Going to give it a try replacing my rotor and brake pads. Anyone out there have any experience?
Much appreciated-
Derek
Much appreciated-
Derek
REPlacing pads and rotors
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Derek Foote
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I spent $146.43 on new front pads and rotors and $99.46 for new rear pads and rotors for mine (from Amazon), about one and a half hours work to replace them. That was almost 50k miles ago and they are still in great shape.
Just changed my front pads and rotors tonight, it took way longer than expected. It turns out all of the driving in the snow and salted roads last year took a toll on our pads and rotors and probably made the job a bit tougher than expected.
We have 69,000 miles on the van, this is the first time we have replaced them. Its a 2017 Ram 2500 159WB. They still had some life on them but after starting the job decided to finish it.
Key Learnings:
Wheel Lugs: These were incredibly tight and was the first challenge to the job. After some initial attempts with an impact, I tried with the factory provided tire iron and a cheater bar......which just bent the tire iron. We eventually got them off with the impact.
Rotor Bolts: The larger bolts holding the calipers on used a 14mm Allen which was already stated in this tread above. There was so much underlayment sprayed on the bolts I was convinced it was not 14mm but a smaller size that I didn't have, even after trying to pick out the paint / underlayment. We finally used a hammer and was able to pound the 14mm Allen into the bolt which worked. It also took a large impact driver on high plus some hits of a hammer to break the bolts loose.
Brake Rotor Studs: I am not sure what size the small hex heads on these are. I tried several sizes and it seemed to be a half size. I didn't have a full set of standard sockets with me so its possible it was one of those. As we were committed to the job, I eventually just used some channel locks and some how got them loose. I just cleaned up the tooth marks with some sand paper.
![69280]( "69280")
We have 69,000 miles on the van, this is the first time we have replaced them. Its a 2017 Ram 2500 159WB. They still had some life on them but after starting the job decided to finish it.
Key Learnings:
Wheel Lugs: These were incredibly tight and was the first challenge to the job. After some initial attempts with an impact, I tried with the factory provided tire iron and a cheater bar......which just bent the tire iron. We eventually got them off with the impact.
Rotor Bolts: The larger bolts holding the calipers on used a 14mm Allen which was already stated in this tread above. There was so much underlayment sprayed on the bolts I was convinced it was not 14mm but a smaller size that I didn't have, even after trying to pick out the paint / underlayment. We finally used a hammer and was able to pound the 14mm Allen into the bolt which worked. It also took a large impact driver on high plus some hits of a hammer to break the bolts loose.
Brake Rotor Studs: I am not sure what size the small hex heads on these are. I tried several sizes and it seemed to be a half size. I didn't have a full set of standard sockets with me so its possible it was one of those. As we were committed to the job, I eventually just used some channel locks and some how got them loose. I just cleaned up the tooth marks with some sand paper.
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2,016 Posts
Lots of places to get hung up on a brake job.
Tips:
You can omit the wheel locating spikes on reassembly. Wont hurt anything, and I’m not convinced they make putting the wheels on any easier.
The small hex guide pins/sliders can be a real pain. They are easy to strip, and the slides are the root cause of many brake jobs. If the slide siezes, that rotor WILL warp. We grease the slides liberally with care.
For a long time, I used on antisieze on every fastener in the braking system. Then I had an incident where the pins loosened and the caliper was just flopping around inside the wheel. After that, I’ve taken to not antisiezing them. Unsure what’s best.
Parts prices have come way down since 2014. Autozone, that bastion of crappy parts, gets something like $70 for a reman caliper WITH the bracket. At that price, it’s tempting to not screw with any of this and just replace the stuff. Rotors are dirt cheap on rockauto, as are pads. I’m convinced that all brake rotors are the same, regardless of what you pay for them. I’ve been using the budget priced Powerstop branded stuff. No complaints.
Lugs: I get into arguments about this for years. The LAST thing I like doing is being on the side of the road, jumping up and down on a tool to try to get lug nuts loose. I’m convinced that the torque spec on the promaster is DOUBLE what it should be. So...I feel tighten them with a breaker bar to probably 70 ft/lbs or so. And I use antisieze on them, which negates the torque reading anyway. The factory wrench bent into a pretzel the first time I used it.
To date, with 3 vans and 1.6 million miles, a wheel has never flown off, nor have lug nuts gone missing. And why would it? I stand by my undertightening philosophy.
Tips:
You can omit the wheel locating spikes on reassembly. Wont hurt anything, and I’m not convinced they make putting the wheels on any easier.
The small hex guide pins/sliders can be a real pain. They are easy to strip, and the slides are the root cause of many brake jobs. If the slide siezes, that rotor WILL warp. We grease the slides liberally with care.
For a long time, I used on antisieze on every fastener in the braking system. Then I had an incident where the pins loosened and the caliper was just flopping around inside the wheel. After that, I’ve taken to not antisiezing them. Unsure what’s best.
Parts prices have come way down since 2014. Autozone, that bastion of crappy parts, gets something like $70 for a reman caliper WITH the bracket. At that price, it’s tempting to not screw with any of this and just replace the stuff. Rotors are dirt cheap on rockauto, as are pads. I’m convinced that all brake rotors are the same, regardless of what you pay for them. I’ve been using the budget priced Powerstop branded stuff. No complaints.
Lugs: I get into arguments about this for years. The LAST thing I like doing is being on the side of the road, jumping up and down on a tool to try to get lug nuts loose. I’m convinced that the torque spec on the promaster is DOUBLE what it should be. So...I feel tighten them with a breaker bar to probably 70 ft/lbs or so. And I use antisieze on them, which negates the torque reading anyway. The factory wrench bent into a pretzel the first time I used it.
To date, with 3 vans and 1.6 million miles, a wheel has never flown off, nor have lug nuts gone missing. And why would it? I stand by my undertightening philosophy.
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2,714 Posts
Thanks for the brake job tips as I'll be doing mine when needed. Your over-torque point makes a lot of sense, especially since I don't carry my T-wrench or breaker bar in the van and don't plan to. Have to say that 70 ft/lbs sounds a bit low though, may have to go 80 so I can sleep at night. ;-)
Now I'm wondering at what torque setting I'll still be able to get them off with the van's supplied tools. I'll have to experiment later without anti-seize (sunny south - minimal salt usage) but may go ahead with anti-seize and your 70 ft/lbs since I can't argue with your real-world results.
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2,016 Posts
70 is just a guess on my part. The overarching point is that if you use the same tool to take them off as you put them on with, make that as tight as you dare but no more. Where you DONT want to be is some ape at the tire shop put them on so tight your tool cant do the job. And then that spare tire is useless to you, while you are broke down by the side of the road.
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2,714 Posts
Yeah, definitely want to avoid sitting there with a good spare, unable to use it! Just went out and with the supplied wrench/bar was able to loosen the bolts that I'd torqued to 140 ft/lbs after rotating the tires the other day. Hadn't used anti-seize but it was just last week so didn't have a problem. A couple resisted for awhile but finally broke loose with that chattering groan - working out with 10-lb weights to maintain muscle tone is paying off, plus I was all bulked up from the recent tire rotation! ;-)
Since there isn't much salt use down here (a couple times a year on just bridges/overpasses with some brine on interstates) I skipped the anti-seize and just retorqued them to 100 ft/lbs. I'll recheck them periodically but doubt they'll come loose.
Since there isn't much salt use down here (a couple times a year on just bridges/overpasses with some brine on interstates) I skipped the anti-seize and just retorqued them to 100 ft/lbs. I'll recheck them periodically but doubt they'll come loose.
Just a counter-opinion on certain brake parts: the cheapest rotors and pads may not be the best for some cars.
My minivan has notoriously under-sized brakes. For that vehicle, cheapo rotors will warp easily. And cheapo pads will either squeal or don't have the right initial "bite".
My local brake and tune-up shop thought they would do me a favour by suggesting I go with some no-name Chinese rotors and pads. After 1 road trip, the rotors warped and I hated the feel and noise of the pads. I ended up upgrading both (to Raybestos I think?). More money for the parts, but at least the shop covered the labour.
Maybe the PM has big enough rotors and pads such that the difference between less expensive and name-brand is masked.
However, I feel that our PMs brakes are only "OK". The brakes on the Ford Transit I drove felt better. And thus, when it comes to brake replacement time, I'm not likely to go cheaper.
My minivan has notoriously under-sized brakes. For that vehicle, cheapo rotors will warp easily. And cheapo pads will either squeal or don't have the right initial "bite".
My local brake and tune-up shop thought they would do me a favour by suggesting I go with some no-name Chinese rotors and pads. After 1 road trip, the rotors warped and I hated the feel and noise of the pads. I ended up upgrading both (to Raybestos I think?). More money for the parts, but at least the shop covered the labour.
Maybe the PM has big enough rotors and pads such that the difference between less expensive and name-brand is masked.
However, I feel that our PMs brakes are only "OK". The brakes on the Ford Transit I drove felt better. And thus, when it comes to brake replacement time, I'm not likely to go cheaper.
Curious if you have a source for pads and rotors and which brand to buy. Thank you.
Either Rock Auto or Amazon. There is no need to spend big money either.
I'm guessing that it was probably the OEM pads, because I had my OEM pads replaced at around 45k and the mechanic indicated that they had as much material as the new ceramic pads. The rotors had some pretty deep scoring, but nothing that would negatively impact braking. I replaced them anyway to get rid of the terrible squealing; I was very happy with the result, as I never experienced any brake noise thereafter. I no longer have my van, so I can't provide a long term report on the ceramics.
I used Brakemotive from Ebay, but their store has changed it's name, so who knows if it's even the same store.
i bought my van used, i think somebody tried to get those caliper bolts off before but stripped the allen, any suggestions as they are definately hard to turnPowerstop kit worked great...no noise , no dust , had to do an emergency stp with 2000# 's in board...talk about no fade and it stopped better than expected....i would highly recommend ....only word of caution i have...those damm bolts that hold the caliper were kn with red locktite caught **** removing ......enjoy![Image]()
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