SR2K

So in the end of may I noticed I had a warped rotor (pedal was pulsing) so I went ahead and did all news pads and rotors, all the way around, problem was fixed, I was happy. Today, as I was driving to work, I noticed a squealing coming from my drivers front brake, sounded like the wear indicator. Now a set of pads should be good for at least 40,000 miles, but sure enough, pulled the wheel and the pads are worn right down, checked the other side, same story. Now I haven't been hard on these pads at all, gentle stops, no towing since replacing them, I had a 1,000lbs load in the back for 600 highway miles, thats it.

What then hell is going on? These pads aren't anything special, they're the basic model from advance auto, but surely they should last longer than this. Both of the front calipers have been replaced in the past year too, so I dont think its a stuck caliper dragging.

bigray327

Doubt it's a stuck caliper, since it's on both sides. You could put it in neutral on a gradual slope and see if it rolls. If it does, it's not a stuck caliper.

I think it's one of two things:
1. You got a bad batch from the vendor. AA has lifetime warranties on their pads, right?
2. You made a mistake in installation, which seems doutbful considering mistakes of this nature would SEEM like a stuck caliper.

SR2K

Yeah, they have a lifetime warrenty, which I plan on taking advantage of asap, although if this is the life I get out if these pads, I'll give up on it and get a different brand.

I doubt I made a mistake with the install, everything went together smoothly and works properly (Minus the excessive wear and brake dust on everything) with the wheels jacked up they spin more or less freely (several revolutions before stopping) so it doesnt seem like anything is dragging.

Brakes aren't too hard to do, that being said, I shouldnt have to change my pads more often than my oil.

bigray327

Well, the good news is that with it being both sides, you can rule out any single systems failure. The changes of getting TWO failures at the same time are close to zero. So maybe just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

By the way, are they metallic pads or ceramic?

SR2K

Yeah, given that the pads were all out of the same box, I assume that they we're the same batch, I guess they we're just ****ty material. The rotors look perfect still, you can still see the original crosshatching on them.

They were semi-metallic pads.

danger

Trade the semi metallic for some good ceramic pads. Less dust and should last longer. Ceramic pads are typically quieter also.

ghostrider

But he still should have gotten more than 3,000 miles out of them.

Did you clean the oil from the rotors before you put them on?? How was the braking, better or worse than with the old pads????

SR2K

Yep, I cleaned the rotors well with brake cleaner before putting them on. The braking was better that the old pads, its strange that they wore so quickly.

Autofair Truck Parts

Where they motorcraft?

Wolvee

I'm going to take wild unsubstantiated guess and say he bought them from Advance Auto, lol. I worked there for a little while in college and they are the worst brakes I've ever seen for heavy breakers.


OP, check your rear brakes to see if there is a normal amount of wear. If they're not working hard enough, it can put added stress on your front breaks. Also, your shock can have "a little" impact as well if they're worn out.