brakes question

[zadam123]

I just got my brakes checked out today and found out that i only need brakes on the pass. side rear. I have like 50% on the front and drivers side rear. Keep in mind i have the car since new and now have 75,000 miles on it. I never had brakes last this long before.

My question is, is it normal to have only one side of the rear wear out? seems odd that both rears didnt go at the same time.

I have had a problem with the abs pump module and it was replaced, can that be the cause (that part is 2300 form isuzu) of the wear?

Also i got a quote for raymold brakes (lifetime warranty) both rears since they cant only order one side, new disc shims and rotor cut for 260. does that seem like a good price.

thanks
adam

[SGT.BATGUANO]

It's not normal. Are you sure these are the original brakes? I would think they should've been replaced at an earlier scheduled maintenance interval. When was the abs module replaced? What mileage? Were brakes replaced then?

I would think it's NOT the module as that should only come into play when abs is activated.

Don't know the price on the parts you mentioned.

[zadam123]

Originally posted by SGT.BATGUANO
It's not normal. Are you sure these are the original brakes? I would think they should've been replaced at an earlier scheduled maintenance interval. When was the abs module replaced? What mileage? Were brakes replaced then?

I

I bought the car with 100 miles on it and now have 75000., so im positive that there the same brakes. When the module was changed the only thing they replaced was the fluids. Like i said i cant believe that the brakes lasted that long. The guy at the shop told me this is normal and he seees it all the time, he also said what you said that the module probably isnt the reason but thet it was normal for that to happen. I feel the same way you do since i had about 10 cars through the years and never had one pad wear faster than the rest by this much margin, but then again this is my first new car,

[t2p]

zadam123:
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I don't believe this is normal ........ but getting 75K from a set of brake pads is not the norm (also) ............
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HOWEVER ............. I do know someone that has a VX where I work ....... he has 100K on his VX now .......... and he believes the original pads are still on ........... almost incredible ......
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you may do a majority of driving on the highways .... ???
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If the car stops well ........... does not pull when you apply the brakes ............... I would not worry about it. The right-rear caliper may be (slightly) hanging up - maybe not enough for you to notice when braking .....
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(if the parking brake actuates the caliper, this could be the issue - although the VX parking brake is probably the type with the tiny brake shoes inside the drum on the rear rotors)
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I would probably have pads installed on all four corners ....... the rotors should probably also be 'cut' - receive a mild resurface at a minimum. There is a chance the rotors will be 'out of service' - too thin to turn ...... if so, new rotors will then be required ...........
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the right-rear caliper should be checked to see if it is hanging up ........
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and the the front wheel bearings should also be 'repacked' - if this has never been done before (probably should be done at around 30-50K).
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I'm not 'Joe Mechanic' - but I have never been a fan of 'lifetime anything' .... including brake pads. Typically, I install OEM pads - but my experience is mostly with Honda (I feel Honda OEM parts are superior to most aftermarket parts - not sure about Isuzu). Someone on this board can probably point you to a good set of aftermarket pads if you do not go with the OEM pads.
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[Dallas4u]

Not sure about what may have caused the irregular wear, but chiming in on the brake pad wear time frame... many on this forum have posted before stating they've gotten 60 - 70k out of their pads. It's out of the norm, but I'm not sure it's too out of the norm for the VX.

[Anita]

Ditto on what Adam (Dallas) said. I've been told many times to expect loooong wear from our brakes. I still have mine on going strong at 60K.

[t2p]

The brakes .............. gottabe one of the best features of the VX ....... not too many SUV's .... (or other vehicles for that matter) ....... stop as well as the VX. And the brakes appear to last and last .......
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It may not be in the league of a high end sports car ......... but much better than the majority of the iron you share the roads with everyday ...........
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A few people have experienced trouble with the ABS systems ..... unfortunately, these issues surface with just about every car that has them installed ......... including Honda and Toyota .......
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I'm not a huge fan of the ABS systems - primarily because I don't care to be faced with a $1200 (parts) bill to fix a car with 80K on it .......
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t2p - who remembers the days when we would 'blow' brake shoe dust out of a brake drum - and it would blow back into our faces ...... brake dust that contained asbestos ........ oh well .....

[mdwyer]

t2p - who remembers the days when we would 'blow' brake shoe dust out of a brake drum - and it would blow back into our faces ...... brake dust that contained asbestos ........ oh well .....

My father passed away from mesothelioma about a year ago. We believe his asbestos exposure came from brake dust. It is a horrible disease, and I would tell you to avoid it, except that asbestos is fricken everywhere!

As for the half-brakes, I have to tell you a story about my 1981 Dodge Aries K-car. Wow. It was a total piece of crap, but it was a perfect first car for a high school kid. After a while, the brakes started failing on it. The first stab of the peddle wouldn't do anything. The second would finally take hold and you'd slow down. This was obviously a Bad Thing, so we read the old Haynes manual and followed the troubleshooting guide.

First step? Does the brake warning light work? Well, sure it does. Stupid question. Next!!

We drained, purged, adjusted, etc. Finally, we pulled off the wheels and found that half the brakes were brand new, and half had nothing left.

It turns out that half the brake system failed, and the warning light bothered the previous owner so much that he disconnected the sensor.

Moral of the story: If you find that half your brakes are worn -- especially on the diagonal (left front and right rear) check the master cylinder. When it detects a fault in the brakes, a valve will isolate half the brakes so that you still have half a system. It SHOULD turn on a warning light, too.

Should...

[VX4EJR]

Just a question for those who have either experience or had done work to disassemble front brakes, rotors and hub:

If you pull either front wheel off, you'll see the hub and behind it the rotor. There are about 6 bolts that run into the hub and either through or into the rotor. What you see of the bolts are the fixed end nuts. Question is, do these bolts run through the rotors and ultimately bolt into something else behind the rotor or do they bolt directly into the rotor itself?

I'm trying to resolve this issue of my mysterious extruded bolt and need to understand what is stripped and be prepared with parts. So, it's either the bolt is stripped which is easy to replace. Or, it is what the bolt screws into that is stripped which I am trying to figure out what that is so when everything is disassembled and repair is needed...parts are known ahead of time.

Also, just how important is it to use caliper grease when a shop replaces brake pads? Whether it is required or not? If they don't use grease, what is the downside?


Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

[VX4EJR]

^

bump diddy bump....?

[blacksambo]

For what ever it's worth. Just did the front pads today on one of our '99's. They were original with 99,891 miles (Also, did the timing belt for $200, all inclusive). Replaced them with OEM for $119.00 for the pads alone, plus $37.00 labor. The rotors were fine, as is.

[shoota77]

i've had a terrible experience with my vx's brakes...at 16500 miles they started to shimmy...had them checked out and the rears, and just the rears, are horribly warped. The tech said it was the worst he had ever seen. I like the pads though, no dust.

[t2p]

shoota:
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I have heard .... urban legend ? ........ that rotors can go out of round when the lugs are over-tightened ....... so your 'tech' may be to blame - or the person that tightened the rear lugs ..... maybe someone got a little too carried away with the air gun ......
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I have also heard that rotors need to be stored properly or they will be/go out of round .........
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???

[zadam123]

Man I hate mechanics, i brought my car to 3 places 1 of them being isuzu. I got 3 diffrent responses on how much was left. and at one place i even had the mechanic and the guy at the counter argueing on how much was left (really funny) but since that happend i think ill believe the mechanic there who told me that i had 40 % left on the pad.

Heres a question, he told me that the pads wear slower when there new. is this true, meaning if i have 75,000 miles on the car and i have 25% left i should get another 18750 miles lift before i need breakes or is it true that they will wear faster now that theres less of a pad? Also they told me that the front pads are like 40% but the rotors have heat damage and cant be cut, if the pads have that much left should there be so much heat damage that the rotor cant be saved or cut?

I ask you guys cause it seams that this board know more than the stupid mechanics and dealers over here

thanks
adam

[joe-yamma]

my rear pads are shot (48k) and i am replacing my pads all the way around on monday (actually, my dad is gonna do it for me because he works 3-11pm next week and will have the time).

i was looking at all of the options and was ready to go with EBC SUV brake pads ($60 front, $70 rear) and EBC front rotors ($150) and Powerslot rear rotors ($92 per side) from www.tirerack.com.

instead of replacing all of the rotors right now, my dad is gonna take them to get turned down (re-surfaced)... if they still have enough material on them. if they don't, then i will be getting the EBC fronts and Powerslot rears.

as far as pads go, i decided to go with the Bendix organic pads from Adnace Auto. $34 for the front and $31 for the rear with a replacement guarantee. (basically, if you wear them out, they'll replace them with a new set for free).

i think the EBX front rotors are a good value as the are slotted/dimpled and anodized and they cost a little more than the stock replacement.
the rear OEM replacement is $89 each side from Advance, so i would probably go with Powerslots in the rear for $92 each.

just some info that i've gathered looking for brakes.

joe