Whose Brake Components Did You Use??

[slikside]

I'm planning a top-to-bottom brake system overhaul (stock), from the booster down to pads, and everything in between.

I've scoured the internet as well as the major auto parts stores for their prices, warrantees, etc..

Of the major parts stores, Orielly's (Brake Best) has a lower price and better warranty than Auto Zone (Duralast). Napa seems about in between on price, but couldn't find warranty info on them...guess I'll call.

Rock Auto has great parts (Raybesto and others), but when you need many components, they kill you on shipping from 5 or 6 different warehouses (and returns for cores making it tough to recoup the charge).

So my question is, what has been your experience with some of the above (and other) named components?? Whose did you like, and whose would you avoid regarding quality??

BTW, I did check several board vendors here, and will probably order some components from them.....I know I will not be buying everything from one place.

Appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

[jocko]

I've used the Cardone parts available through OReilly's and have no complaints. I think they are a step down from the Brake Best stuff, but the Brake Best stuff wasn't available for what I was doing (retrofit a 67 dual mc onto my 66).

[Fldawg]

avoid any our brand parts, there junk, go with name brand raybesto's, wagner, etc.
We went with our brand at work and changed after about 2 weeks, brake pads from O'reilly's are junk they not good for fleet application. even though they are all made in china there is a differance, but go with name brand on pads and rotors and hoses. I'll add this as a good example bought store brand rotors and when i put them on they had a warp in them the guy said we can turn them for and i told him no i want replacements.
Why would i want to turn new rotors i paid for new, hope this has helped

[AusTx68]

My 4 wheel disc setup is a mix of parts from Cardone, O'Reilly's, and CPP.
My experience with O'Reilly's caused me lost time. On two separate occasions they provided me the wrong part in the right box. First it was a brake caliper and the other a control arm bushing. The caliper mistake really pissed me off. It looked like the right part and bolted up fine. I didn't realize it was the wrong part until I went to run my brake lines. The fittings on the brake lines didn't fit the caliper. I thought I did something wrong. After triple checking my work I took it back to O'Reilly's and had them pull another brake caliper from the same year. That's when they realized their mistake. It was a frustrating experience. I still use them for parts because they always have the old stuff in stock and they have great prices. I just make sure to double check the part when I pick it up.

[slikside]

Originally Posted by Fldawg

avoid any our brand parts, there junk, go with name brand raybesto's, wagner, etc.
We went with our brand at work and changed after about 2 weeks, brake pads from O'reilly's are junk they not good for fleet application. even though they are all made in china there is a differance, but go with name brand on pads and rotors and hoses. I'll add this as a good example bought store brand rotors and when i put them on they had a warp in them the guy said we can turn them for and i told him no i want replacements.
Why would i want to turn new rotors i paid for new, hope this has helped

When you say "our brand parts", whose are you referring to? Do you work for Oreillys, or someone else??

Originally Posted by AusTx68

My 4 wheel disc setup is a mix of parts from Cardone, O'Reilly's, and CPP.
My experience with O'Reilly's caused me lost time. On two separate occasions they provided me the wrong part in the right box. First it was a brake caliper and the other a control arm bushing. The caliper mistake really pissed me off. It looked like the right part and bolted up fine. I didn't realize it was the wrong part until I went to run my brake lines. The fittings on the brake lines didn't fit the caliper. I thought I did something wrong. After triple checking my work I took it back to O'Reilly's and had them pull another brake caliper from the same year. That's when they realized their mistake. It was a frustrating experience. I still use them for parts because they always have the old stuff in stock and they have great prices. I just make sure to double check the part when I pick it up.

I'm certain to wind up w. a mix as well. Some places are just much more expensive than others. If I decide to use components from Oriellys, I'll be sure to watch it....thanks for the heads up.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by AusTx68

My 4 wheel disc setup is a mix of parts from Cardone, O'Reilly's, and CPP.
My experience with O'Reilly's caused me lost time. On two separate occasions they provided me the wrong part in the right box. First it was a brake caliper and the other a control arm bushing. The caliper mistake really pissed me off. It looked like the right part and bolted up fine. I didn't realize it was the wrong part until I went to run my brake lines. The fittings on the brake lines didn't fit the caliper. I thought I did something wrong. After triple checking my work I took it back to O'Reilly's and had them pull another brake caliper from the same year. That's when they realized their mistake. It was a frustrating experience. I still use them for parts because they always have the old stuff in stock and they have great prices. I just make sure to double check the part when I pick it up.

I have experienced this frustration with Oreilly's - service is pretty lousy, and like any chain, nobody behind the counter knows much about anything unfortunately. But, I have not experienced any issues with quality of the parts. They've all worked, have not had to replace anything. As for consumable items like brake pads, etc - yes, I agree it's best to buy a U.S. brand quality part - and unfortunately pay thru the nose for it, but as for "hard" parts - chunks of metal that hold fluid, boosters, etc - I've had no problems.

I think by "our" brand - the post above is referring to any chain store, including Oreilly's, that sells china parts - they all have a name associated with their chain that sounds like it's "their" part - such as Cardone and Brake Best, etc. But these are parts made for more than just the chain that uses them. In some cases, what is Cardone may be something else at a different store, etc.

[Fldawg]

Originally Posted by slikside

When you say "our brand parts", whose are you referring to? Do you work for Oreillys, or someone else??



I'm certain to wind up w. a mix as well. Some places are just much more expensive than others. If I decide to use components from Oriellys, I'll be sure to watch it....thanks for the heads up.

i'm talking about the house brand what o'reilly's sells
went in the other daythe guy was gonna sell me there best pads they had
and i said i did not want them he sold me wagner quiet stopsthey are a much better pad and were cheaper

[slikside]

Originally Posted by jocko

I have experienced this frustration with Oreilly's - service is pretty lousy, and like any chain, nobody behind the counter knows much about anything unfortunately. But, I have not experienced any issues with quality of the parts. They've all worked, have not had to replace anything. As for consumable items like brake pads, etc - yes, I agree it's best to buy a U.S. brand quality part - and unfortunately pay thru the nose for it, but as for "hard" parts - chunks of metal that hold fluid, boosters, etc - I've had no problems.

I think by "our" brand - the post above is referring to any chain store, including Oreilly's, that sells china parts - they all have a name associated with their chain that sounds like it's "their" part - such as Cardone and Brake Best, etc. But these are parts made for more than just the chain that uses them. In some cases, what is Cardone may be something else at a different store, etc.

Originally Posted by Fldawg

i'm talking about the house brand what o'reilly's sells
went in the other daythe guy was gonna sell me there best pads they had
and i said i did not want them he sold me wagner quiet stopsthey are a much better pad and were cheaper

OK guys, thanks for clarifying...good to know.

[Fldawg]

That's what i hate about the chain stores, if they can't put it in a computer they can't get you a part, the best thing to do is find a hometown parts house and get your stuff there, most people that work there know what you need, we have one left in my town and i'm lucky i've known the owner since i was 5 years old. But the mom and pop parts stores a going by the wayside and i hate to see it

[slikside]

Originally Posted by Fldawg

That's what i hate about the chain stores, if they can't put it in a computer they can't get you a part, the best thing to do is find a hometown parts house and get your stuff there, most people that work there know what you need, we have one left in my town and i'm lucky i've known the owner since i was 5 years old. But the mom and pop parts stores a going by the wayside and i hate to see it

You got that right! I've only recently began working on my own vehicles (mostly the C-10) again. The chain auto parts stores just seem to hire whoever might be able to make computer inputs, but have little or no practical knowledge....let alone expertise.

When I was a kid, we had one of those family owned parts stores, and those guys knew their stuff. It was a small town, and that family was the go-to family for anything automobile....hot rods to cadillacs. They did a lot of machine work to. But they've been gone for years now. Same story as the big-boxes stamping out the local hardware stores, etc...

[kevmcrae]

My favorite I have ever used....EBC brand. Spendy but will have no issues and performance is unbeatable.
Second favorite-NAPA's best grade (don't remember what they call them but are non- ceramic).
I pull a 22ft boat in the summer and a 4 place snowmobile trailer in the winter. Until I used EBC or NAPA's best I never felt secure while trailering.

[Lee H]

I used Car Quest, formily a medium sized family owned store with a machine shop. Still has most of the original employees. They often dig out the paper catalogs to find parts. Anyway, they have mostly the same parts as everyone else now, raybetos pads and linings, cardone and metro boosters and masters. Chinese and Indian rotors and drums. The vast majority of he DIYers demand the least expensive parts available so that's what the all the part stores stock.
Posted via Mobile Device

[slikside]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I used Car Quest, formily a medium sized family owned store with a machine shop. Still has most of the original employees. They often dig out the paper catalogs to find parts. Anyway, they have mostly the same parts as everyone else now, raybetos pads and linings, cardone and metro boosters and masters. Chinese and Indian rotors and drums. The vast majority of he DIYers demand the least expensive parts available so that's what the all the part stores stock.
Posted via Mobile Device

Good point! I have to admit that I'm pretty price sensitive myself, but I want quality too....in short, I guess I'm screwed!

I know we used to have a CarQuest in town, but I think their gone now.

I'm just looking for good value. I'm not going to pay for top-of-the-line....I don't need it for a truck I don't make a living with, nor is it now, or ever will be a show truck.

Just want good quality at a fair price.

[eldogg]

I only use Raybestos brake & chassis parts. I have a small family owned parts store I get most of the stuff from but have been using Rockauto some lately.
I'm on a box top rewards program with Raybestos, so if anybody has any empty boxes around send them to me and I will send you QCS stickers & calenders....

[68gmsee]

I bought a NAPA set last year. I'm not unhappy with the brakes themselves but after I brought them home I found out that the notches on the adjusting lever did not fit the shoes. I had to take a small grinding wheel and widen them slightly.

Also, couple of years ago I bought u-joints from NAPA and they worked okay but the grease fitting is in a spot that when it comes time to relube I won't be able to get the grease gun in there. Small things but still annoying. Surprisingly enough, I bought some from O'reilly just a few months before and had no problem at all with the grease fitting. Go figure.

[capev86]

My 72 Suburban C20 has the original brake system including rotors and drums. Only upgrades are synthetic dot4+ fluid and the front pads were replaced with Hawk severe duty (for towing, fleet vehicles, etc) carbon-ceramics. Expensive but well worth the money on a truck that will get a work out towing trailers on occasion. I bought them from Summit but you should be able to order them through most local parts stores.

[jocko]

A couple places I forgot to mention above (like I said, for "hard" parts, chunks of metal, I'm ok with the local stuff), but for consumables, I like the following (I didn't list Raybestos because they're already mentioned, but I like them a lot too):

Praise Dyno & Brake http://www.praisedynobrake.com/
Alretta http://www.alretta.com/

[slikside]

Originally Posted by kevmcrae

My favorite I have ever used....EBC brand. Spendy but will have no issues and performance is unbeatable.
Second favorite-NAPA's best grade (don't remember what they call them but are non- ceramic).
I pull a 22ft boat in the summer and a 4 place snowmobile trailer in the winter. Until I used EBC or NAPA's best I never felt secure while trailering.

Had never heard of EBC before, but after you mentioned it...they do appear to be bullet proof...but I'll probably pass....I don't do much heavy duty stuff w. my truck.. NAPA is a definite possibility though.

Originally Posted by eldogg

I only use Raybestos brake & chassis parts. I have a small family owned parts store I get most of the stuff from but have been using Rockauto some lately.
I'm on a box top rewards program with Raybestos, so if anybody has any empty boxes around send them to me and I will send you QCS stickers & calenders....

I really like Raybestos, so I'm looking for a local supplier. I would say this is my first choice right now. Don't really want to surrender the core charges on Rock Auto (return shipping likely nixes most if not all of your refund).

Box top program, huh? Sounds like a good deal for you...If I had as many of those for parts as my daughter has for school, my truck would be fully restored!!

Originally Posted by jocko

A couple places I forgot to mention above (like I said, for "hard" parts, chunks of metal, I'm ok with the local stuff), but for consumables, I like the following (I didn't list Raybestos because they're already mentioned, but I like them a lot too):

Praise Dyno & Brake http://www.praisedynobrake.com/
Alretta http://www.alretta.com/

these are some pretty interesting sites. First one seems more like a locator for other sites....am I missing something?

I'm curious what Alretta's quote will be....have to call them sometime tomorrow.

[slikside]

Just wanted to update on the parts I chose. sorry it took so long....

Ended up ordering mostly Raybestos from Rock Auto, but nothing that had a core charge. I ordered the front pads, rear shoes, rear hardware kit, left and right adjuster kits, rear wheel cylinders, front brake hoses.....all Raybestos Professional Grade. Out of this, ONLY the hardware kit, and maybe the adjuster kits (IIRC) were made in the USA. The pads were from India, the shoes I believe were Mexico, the hoses and wheel cylinders were CHINA. All came in nice red white and blue Raybestos boxes. Even though the hoses say (get this) Sunsong right on them. The rear hose I ordered was Wagner, it was much cheaper than Raybestos, and still a good name. Guess what the name on that one is.....if you guessed Sunsong, your on to their game! Oh well, at least I got the same procuct for a better price.

I am a little disappointed that even Raybestos (and Wagner) has "gone international", but have just decided to live w/ it. Too much hassle and expense to change (one of the drawbacks to mail order).

For big metal chunks.....I found that I just couldn't stomach surrendering my original GM parts (calipers, booster, master cylinder, prop valve) as cores for the likes of Cardone, Brake Best, Fenco (?), et al.. I'm spending more than I wanted to, but I'm having all of these rebuilt, and replated where applicable. Should get them all back this weekend.

Long update, but I really appreciate the feedback I received on this thread, and wanted to let you know. Also, I wanted to give everyone a sence of the "international flavor" now associated even with names like Raybestos and Wagner. A lot of you may already have known this, but it was a wake-up call for me.

BTW, none of this has been installed yet. I've spent my time so far on disassembly and cleaning. It is unbelievable how much dirt can accumulate in certain places on a 40 year old truck!

Waiting on delivery of a full brake line set from Inline Tube as well.

Thanks again.