Two years ago I did the brakes on my truck and replaced a caliper on the front passengers side. Well, I recently got a grinding when braking feel. Today, I did the brakes all the way around, and when I got to the front passenger side, the INBOARD pad was worn down to the metal. The outboard pad had less than 1/4" of pad left.

The DRIVERS side had 1/4" of pad or more evenly on both the inboard and outboard pad.

WTH? THe pins seemed lubed fine. I pushed the passenger pistons back in with a c-clamp just like I always do.

Is this a stuck caliper on that side again, or something else?

What do I do?

 

If its not sticking, then my guess would be that since that caliper is newer, maybe it is applying more pressure that the older one, causing the pads on that corner to wear down quicker.

 

usually when the inner pad is wore out more than the outer it is one of two things. Caliper pins or sticking caliper.

 

What about a 'bad' brake hose? I have no clue how a hose can cause any issue whatsoever since all it does is carry fluid, but i read that it can cause issues. Any insight?

 

The inside of the hose can deteriorate and not allow the fluid to flow back to the MC upon release thus holding pressure longer. This will not show on the outside of the hose. Think of it like a tire tread ply separating.

 

OK, well, the caliper is 4 years old. It was bled when installed, but perhaps not enough? I looked at the hose and there are no visible cracks in outside of the hose, and there is no noticable flexing or bubbling of any kind when heavy brake pressure is applied.

I took this to mean that the hose was NOT in need of replacing. I hate to yank a hose off an replace just for the hell of it. If the insides were separating, then this should manifest itself on the outside and a hose that enlarges when brakes are applied as the brake wall is essentially thinned. So...Im thinking my hose is OK?

 

Butter with high disc temp brake grease. Replace the rotors. Are you using the proper shims? Odds are your old rotors have uneven wear.

 

First rule of thumb, at least for me, is that anything suspension related, especially brakes, gets done in pairs. Always! Second, you can't just sit and watch a brake hose while someone pushes on the pedal and identify a problem. If you could visibly see a hose expanding under pressure, it should have been replaced a long time ago. A weak hose expanding under pressure can manifest as many different brake problems, including the one you're having. Don't rule it out automatically.

 

Ok so how do I verify the cause, assuming I haven't solved it with a new caliper? I'm not willing to throw parts at it if they are not warrantied and I cannot justify or understand replacing non wear items in pairs just because.

My plan is to drive the truck 50 miles tomorrow and then shoot the rotors with my infrared thermometer. If the passenger side is significantly hotter then they are still dragging and I can violate my first rule again and throw a new hose at it. Lol.

 

Oh. Another thing. While looking at the old caliper I noticed the rubber boot did not seem to fold back into nice concentric circles. Maybe it's missing or something but that didn't look right.

 

I wouldn't repair the calliper,new one, an new hoses up front, if you can catch your fingernail on the rotors, worn out, go with new set. You should use a dial indicator to check runout/warpage. Plus wheel bearing/loose/ allowing movement. Don't try to run another set of pads on a worn rotors. Dodge (shaking head & some laughter) Only kidden. You might of got some water in the brake fluid over time and pitted them.

 

I jacked the passenger side up and stepped on the brake several times. Each time the wheel spun freely afterward. Then I looked at that caliper I removed. The rubber boot around both pistons is severely damaged and missing in parts. I suspect this may have let dirt in the piston and perhaps limited it's function. Is that at all possible?

 

Yup It's a nasty, disgusting, filthy, wet, very hot job they do.