Might want to find a new shop, that clown has no idea what he's doing. When inboard pads wear faster than outboard pads, the caliper piston is binding. When outboards wear faster, the hardware/guide pins are binding.

 

This shop owner knows what he is doing and I would endorse his shop if anyone is in upstate NY. He has been in business for decades. He fixes things where others have failed and at the same time he won't try to make unnecessary repairs or charge thousands for a simple repair. I thought I had a bad torsion bar mount and a bad U-Joint because of 2 different noises pointing to those parts (different threads for that). I brought the truck there because of my upcoming internship with an appointment made 24 hours before via email (my other preferred shop has a 2 week wait). Well he checked them carefully and they were all fine. I personally witnessed the inspection also. He didn't try to feed me a BS line. They were actually impressed with the condition the truck was in, especially how all the fluids were brand new and full (no powertrain-related fluid stays in for more than a year on this truck. I make sure I change diff and t/c fluids often, especially with snow.) and how alot of parts that usually are bad were already done. People come from all over to go there. The whole staff knows me by name and they ask me how college is and today asked about my upcoming internship. Very nice, honest and smart people. Plus they don't try to hide the work they do on customer's cars. I bet I was making the technician nervous when I was watching him inspecting my truck through the open door 20 feet away (I could sense that "Did I do something wrong?" tone in his voice), but when I said I was just curious when I asked what was up, he seemed to relax a bit when I was just interested in what was going on. Nothing but friendly conversation.

Originally, I told him what happened 2 years ago with the caliper failure and it taking out the whole system and all the parts replaced since then and he had his technician check the piston movement and it was fine. These rear calipers have less than 30k on them and they still work fine. In fact, they had no corrosion on them at all from the looks of them. The pins will need freeing due to corrosion, but the calipers themselves were fine. The truck still stops fine, but I never take chances.

Now what could I do or ask to be done to prevent those pins from freezing/sticking in the future? It seems the rears are the most offensive. Could my car washing habits be guilty as charged? I use the self serve wash wand at low pressure under the entire car, especially after snow. Should I request synthetic caliper grease or have them put new pins in or could the old ones still be viable?

 

Ok 1st off what I said was a compliment towards that shop. I was serious because a lot of shops I've seen & heard of try those BS lines etc. It seems to me you may have confused my post with someone else's that called him a clown. I'm not saying his comment was just or un-just, I'm just saying it seems like the attitude you meant for him was directed at me.... ANYway as far as the pins etc get some brake lube/quietener tube from 'Joe Auto Hardware' & lube up the pins, behind the pads etc every spring or fall.
It's fairly easy to take the brakes apart & perform some maintenance on them & it should help things working properly longer.
As you have done - inspecting & being familiar with what's right & works properly & up keeping that will pay off in the proper performance & more importantly not being left at the roadside or worse in an accident.

 

I know. I wasn't giving an attitude. I was stating the facts.

Sorry Captain Hook, but it appeared you posted while I was typing.

Alot of shops give me alot of BS. I really don't trust anyone at all. The question is who I distrust the least to work on my truck and the number of shops that are in that category I can count on one hand and they are all in different areas.

So they really should be greased often? Why don't they put zerk fittings on the pins? Or does that make too much sense?

I do basic work on my car, but brakes and the complex issues here concern me and I don't want to have an accident, so I will pay someone the minimal cost it is to have them done right. I already had a ruined weekend in NJ with 2 brake failures 2 years ago and that experience is not something I want to face again. I posted about that on here.

So it is the inboard pad that is bad. The outboard looks fine. I was told the caliper piston was fine and it moved without a problem, but the pins were frozen.

 

If the caliper piston slides back into the caliper bore smoothly and easily, that's a good sign, but it's no guarantee that the caliper is good. What you can't determine is the condition of the piston and the bore. The lowest part of the caliper bore is the lowest point in the hydraulic system which means any dirt or moisture will settle there. The key ingredient for corrosion is water, and brake fluid attracts moisture. When the piston is pushed back into the caliper bore, debris is dragged across the seal and can cause it to distort. If the piston dust boot is cracked or torn, it will introduce dirt & moisture, guaranteed. This can cause the piston to bind in the bore, or the seal to leak, or both. The problem doesn't show up until after you pay your bill and start using the brakes. Sometimes it takes a while, but it will eventually happen. The calipers are made of aluminum and the piston is usually made of steel, a perfect environment for corrosion. If the piston binds in the bore, it cannot release the inboard pad, and it wears faster. It's always a good idea to replace the calipers, for this reason, when servicing the brakes.

Caliper guide pins have a rubber boot to keep the grease in, and keep dirt and water, out. During the life of the brake job, the boots dry out and crack allowing dirt & water in. The boots should be replaced each time the brakes are serviced, along with using a good quality caliper lubricant. If the guide pins bind, the caliper cannot release the outboard pads, and they wear faster.

 

I went to a different mechanic 3 miles away from here (compared to an hour with the other) so I can drop it off and ride my bike. The boots were all fine. Plus there can't be that much debris in there since I have the fluid bled often and the calipers are less than 2 years old. The pad on that side was rusted within the bracket or something like that (I can't remember his exact words, but it was something along that line) and it was dragging. Explains why the brake rotor temperature was between 30 and 100 degrees hotter than the brake on the opposite side, but wasn't to the point of a fire. Nothing was seized. I rechecked the temperatures on the rear axle brakes and not only are they now equal, but they are lower then they were before. He did mention that the driver side caliper went back in easier than the passenger side, but it wasn't significant and he didn't need to use a C-Clamp on it. There was no obvious signs of problems other than that pad and I kept asking this guy questions like it was an interrogation (he didn't mind). He put grease on the pins and everything was fine. I did ask about special procedures I should be doing for corrosive environments like upstate NY and he recommended regreasing the pins every year.

Now do rear pads need to readjust? Once or twice when I was driving it this afternoon, the pedal went down like a half inch farther than usual, but I can't reproduce the problem.

With all the brakes and rotors brand new, what is the best way to break them all in so they work their best?

 

That half inch could just be if you were going slow & lack of vacuum assist. I'm glad I was right about something though, the regreasing the pins once a year lol.

 

That was probably it. I am going to drive it again in a little while. I just repainted the bumpers with bedliner paint and did some cleaning. I was waiting for the paint to dry.

Everyone was right about various parts of this whole thing. I am just glad it didn't need other parts replaced like the bracket.

EDIT: On a side note, do you know where I can get replacement grille clips? I had one come off and become lost while I was putting the grille back after painting the front bumper.

 

Well I drove it about 90 miles and while the pedal seems to go down a little farther (but not below 1/2" above the gas pedal) during some applications and sometimes it firms up, it stops okay, but not as much as usual. Brake temps are a bit lower then normal but they are equal from left to right. Do new pads have to adjust within the brackets? Fluid is fine.

 

Pads should fit snug, but slide inboard and outboard easily by hand, inside the stainless steel shims on each caliper bracket. There are two shims on each bracket. Buy Wearever Disc Brake Hardware Kit 5624A at Advance Auto Parts_____

The other two parts are anti-rattle clips that fit into the caliper that hold the pads in place and keep them from rattling around.