I bought my Blazer about 6 weeks ago...and it's always had awful brakes. The previous owner said he replaced the brakes and rotors, and when my husband checked he confirmed this. It smells bad when stopping and you have to push the pedal so hard it almost hurts, and ALWAYS feel like it's not going to stop. Anyone know why this might be, or anything in particular we should look into replacing?

 

This is in reference to the truck you have in your profile correct? How does the brake pedal feel when you step on it, Does it feel spongy? soft? stiff? Does it pulsate? Does the truck stop straight or does it pull to one side? You mentioned that the brakes and rotors where checked, were the rear shoes and drum also checked? How are the fluid levels? The adjusters in the rear brakes are also notorious for seizing up, have those been checked?

 

Chances are that the brake pads are cheap! You need a good semi-metallic brake pad on the front and I recommend quality brake shoes on the rear. Or make sure you go to the gym so that you can leg press about 600 pounds with your left foot.

 

Hehehe... Chevy Lover, that's gonna be one huge left calf muscle after a few months! You could attach a restraining spring to the gas pedal also so you have a balanced workout

 

i would def check the brake fluid level and make sure it's clean, if there is air in the line the pedal will be soft and the car will have problems slowing down and even stopping. as chevy lover said making sure there are good pads on the front and good shoes on the rear is key. brakes are something that should be invested in so that they do the job well

 

I had a '94 Blazer at work not long ago that had a very poor brake pedal, with a recent brake job. What I found was the people doing the job used the cheapest pads, and they did not clean off the coating that comes on new rotors to prevent rust. So I would recommend cleaning the rotors, and putting a GOOD set of brake pads on, also a brake fluid flush would not hurt either. Korey.

 

I concur w/Kordog, I have worked in several shops myself, I've seen those exact same short cuts, cheap pads, not de-greasing new rotors which I personally turn 0.005 even if new and always find a low spot or two so I keep turning til they're true and make sure to put a swirling pattern with a air grinder and low abrehisive pad to make a good biting surface, definetly flush WHOLE brake system with new dot 3 fluid and you should get around 50.000 or more miles before it's time again, boulonman ASE auto tech.

 

alright you have a 94 Blazer, but does it have ABS brakes or not?

with the bad smell to the brakes when applied, that would be a sign of a bad side, could be (bad brake shoes, caliper locking up, foriegn mater being burnt off like oil or other fluid).

I would lean more towards a bad caliper.

 

Either $10 brake pads/shoes or $300 pads/shoes
Does not matter when there is issues with hard peddel and smell of burnt brakes
And for the record, in 20 plus years doing my own and many other brake jobs. I have seen some of the lower cost $10 brake shoes out last the higher end over priced ones. Cost has nothing to do with it. Its the MFG and composit of the brakes.
And the newer DOT 4 fluid is what most brake shops are using unless the system requires different fluid.
Power flushing an older system like this could cause more damage then what its worth. And power flushing is the only way on these older units (outside of full system replacement) to get all the build up out. This also could DAMAGE the brake system if its ABS. ABS systems have a special process to drain and refill and/or flush the system.

 

Yaeh $10 pads probally will out last the better ones,but that is because they won't stop the vehicle. I average 2 brake jobsper DAY. And have found that when you skimp on the pads you have come-backs. This is really true on the heavier vehicles. Like Neons, Cavaliers, etc, you can put the cheapest ones on them, because they are so light that dragging your feet on the ground will stop the car just as fast. I recently tried out 4 sets of pads on my Blazer with the best rotors possible short of cross drilled/ slotted, and my pedal would get better as the grade of pads got better. I now am using ceramic pads all the way around, and even with my pop-up behind me it stops on a dime. And the bad smell could be the coating on the rotors that has been burned on there if they never cleaned it off, or the other brakes just having to work harder to stop the truck. So if it was my own vehicle I would clean the rotors very good, and instal a high quality set of pads, no cheapos, flush the fluid, because if the fluhing causes somthing to fail, it was already failing anyway, and clean and adjust the rears and see where that leaves me. If that does not help, then you may want to go to a shop and have the hydraulic system checked for proper operation. IMHO Korey.