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Odd Front Brake Pad Wear

5gn-h3t

Well-Known Member
Messages
616
Location
Northeast Pennsyltucky
I just bought an '08 H3 Alpha. It needed front brakes. The old rotors were wearing unevenly. I figured new pads and rotors would fix any issues. I put the new brakes on and they are wearing exactly the same. The contact patch on the front passenger rotor is terrible. The wheel side of the rotor is only wearing on the inside half of the brake pad's contact area. The hub side of the rotor is only wearing on the center 3/4" of the contact area. I've pulled it apart twice and can't get it any better. I cleaned the rust off all mating surfaces (hub-rotor, caliper-spindle). The brake caliper pistons move freely and the pads slide on the pins.

Any suggestions?
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,670
Location
Scottsdale
The pads are sliding but are the two halves of the caliper both sliding freely? Sounds like a seized pin for the caliper. The caliper has two bolts that connect the two halves and they slide on those pins. Each pin has a rubber boot. Check the boot for tears - that's the first sign that water and dirt could be entering. Even without tears I would make sure the entire caliper compresses correctly. You can take it off the wheel and try and remove those bolts. Mine was completely frozen on one side.

If there are no obvious signs I would take it apart and grease the two pins with brake caliper grease. I've heard recommendations against silicone grease as it gets measurably more viscous in cold temps, thus too much resistance for this application.
 
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Dennis

Guest
I'm getting the problem is only with the Front Passenger side ..Correct?

and Since the old Rotor and pads wore uneven as are the new set..I have a bad feeling that either the spindle mount is malformed or the whole caliper assy is off..It can't be the caliper is stuck, in that it is a solid mount and only the pads float..so it has to be something with the mounting..Keeping the caliper from being square with the rotor.
 
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Pappibri

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,611
Location
Cohoctah, MI
Had one seize up on my other truck and thats what happened.. You can buy just the kits to replace them.. I would take them apart and lube em up, but if there is a torn boot, buy the kit and replace them..
 

5gn-h3t

Well-Known Member
Messages
616
Location
Northeast Pennsyltucky
The inner pistons on the passenger caliper were moving slower than the outer ones. I cleaned and lubed them and it's better. Still not perfect, but better. Truck stops straight and doesn't have any brake noise, so I'm happy.

By popular demand:
08h3.jpg
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,250
Location
Tardville
H3s have rigid calipers...not floating like most GM vehicles. There are no floating pins or rubber boots like a traditional caliper. So the caliper's ability to compensate for rotor runout now lies totally within the 4-pistons of the caliper...not the old floating-mount system. If you got pads wearing un-evenly...the problem is most likely with one of the pistons. The chance of anything sticking or binding is slim. You could have somehow got something bent, or bolted-on crooked...but thats not likely either.

My guess is improper bleeding. Because you have to separate the caliper halves to change pads....its possible that you have introduced air into the cross-over port that feeds the outboard (2) pistons. When you change pads...you may have had to push all the pistons back to their fully-seated positions to get the new thicker pads installed, right? Notice that when you push one piston in...the other pops out? It can turn into a wrestling match and its very easy to suck a bunch of air in there. If you lost fluid during a pad swap...this may be the case. Unlike the old floating single piston calipers...the quad piston units are very sensitive to air. Its possible that you got air trapped inside the caliper and you're simply pushing the bubble back & forth between the two halves. Try bleeding them with a reverse bleeder (introducing fluid at the caliper, and forcing any air back to the master cylinder).

To prevent this next time...first remove the lid from the master-cylinder and gently pry the four pistons apart (with the old pads still in place), before you take anything apart. The idea is to get all four pistons fully-seated and ready for the new pads before you separate the caliper. This will keep fluid loss to a minimum, and you'll won't be pushing on pistons while the crossover port is exposed to the air.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,670
Location
Scottsdale
I can't recall what the front calipers look like, but the rears are single piston with boots on the slide pins, etc. I tore mine down as it was frozen. Do we perhaps have both systems in the H3, rigid in the front and floating in the back?

And obviously your answer would be correct since my answer was in regards to the rear and 5gn was talking the front. I answered the wrong question :)
 

5gn-h3t

Well-Known Member
Messages
616
Location
Northeast Pennsyltucky
Front is rigid, rear is floating. The caliper mounting bolts do not have to be disturbed to change the front brake pads and the caliper halves do not have to be separated.
 

08H3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,368
Location
United States
I agree that the chances of anything binding are slim. The only way I see you getting that odd contact pattern is for something to be bent or misaligned, but I don't know how that could have happened short of some kind of accident. For the future, 4Speed's post is good advice. Make sure you have the pistons fully collapsed BEFORE you remove the assembly from the truck and the pad change is a snap.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,250
Location
Tardville
The caliper mounting bolts do not have to be disturbed to change the front brake pads and the caliper halves do not have to be separated.

True. However, the previous owner maybe didn't realize this when the last brake job was done? I'm trying to think of what would cause un-even wear like that...and someone separating the caliper is the only scenario I can come up with. Its sounds as if your caliper is not sitting square to the rotor. Take a close look (I'm really reachin here) at your hub and make sure it is sitting square and flat against the knuckle and not cocked or something. That would throw your rotor off center and give you the same effect as sticking pistons. The only other thing I can think of is the caliper mounting ears on the knuckle have somehow been bent...and frankly I can't imagine the force it would take to do that. Hmmm...its gotta be something simple.
 
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