Bad Braking

The truck I bought earlier this year has been doing great.  It towed the rallycross Datsun and the Lemons Coronet, made the trip to work on a Mustang in Virginia, and even hauled some gardening supplies for work around the house.

One side has worn past the groove that indicates low pad life.

At just a tick over 108,000 miles, it's due for a few maintenance items.  First up today was the long-overdue replacement of the brakes.  They've been on their last legs since I first test drove the truck, but over the last week they've been making some pretty terrible noises. 

The passenger side was grinding metal on metal.

Once disassembled, it was clear there was hardly any brake pad left. On the passenger side the pad had worn completely through and the metal backing plate was grinding on the rotor.  With so much pad wear, the caliper pistons were also pushed extremely far out. Not good. 

Old pad on the left, new on the right.

Compared to the brand new pads, we can see just what a tiny amount of material was left.  

Old rotor on the left, new on the right.

I went all out this time and bought the premium rotors that come with the center section painted to prevent extra rust on the non-wearing surfaces. 

Hawk brake pads made specifically for trucks that should hold up to the demands of towing.

Once the new pads and rotors were on, I got a chance to use my new brake bleeder kit.  It uses a hand-pump, pressurized container to force fresh fluid through the system.  Much more efficient than having a friend pump the brake pedal a bunch of times!  It was great. 

Up top fluid is pressurized through the brake master cylinder.

All the old fluid collects in a handy-dandy bottle with a tube so that the stuff doesn't shoot all over the place. 

Catching all the dirty, old fluid. 

With the brakes knocked out, I did a quick oil change and called it a day.  Up later this week will be new spark plugs and wires and then also a transmission and rear differential flush soon.  The serpentine belts were extremely simple and got swapped out a few weeks back, so the truck is just about ready to enjoy another 100,000 miles of car fun!