Anyone check the temperature of their brakes

[Tinstar]

Are there any of you that have checked the temperature of your disk brakes after 30 or 45 minutes of heavy use. Are the front and rear disk about the same temperature and what temperature were they?

[prstlk]

From my track experience I can tell you that brake fluid will boil. At this point however your pads or shoes will be smoke in in a way that is not condusive better braking. On long downhills slow down and let the ex brake do its thing,gassers use the transmission. You might be 10minutes late, but that's better then a pile of **** at the turn you could not make.

[rgatijnet1]

Nancrogers wrote:
I felt rt front sticking and heating up after 10 miles the other day, I pulled over and let it cool down, then no further problems. Brake fluid is has not been changed out since 2013, sometimes it is parked for a month at a time. Thanks!

With the humidity in Florida, the fluid could very well be contaminated. If you have it done make sure they do not just do a bleed of the brake fluid at each caliper. A complete flush takes over two quarts of fluid.

[Nancrogers]

I felt rt front sticking and heating up after 10 miles the other day, I pulled over and let it cool down, then no further problems. Brake fluid is has not been changed out since 2013, sometimes it is parked for a month at a time. Thanks!

[rgatijnet1]

Nancrogers wrote:
What can I do if on the road and the brakes stick?

If they ease off when they cool down, it could be contaminated brake fluid that is boiling.
It could also be sticking calipers if it happens often. A good rule of thumb is to flush ALL of the fluid out of your brake system every two years and lubricate the caliper slides regularly.

[Nancrogers]

What can I do if on the road and the brakes stick?

[Tinstar]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
As long as the left to right temps for an axle are consistent you should be good to go.

The two rear rotors were within about 3 degrees of each other.

[Tinstar]

tatest wrote:
Measure temperature where? Wheels, hubs, calipers, rotors?

I meant the rotors.

[Dale_Traveling]

Tinstar wrote:
,,, front measured almost 160 degrees but the back were 280 degrees ,,,

The temps look OK and I would not expect the front to back temps to be the same as you would expect with a car. Front to rear axle weight distribution has a dramatic effect. As long as the left to right temps for an axle are consistent you should be good to go.

Concerning replacing the brake lines, rather than replacing the hard lines replace the flex lines at each front wheel and the one line for the rear axle first. Internal corrosion could occur but it's pretty rare while flex line internal collapses is a bit more common.

[tatest]

Measure temperature where? Wheels, hubs, calipers, rotors?

And what should the temperature be? Disk brake rotors can briefly get up to 600 C when the brakes are being used hard (I've seen them at orange-red, about 1000 C, on road racing courses), but rotors cool quickly without transmitting all that heat to the calipers. Pads, of course, have to be selected to not vaporize or glaze at whatever the maximum rotor temperature.

Calipers should not get above the wet boiling point of the brake fluid, typically 140-155 C (280-310 F).

[Tinstar]

midasman wrote:
To test for dragging, make 2 or 3 hard brake pedal pushes either at low speed or even stopped. If on level ground, and in gear the coach should start rolling a little when the pedal is released. If it doesn't, the caliper is probably sticking.

I did this test right after changing the calipers and pads and during my trip. The coach starts rolling easily as soon as I take my foot from the pedal. When testing this way, I did not notice any sticking.

[midasman]

I doubt the manufacturer would even touch that "hot potato". To test for dragging, make 2 or 3 hard brake pedal pushes either at low speed or even stopped. If on level ground, and in gear the coach should start rolling a little when the pedal is released. If it doesn't, the caliper is probably sticking.

[Deano56]

what does the manual say the brake temperature ought to be ??

[Tinstar]

OP here. I drove for 35 miles with 30 traffic lights between Denton and McKinney, TX. (I didn't have to stop at every one but maybe 15 or so of them). I checked the temp of the brakes when I stopped. The front measured almost 160 degrees but the back were 280 degrees. The rear has new calipers and pads on the disk. I thought the temperature was little high on the rear.

A friend of mine who has his own diesel repair shop recommended changing all of the brake lines from the master cylinder when I replaced the calipers. He said the lines can get corroded up inside and pressure will push the fluid to the caliper BUT when releasing the pedal, the fluid, being restricted, can not free flow from the caliper piston back out through the lines which can cause them to drag.

Due to time restrictions I did not change the lines when I replaced the calipers. Has anyone ever done it and did it fix any dragging problem? What do y'all think about the temperature I had on the rear?

OH, BTW, the brakes held fine so no problems there.

[midasman]

The first and only time my brakes were HOT was I-70, west of Denver and I have been doing mountains for many years. The exhaust brake was working (some hissing when applied), and I had the transmission in 2nd. The brakes STUNK! First of all, they are DRUM brakes on my '06 Holiday Ambassador, so not the GOOD kind...Temp was around 500 degrees front and rear. Brief but firm pedal was necessary to control my speed to prevent an automatic shift to 3rd due to overspeeding my engine. According to a truck blog, brake shoes are probably OK until they get over 900 degrees! If I had not been on an interstate, I either would have stopped half way down, or slowed enough to use 1st gear! My concern though is that the Allison 3000 does not lock the torque converter in first gear and might have overheated Mr. Allison...