Wear Ever? More like "Wear about a year"
- Thread starter 6716
- Start date
RayVoy
Member
- Nov 20, 2011
- 939
Mileage really isn't a factor. Type of driving is the factor, stop and start will wear out brakes. Driving 1000 miles on I95 won't wear the brakes at all (if you drive defensively).6716 said:
Stop and go driving will wear pads, but worn pads will wear rotors.
So, I can not answer your question without looking at the rotors.
City vs highway miles and driving style will make a big difference. I am about 80/20 highway to city and replaced the rear rotors and pads at about 98,000 miles and refaced the front rotors and new pads at about 75,000 miles.
- Jul 24, 2012
- 822
I've been driving this vehicle 20-25K a year for five years, pretty similar city/hwy ratio. I don't tow, I don't live in the mountains, and I tend to manage the throttle and following distance more than being brake happy.
Last set of pads lasted 65K+. They were probably better pads, but I don't recall for sure.
AAP agreed that 20K wasn't much for mileage ... but the warranty only applied if they were "defective" -- not "too crappy to be worth a $#!&."
Not that new pads cost much, or that it takes more than 30 minutes to swap out both sides. They are the "silver" ... but I still expected more. Rotors were new with those pads.
And just the rear -- fronts look like I would have expected, at least half of the material is still there. Those are Wear Ever Silvers on new rotors as well, replaced at the same time as the rears.
The manager wanted to blame the calipers, and I suppose that is a possibility, but they seemed to compress pretty easily, and I don't hear any dragging with the new pads. Maybe for fun I'll get a rebuild kit and new lines.
If these pads get me another year I guess I'll be satisfied then. 50K for cheapies is about what I was expecting.
Last set of pads lasted 65K+. They were probably better pads, but I don't recall for sure.
AAP agreed that 20K wasn't much for mileage ... but the warranty only applied if they were "defective" -- not "too crappy to be worth a $#!&."
Not that new pads cost much, or that it takes more than 30 minutes to swap out both sides. They are the "silver" ... but I still expected more. Rotors were new with those pads.
And just the rear -- fronts look like I would have expected, at least half of the material is still there. Those are Wear Ever Silvers on new rotors as well, replaced at the same time as the rears.
The manager wanted to blame the calipers, and I suppose that is a possibility, but they seemed to compress pretty easily, and I don't hear any dragging with the new pads. Maybe for fun I'll get a rebuild kit and new lines.
If these pads get me another year I guess I'll be satisfied then. 50K for cheapies is about what I was expecting.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
My Wear-ever are ceramic and have a lifetime warranty. That being said they have 15K plus and show very little wear.
Steveinfl
Member
- Dec 6, 2011
- 62
See I run the snot out of brakes. No towing but 95 city 5 hwy. the Last set of pads as rotors (front only) lasted under 20k before they became very noisy while only being 1/5 worn.
You are right though, they cost next to nothing and an hour once a year to change them out isn't a big deal. I wish I'd taken pictures of the pads and rotors I took off. The pads were somewhat chunked up and destroyed, but I have a feeling mine weren't quite up to spec when they were shipped. A manufacture defect.
You are right though, they cost next to nothing and an hour once a year to change them out isn't a big deal. I wish I'd taken pictures of the pads and rotors I took off. The pads were somewhat chunked up and destroyed, but I have a feeling mine weren't quite up to spec when they were shipped. A manufacture defect.
- Jul 24, 2012
- 822
HARDTRAILZ said:
Vehicles used off-road void AAP warranties, according to the fine print.
The silvers come with Limited Lifetime Warranties as well ... the guy at the store told me I would only have a warranty claim if, say, the pad itself broke into two parts, or there was a major chip off the friction material. Simply running through all the wear surface in an unreasonably short amount of time wasn't covered ... according to this guy.
It was probably just a bad day at the factory.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
I was thinking of picking a set of these up, Advance Auto has the Wearever rotors with the 2yr warranty and rust inhibitor coating and the Gold pads for $230 and change all around and there's a 15% off coupon available but I wouldn't want to use these if they're only good for a year of normal driving....Not sure now which way to go.
MDBT said:
I would recommend loaded calipers and turning the rotors if you can. If they are beyond spec I recommend the $20 rotors from O'Reilly's. That price seems a little steep for Auto Zone parts.
CaptainXL said:
Appreciate the advice on the OReily parts but why would I need to replace my calipers?
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
FWIW...
I just helped my buddy do the rear pads on his JK again. Brakes were squealing, but pads had 1/2 material left. We walked in, they looked up his phone number, they went and grabbed new pads and took the old ones. No charge. He has the Gold pads from Autozone. They did not even care that they were not worn out completely. Just said OK. He just exchanged them last summer as well.
I just helped my buddy do the rear pads on his JK again. Brakes were squealing, but pads had 1/2 material left. We walked in, they looked up his phone number, they went and grabbed new pads and took the old ones. No charge. He has the Gold pads from Autozone. They did not even care that they were not worn out completely. Just said OK. He just exchanged them last summer as well.
MDBT said:
In my experience its a good idea to rebuild the calipers whenever the pads are changed. Especially the rears because they use a steel piston and it gets all rusty. The fronts you can probably get by with just a cleaning.
Getting a loaded caliper is the easiest way to do this.
CaptainXL said:
I have only replaced one caliper in my life and that was a buddies car cause he blew a seal, have never replaced or rebuilt one that is working properly. I have had a few wheel cylinders go bad on drum brakes that I had to rebuild. Does anyone else rebuild or replace calipers when they do their pads? I am not saying you are wrong just never heard of that.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
Previous owner of my truck had both rear calipers replaced at 100K. The pistons were frozen in the sockets. So now you know someone that has had it done. I have always rebuilt calipers. The rubber dust seals either come off or deteriorate in the heat from the brakes. The square seals inside the caliper are only good for one set of pads. They should be replaced at every brake change. Something they never tell you about. Always a good idea to replace these parts on higher mileage vehicles. When it comes to my families safety...you bet. Moreover it's called preventative maintenance. It's not a waste. It's called being smart. I would rather have my caliper and pads work correctly than suffer other problems.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
At 160k I have one bad seal this last inspection. I check every time as my family's safety is vital to my survival. Never seen any wear or issues. I see no need to replace good equipment.
Brake caliper seals wear. Its a fact. Its considered normal. It doesnt mean a person isnt any good at maintenance. The fact that someone purchases a rebuilt caliper to get new square seals has no bearing on what condition the rest of the caliper is like. Its a convenience. Most people dont know or arent comfortable replacing seals in a caliper. Thats why I suggested it. I have rebuilt many calipers over the years and its so stupidly simple and cheap its worth doing every time. Up here in thenorth I have always found some problem or another. Weather it be rust on pistons or boots are shot, etc..
ok, well can't complain about someone trying to protect their family. 
And you are correct, people with no knowledge should try and be safer now then sorry later. I myself will only rebuild when needed but everytime I have the calipers off I inspect everything from the seals, piston and boots along with regreasing the pins before I install them, because you are correct on that when you say living up here we stand a better chance for parts rusting.
And you are correct, people with no knowledge should try and be safer now then sorry later. I myself will only rebuild when needed but everytime I have the calipers off I inspect everything from the seals, piston and boots along with regreasing the pins before I install them, because you are correct on that when you say living up here we stand a better chance for parts rusting.