Brake pad change frequency??
I have a 2004 Jayco 31 with V10. The unit has 77,000 miles with original brakes. My question - when should brakes be changed? Is there a correlation to miles? (most of driving has been long distanc...
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Or after any tiime they've become majorly overheated. They get hot in normal use, give off heat you can notice up close, normally. But if you ever had a stuck caliper/clogged hose... Or long, hard braking... and you they smelled like an electrical fire, or felt like you were walking up to a BBQ grill, the pads have become glazed and will no longer stop effectively.
The caliper has a hole where you can look at the edges of the pads, seeing how thick they still are. Wheel has to be removed to get a good view of the hole. At that stage it doesn't take much to slip the caliper off and be able to see the surfaces of both pads. They could be thick and look good from the edge, but reveal cracking/discoloration on the actual braking surface. At that point you're only a few minutes labor and a few dollars away from installing new pads.
Drum brakes are another story. We probably ALL have disc front brakes, and many have disc rear brakes. But those with Drum REAR brakes, depending on Chassis Make/Model/Year, may have to pull the axle shafts and dismantle the wheel bearings just to see the shoes aka linings. THAT job is so labor-intensive I'd change everything on that backing plate: Shoes, Cylinders, Hardware Kit.
The caliper has a hole where you can look at the edges of the pads, seeing how thick they still are. Wheel has to be removed to get a good view of the hole. At that stage it doesn't take much to slip the caliper off and be able to see the surfaces of both pads. They could be thick and look good from the edge, but reveal cracking/discoloration on the actual braking surface. At that point you're only a few minutes labor and a few dollars away from installing new pads.
Drum brakes are another story. We probably ALL have disc front brakes, and many have disc rear brakes. But those with Drum REAR brakes, depending on Chassis Make/Model/Year, may have to pull the axle shafts and dismantle the wheel bearings just to see the shoes aka linings. THAT job is so labor-intensive I'd change everything on that backing plate: Shoes, Cylinders, Hardware Kit.
