So, a few weeks ago, I had family in town so I let them use the blazer as necessary while I was at work. They mentioned a weird grinding noise when braking. Uh oh...

Yesterday I went to work investigating. Right rear brake looks like it seized up and wore the outside pad to metal and the grinding was metal on metal. So I go out and buy a new caliper, a new rotor, and a new set of pads. It took me several hours to disassemble the brakes on that side and the rotor was completely rusted/seized in place on the axle shaft. Eventually I got it all reassembled and went to work bleeding the brake line.

Being on my own and not having a reverse bleeder gun, I made good use of a plank of wood and the power seat to hold the brake pedal while bleeding. Took me five times longer than it should have, but I got all the air out and pedal feel is good.

I also replaced the pads on the driver's side. When I got that side taken apart, I discovered the slide pins were pretty well rusted because the boots had slipped off. So back to the parts store to get some new hardware. The caliper/piston seemed fine and I had no problems reassembling. Took it for a test drive, and the driver's side got pretty hot. Looks like maybe there's more wrong with it than just the slide pins.

I guess next weekend I'll be replacing that caliper as well. *sigh* At least brake hardware for these trucks is relatively cheap.

 

At least you have the tools and knowledge to do it yourself ,it could be worse .

 

no kidding, im not working underneath mine with just the stock scissor lift anymore! haha

 

That's just plain scary!!!!

 

I was taught to always do both sides when doing brakes and i have had the sticky caliper problem myself smoking my pads and rotors so do you use the ceramic pads

 

the life of a redneck, i was in the middle of no where by myself laying right under the wheel hub lol not the smartest thing ive done.....

 

When it's a simple pad replacement, I always do both sides as well. In this case, I only replaced the rotor on the passenger side. The driver's side looked fine, though I didn't actually do any measurements on it. And since the driver's side caliper seemed to function properly after replacing the slide pins, I figured I was good to go.

So like I said, I'll be replacing the driver's side caliper this coming weekend. Sticking with the existing rotor though.