Rear Brake Pads Gone in 26K Miles!

[X~FACTOR]

Is this normal wear for an Explorer? I changed my brakes after 26,000 miles (in 2 years) and the FRONT could go for another 2 years but the REAR looks like this:

That's the old ones next to the new.

Is there an adjustment I could do to make the brakes bite more on the front side like its supposed to anyway? I have a feeling driving around like this would soon catch up to me and get me a fender bender. Unless you guys think this is normal wear at 26K Miles?

 

[jimbo74]

doesnt sound right... most rear setups last about 60k on the minimum.... i go through like 3 sets of fronts before the rears ever go

 

[BradE.]

Jim is right, something is not right. I had 68K miles on my rears before they needed to be replaced. Your front brakes are the "primary", so your rears should last 2x-3x as long as the fronts.

 

[mrboyle]

What brand pads did you use? Were they organic, metalic, ceramic, etc..? Organic pads will wear 3 times faster than metalic or ceramic.

 

[X~FACTOR]

I use Albany brakes from Autozone but I don't think that is the probelm. The problem is the front is not grabing as hard as the back. I need to know where is the adjuster to make this right.

 

[Opera House]

Check the boot on the caliper

for cuts. The resulting rust may be causing the calipers to stick. You are probably due for emergency brake shoes even if you never use them. Don't bother checking. Taking the rotor/drum off will destroy them and the hardware.

 

[X~FACTOR]

I really think that the front brakes are not properly adjusted. Somebody told me there is an adjustment that I could make to get the pressure bite more on the front brakes more than the rear. Anyone knows anything on this?

 

[X~FACTOR]

bump

I'm hoping to fix this problem this weekend... any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[X~FACTOR]

bump- anyone got any ideas on how to adjust this?

 

[Opera House]

I've never heard of one

Pressure is controled by the size of the piston. You would have to chang the caliper. Sounds like your rear calipers are sticking and need to be replaced. Had the same problem with a GF's 300ZX. It had an internal ratchet inside the caliper for the emergency brake. After wearing out the second and third set every 10K it was obvious it was dragging. She only drove it 5 miles a day and the lifetime replacement pads were cheaper than new calipers. I've also heard of a rubber brake hose delamination failure that allows fluid to go into the caliper but not exit. Not sure if I believe it, but have heard of it from a couple of sources. If both rear wheels have this problem, that failure would seem improbable. I know of one case in an older RABS system where the person was unable to bleed the rear brakes because of a blockage. Maybe the problem is the front brakes not working as well as they should so most of the braking has to be done by the rear.

 

[X24]

When you have the pads out does the caliper slide easily? If they got too hot the grease on the slide pins can burn off and cause them to stick. I had that problem after I painted my calipers. The paint didnt let the heat escape and they got too hot. You should use some kind of silicon lubricant on the slide pins when you put it back together anyway.

 

[X~FACTOR]

When you have the pads out does the caliper slide easily?

I'm not sure I understand. Are you talking about the round thing that pushes the pads to the rotor?

You should use some kind of silicon lubricant on the slide pins

Slide pins are on the brake pads or on the round thing or attached to the caliper housing?

I'm sorry, I'm a little confused, and would like to fix this problem right away.

 

[X24]

I havnt taken my rear calipers apart yet, but when you take the long bolts out of the caliper to get the pads out you are taking the slide pins out. They should have some sort of lube on them and when they are screwed all the way in with no pads the caliper should slide in and out of them easily. The piston will only move when you step on the pedal.

 

[jeff96]

No I'm not having the same problem, when i pulled the front off they were'nt the origional brakes and they had most of the pad left on them, but the rears were the origional and they were wore down more than yours were, they were so wore down that the little piece of metal that hits the rotors to tell you to change the brakes broke off, if i had waited any longer my rotors would have been destroyed. By the way i just got the car thats why i did'nt know that the front were'nt origional. The car has 55k on it so the rears lasted that long.

 

[Hartman]

I just changed my rear rotors the other day and I completely ignored the e-brake because I never use it. Was I supposed to do anything with it?

 

[X24]

I dont think so. It just has to be off when you change the rotors. I'm gonna do pads and rotors all around on mine this week. I have 66K so I'm assuming the pads have been changed before.

 

[X~FACTOR]

I completely missed the e-brake as well. But I thought it uses the same brake pads as the rear, so all it really needs is maybe some lubrication on the linkage. Is this right?

 

[X24]

When you take the rear rotors off you can see the ebrake. Its like a small drum brake.

 

[Hartman]

Yeah I sprayed some WD40 on the ebrake linkage just to keep them in good working order. How thick are the ebrake pads supposed to be? Mine are like 1/8th of an inch thick at the most.

 

[X~FACTOR]

Does the drum brake pad require changing after a certain mileage?


btw, I never did find out how to fix my original problem from this thread. Thanks for bringing this back up to the top. Maybe someone could finally give me some answer.