Aftermarket brakes

[someotherguy]

It's not that our trucks have crummy brakes, it's that many people drive around with their brakes not working properly and think it's somehow normal for these trucks to have bad brakes. When working properly, they're just fine. One big problem is the auto-adjusters in the rears don't always work, so as the rears wear they get out of adjustment, causing a mushy pedal and poor stopping performance because now the fronts are overloaded. Occasional manual adjustment helps a lot. Another problem is the RWAL system used on the 88-94 pickups sometimes goes bad and causes problems. Some people remove it from the system entirely including plumbing it out to get rid of the dump valve; I can't tell you to do it or not as obviously you'd be tampering with "safety" equipment.

Pad choice is a huge subject because there are so many options. The bummer is, the more aggressive the pad, the more it's going to dust up your nice new wheels. Ceramics work well and won't dust the wheels but you give up some stopping power vs. the more hardcore semi-metallics. If all-out stopping power is what you want then look into the EBC and Hawk lines of pads and read their info to see what suits you. If you want good stopping power without dusting, go ceramic, and I'd suggest a quality name brand like Wagner. I've got their ThermoQuiet pads on my SRT8 and my truck.

Richard

 

[Muskratt2]

Ok, another question for you here Richard.
What is the RWAL system?
I'm a NUT for making sure everything that is on the truck is working. It drives me CRAZY when it doesn't. So I want to make sure it does.

 

[sewlow]

Rear Wheel Anti-Lock.

 

[ccreddell]

Biggest bang for the buck is Hydroboost....

 

[Muskratt2]

sewlow, Thanks for the help here.
I'm looking at the Hawks but still haven't made up my mind.
Any thoughts?

 

[Muskratt2]

Thanks for all the advise here guys.
This past weekend I put new semi metallic brake pads on the front & new shoes along with wheel cylinders on the rear.
Truck stops great! Don't understand all this talk about these trucks having crappy brakes?

 

[michael hurd]

Typically, people that say these trucks have poor brakes drive trucks that have poor brakes and don't understand why, or are too cheap to replace all the components needed to make them brake properly.

My truck got everything new in the rear end, from axle flanges outwards, new backing plates, new wheel cylinders, hardware, drums and e-brake cables. Front got new calipers, pads, hoses all the way around. I reused the rotors which were like new and the rear shoes which were not tapered. ( but the drums were oversized from lots of dusty gravel road ) All the tubing was changed out, and I bled the system multiple times ( probably over 4 liters of fluid in a few weeks ) while test driving it around. Master cylinder was a new unit ( not a reman ) and was correct for the truck. ( bore size )

It stops fantastic, however compared to newer vehicles, still leaves a little bit to be desired.

 

[someotherguy]

Thanks for all the advise here guys.
This past weekend I put new semi metallic brake pads on the front & new shoes along with wheel cylinders on the rear.
Truck stops great! Don't understand all this talk about these trucks having crappy brakes?

+like

Richard

 

[sewlow]

I went with aftermarket rotors because the jobber (Napa/Lordco/OEM) kept warping with the abuse I put them through.
Even after doing over-the-top extensive break in procedures, & making sure not to sit with the brakes engaged when they were really hot, they warped.
Yea, they're the bling-bling ones. Drilled & slotted. Don't think that that made a difference. The difference is in the construction material & their internal fin design to better stand & dissipate the heat better.
With the jobbers, I'd go through 2 sets a year due to warpage. They were beyond turning.
These aftermarket ones have put up with more than 2 years of my abuse & haven't warped yet. And I push 'em hard.
I always have my rotors turned when they're brand new. Some of the jobbers were warped so bad right outa the box that the amount of run-out would of required machining them to the point of being unsafe.

 

[ccreddell]

What brand did you go with?