to the defective caliper (probably a bad batch. Anyone have problems with NAPA loaded calipers lately?) because the other wheels were cool to the touch. I think this hot caliper compromised the brake system because they were not working right on the way back (they were working fine earlier. In fact, it seemed that the faster I was going, the firmer the brake pedal and the more powerful the brakes were). The pedal went a little farther down than usual when I first started the truck, but it was normal after that. Since the front caliper was hot (and since my AAA membership was useless in this situation) I was already keeping my speed below 35 with the flashers on to keep the caliper from heating up and the brakes were taking a long time to stop (but they were working). I kept using the brakes and pulling over to monitor if there was steam or a burning smell (none on both of those). I finally got back here and the front left wheel (the suspect caliper wheel) was the only one that was superheated (but not as hot as before because of the lower speeds).

It is funny how things turn out. Today is 2 months to the day when all these problems started with the brake failure in New Jersey. It was a shock because I have never had any problems of that severity before with this truck. I used to love this truck. I only like it now and I drive with EXTREME care even if everything is working perfectly and I always have an escape route if something fails unexpectedly that would cause an accident. Yesterday, my odometer read "92666". The original brake problems started just after 90k. The 2 brake failures happened at 90366 and 90566.

 

When the mechanic replaces the 2nd caliper have him check over the brake hose that goes to the caliper, the line could be collapsing and not allowing that caliper to release after it has been applied, just an idea as I have ran into that before on a few cars

 

You were right. I read this on my cell phone in the shop 2 seconds before the guy mentioned that there was a chance that the hose could be bad and causing all this. I had him replace it. He said it was definitely bad. The flow of the brake fluid was alot lower through the old hose. He also replaced the caliper AGAIN with one from a different manufacturer. 3 calipers in 24 hours. Unbelievable. The pads were okay since I didn't drive it far. He said everything looks good. I was concerned about the metal lines having some rust, but he said they were okay and gave him no problems when he replaced the hose. I wonder if the grease from the balljoint had anything to do with the line collapsing internally because the line was covered in grease. This now makes me wonder about the passenger side hose. It isn't covered in grease, but it just makes me wonder. The car is stopping a little better now.

 

so all is good now, no brakes overheating now? Since you had problems with the rear calipers did they replace the brake hoses to them also? if not I would go ahead and replace all the brake hoses to the calipers, guessing that you have disk brakes in the rear since you said calipers

 

The rear brakes do not overheat. The brakes are cool to the touch now. I could put my finger on each rotor and it would take a few seconds before it would feel warm. The one on the rear right did right after pads were replaced, so I had that caliper replaced. Hasn't overheated since. Neither does the passenger side front. The driver side front was the only one overheating (I hit it with some water and it was heavy steam and sounding like bubble wrap popping), so that was the only wheel where I had that hose replaced so far. I do have disk brakes in the rear. The problems seem to be solved. I haven't driven the truck long since the last of the repairs, so I can't say 100% YET. If there is any hint of any further problems, the hoses are next to be replaced.

The only original parts remaining on the brake system are the power booster, the ABS block, the metal lines and all hoses (except the driver side front). Everything else has been replaced. All 4 calipers, pads, rotors (3 of them last year, 1 recently), brake fluid, master cylinder have been replaced.

 

OK sounds like all is good now, you will know for sure when you take it on a longer cruise. Keep us informed and if there are any more issues we will all be glad to help in the best way that we can and hope that all is good

 

Yeah if it happens again replace any remaining hoses and I would changed the lines for the hell of it. You might also have some air in the lines/ABS block if it comes back so I would bleed them pretty well.