I have a 93 ford explorer, i have had to replace the brakes and pads every 6 months sometimes the caliphers too. does any one have any idea what is going on? what do i need to do so i dont have to keep replacing brakes so often. thank you tonja
I have a '93 and the wear on my pads seems pretty good. After about 30K on the ones that came with the truck when I bought it (I'm the 3rd owner) they were starting to get thin. I replaced them with Raybestos Performance Plus pads (carbon metallic I believe). They seem to be holding up great (about 18 months and 18K mi. and they are still looking new) also they don't create near as much break dust.
One thing I did screw up on was buying low end rotors when I did the brake job. After 18 months they are warped to the point that I am going to have to have them turned or maybe just replace them with some better quality ones.
Larry
no sugarcoating here: you need to be a better driver. no need to gun the engine or between stop signs, or to floor either pedal in stop/go traffic. you're prematurely wearing down parts that ought to last you more than a year (mine lasted over 2). if you just relax behind the wheel and ease into your stops, your pads and rotors won't wear down so quickly.
john
You should get cryogenically treated brake rotors. The rotors are frozen to -300 degrees which realigns the molecules and increases the hardness rating of the metal. I've used them on the Explorer and my Mustang. They run about $300-$325 for rotors and pads. It may be a little more expensive than regular rotors/pads but they will last much longer. I've yet to wear out a set of rotors that have been cryogenically treated. NASCAR teams use treated rotors and subject many other highly stressed metal parts to increase their durability. Here's a couple of links to companies that sell them:
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