Wearing rear brakes on Denali!!!

[Willyc]

Hello a buddy of mine has a 2004 denali 3/4ton with 4 wheel disc brakes. Anyway he bought the truck new and at 80K It needed rear brakes. So went ahead and had the rotors surfaced and did the brake job. I thought if the rears were this bad then the front would be pretty close also because this was the first time the wheels had been off. Well to my surprise they looked brand new! So I went ahead and flushed and bled the entire system thinking there mat be air in the fronts, but I found nothing wrong.

So now at 90k It needed rear brakes again! All four pads are worn equally to the wear indicators. The fronts also still look great.

So are there any ideas? I went ahead and put some of those green pads from summit in the back and from this time.

Brakes feel normal and he doesnt tow anything.

thanks, will

[irongun324]

I have no clue as to real technical (brake line pressure not being split properly?) but is he driving around with the parking brake on? Does it have rear only parking brake - I'm not sure just guessing.

[truckdude239]

parking brake is adjusted to tight. did he greece the slide pins did the pistons turn back in easy?.



i betting the parking brake is adjusted to tight. or you just go a set of bad pads i had to warranty a job today because the girl put 27k miles on them bendix ceramics and i know she doesn;t hot dog them i seena good set of bendix last an easy 100k miles


why install green pads from summit if they are the same ones i am looking at they are organic and will not last 10k miles install a good set of Wagner or bendix ceramics on the brake and readjust the parking brake and let it go

[dailydragger03]

The parking brake on this truck does not have anything to do with the actual brake pads. It uses a top hat rotor with a set of brake shoes that are cable operated on the inside of the rotor for the parking brake. If the pads are all wearing the same amount, I would have to say its some kind of proportioning valve issue. Almost sound like a bad height sensing proportioning valve, but I'm not sure if 99+ trucks and suvs had them. Basically it adjusts rear brake pressure depending on the height of the vehicle. If the denali does have one it will be a dealer only part. Might be something to look into, hope it helps.

Daniel

[truckdude239]

darn forgot all about that it uses rotor over drums

[Willyc]

Yes this truck does utilize the drum in disc set up and yes all four pads are wearing at an even rate I greased the caliper slides and ensured that they move freely. I thought about a proportioning valve being the problem. If it happens again I guess he will take it to a shop.

thanks, will

[Underpowered]

my guess is the proportioning valve. sending to much pressure to the rear.


another thing is the master cylinder as well. most vehicles have a separate area for fluid for the front and rear brakes. teh master cylinder could be not operating correctly, causing it to only send pressure to the rear. something may be blocking it from sending it to the front. the issue may have to deal more with your front breaks than the rear.