Overheating Rear Brakes

[TomC1216]

Well, I brought my Z71 Avalanche in for its second oil change (7500 fun-loving miles!) ?I had noticed the unmistakeable odor of overheated brakes coming from the rear passenger side last week, so I had them look into it while they had the vehicle. ?It turns out that the rear caliper guides were never lubricated at the factory, and the pads kept getting hung up and were dragging excessively on the rotors.
?The dealer removed both calipers and lubed the slides. ?We caught it in time before any wear was evident on the rotors or pads, luckily. ?

 

[timcosco]

Bummer... did they check the rotor for excessive runout ( I know the dealer said they weren't "worn")? If you feel a little shaking/pulsing when braking, the rotor may be warped. Get them to replace that too.

 

[PSUSparky]

Prior to purchasing my 2003 Z71 AVY, I owned a 2000 Z71 Silverado. The right rear (passenger) inside shoe wore down excessively (as compared to the other shoes) and actually damaged the rotor. Luckily, my truck was still under warranty (35k miles). The dealer informed me that this was a common problem. I believed that they had something machined on the caliper so it would function properly (wrong tolerances), but he didn't get specific. I owned the Silverado for another 18k miles before trading and didn't notice anything after that, but since GM uses a lot of common parts among their trucks, I've been keeping an eye on the AVY.

 

[ygmn]

DO you mean REAR DIsk brake pad?

Or Rear emergency brake shoes?

 

[danlwil]

I've been fornunate to get great wear out of my brakes.... 61k and still going... about 30% left when I traded in the 02... I was amazed....

hope you're problems are resolved...

 

[PSUSparky]

DO you mean REAR DIsk brake pad?

Or Rear emergency brake shoes?

It was the passenger side rear inside disk brake pad, not the emergency brake shoes. The way the caliper was operating, it wouldn't allow it to move in (float) as the brake shoes wore, so the inside shoe on the caliper pistons kept being worn down until there was nothing left. You don't know it until you hear the grinding noise . The outside shoe looks perfectly fine with plenty of pad left, so you assume that the shoes are wearing evenly, until you hear the metal to metal grinding of the inside shoe.

 

[fireeater]

Glad to hear everything came out OK. I just order all new rotors and pads through Bonedogs GP. Can't wait to see how my brakes look after 2 years.

 

[ygmn]

DO you mean REAR DIsk brake pad?

Or Rear emergency brake shoes?

It was the passenger side rear inside disk brake pad, not the emergency brake shoes. The way the caliper was operating, it wouldn't allow it to move in (float) as the brake shoes wore, so the inside shoe on the caliper pistons kept being worn down until there was nothing left. You don't know it until you hear the grinding noise . The outside shoe looks perfectly fine with plenty of pad left, so you assume that the shoes are wearing evenly, until you hear the metal to metal grinding of the inside shoe.

thanks for clarification....now I know what to look for....thanks