Original Breaks at 91K mi.?

[dex]

2000 Dodge Dakota with the original brake parts and 91K Miles - mostly highway. Everything is working fine.
I'm about to head off with the travel trailer.
Is this normal?
Should I change them or just wait until?

 

[brewer12345]

Do you havee a mechanic that regularly services the vehicle? They should be able to tell you when the brakes are getting closee to being done.

 

[dumpster56]

I went 120K with original brakes on a toyota tacoma, 120 highway miles a day for years, only hitting the brakes a few times each trip each day. When I did have them replaced they still had some thickness left!!

I would change the pads now though. They doneya good.

 

[packrat44]

It all depends on the load placed on the brakes. A heavy vehicle driven mostly in town with rapid stops will wear the brakes relatively quickly. (A vehicle driven like this will have the front bake pads wear about 2x as quick as the rear pads/shoes due to the load shift.) A light vehicle with mostly highway driving will go a long time.

Remove one of the front wheels and take a look at the depth of the friction material on the brake pad.

 

[dex]

I"m pretty dumb on these things - can I only need new pads and not rotors?
If I get only new pads do i have to get the rotors "turned"?
The suggestion about getting new pads all around sounds good - I have disks on the front and drums on the back.
I'm pretty easy on the breaks when I drive - no tail gating or such.

 

[youbet]

I"m pretty dumb on these things - can I only need new pads and not rotors?

That is possible.

If I get only new pads do i have to get the rotors "turned"?

Depends on their condition.

The suggestion about getting new pads all around sounds good - I have disks on the front and drums on the back.
I'm pretty easy on the breaks when I drive - no tail gating or such.

Dex, if you're not knowledgible about pulling a wheel and taking a look yourself, this is a time when knowing a reliable mechanic/shop is going to pay off. My local guy will change the oil, rotate the tires and give me a status report on the brakes (checked while the wheels are off doing the tire rotation) for $30. If your's are less than 50% thinkness remaining get new ceramic pads in the front. Turn the rotors or not based on their recommendation.

Yom mentioned the brakes seemed to be working fine. That's good, but remember that when you can hear the brakes squeal or feel them grabbing or pulling, you've waited too long to have them replaced. You never want to wait so long that you can tell there's an issue!

How heavy is that Casita?

 

[JB]

The brakes on my Subaru were done at 85,000 miles. I was surprised they lasted this long because most of the miles were city and suburban. Even more surprising was that the pads still had about 30% left. I did not resurface the rotors because they looked fine but I did bleed the brakes and replace all the fluid.

The service manual for my car calls for changing the brake fluid every 30,000 miles but I waited until the 1st brake job. It's probably a good idea to change the fluid regularly because it absorbs water which causes corrosion in all the hydraulic parts.

Check your maintenance schedule for the recommended interval on changing the brake fluid. If the pedal feels soft change the pads and replace the fluid, even if the pads have some life left.

 

[travelover]

............... It's probably a good idea to change the fluid regularly because it absorbs water which causes corrosion in all the hydraulic parts..............

Actually it is worse than that. If you do mountain driving and really heat up the brakes, the water in the fluid turns to steam and you lose your brakes altogether.

 

[kumquat]

Oh, this is about brakes? I thought the original broke at 91K Miles.

 

[dex]

Update - the guys at Pep Boys said I don't need anything - the pads are "thick".
I looked at them and they looked thick to me also - pretty amazing after 91K mi. I've towed a 3K trailer for about 12K of those miles out west.

 

[travelover]

Update - the guys at Pep Boys said I don't need anything - the pads are "thick".
I looked at them and they looked thick to me also - pretty amazing after 91K mi. I've towed a 3K trailer for about 12K of those miles out west.

You might want to think about changing the fluid anyway - the water does corrode the parts over time, even if you don't drive in the mountains ...........

If you are at all handy, you can do this yourself just by bleeding each brake cylinder and pouring fresh fluid in the master cylinder until it comes out clear.

 

[dex]

Travelover,
Thanks - I did that about 40K miles ago and will do it again at about 100K

 

[yakers]

The brake fluid issue is more important if you live in wet areas. I live in southern california and it is rarely an issue, never saw a rusted exhaust either. And I spend time in AZ and Death Valley, probably sucks humidity out of the brake fluid. Now if I lived in Seattle or back in Chicago then I would pay more attention to the brake fluid.