[Garc]

Debatable to the end of time…

I replaced noisy front pads only with z16 at 50k and ended up then needing rotors/pads at 120k because the inside pad prematurely separated.

Rear pads and parking brake shoes at 90k, really depends on application use.

 

[Floyd1979]

My 2020 1500 Lonestar, I have 145,500 on original brakes . Only tow 12 ft utility trailer
Lots highway miles

 

[TomB1269]

Rotors today are not like they were on older trucks where the bearings were mounted in the hub of the rotor. Also rotors today are much thinner to start which decrease weight and increase fuel efficiency. If you rotors are in perfect condition and have not been turned before then you can have them turned. However this decreases the amount of metal there.

My process is to replace fronts each time up to about 130K miles. My rear I tend to "scuff" with sand paper to break the surface shine and reseat the new pads. The reason I tend to stop around 130K miles is that the likelihood of a caliper failure or something else resulting in damage to rotor and therefore requiring rotor replacement increase substantially.

I am not a mechanic, but I also do not let anyone else do my brakes, as I custom fit my pads and take every precaution to minimize pad or caliper hang-ups. I've actual moved to anti seize in the guide pins so they are less like to freeze up and cause the caliper to hang-up.

 

[jimhrobert]

That is BS. I've been working on vehicles since the early 70's. If the used rotors are cleaned properly and the brake machine runs true there is no reason in the world why you can't turn a good used rotors. RAM 2500 rotors are not cheap. They go for over $100 each. I have had no problems turning rotors on my own personally owned machine.

 

[Ramadad]

If you guys are comfortable resurfacing or replacing rotors that look fine, go right ahead.
You think it is necessasary just like SOME people chose certain medical injections.
Some felt it wasn't necessary and went on to be just fine.
New pads over rotors without damage is fine. What do you think that you gain by resurfacing or replacing a rotor that isn't grooved or damaged? It is very likely that you are engaging in a "feel good" measure that provides zero improvement.
Go ahead and spend the money if you have it. Don't expect your advice to have any impact on those that know better.
In my 41 years of messing with cars, I've put new shoes and pads over worn out drums and rotors, clean used ones, freshly resurfaced ones and new ones. A new pad will wear into the grooves of a scored rotor and still stop just fine. You are playing it safe based on a perceived fear of failure that probably won't happen.

There are calculated risks we all take where the chance of failure is determined by experience. You have a far higher risk of failure from a fluid leak like a caliper or master cylinder.
I have well over 1.5 million miles of driving in my life and 98% of the repairs and maintenance of the cars and trucks have been done by me with zero brake failures.
The sky isn't falling, people.

 

[scotth274]

Repair shops have to guarantee their work so they don’t take chances with your vehicle and cut corners on your brakes since if they are not done properly you could run yourself into a tree and die. If you were to have an accident and hurt someone and someone did a half assed brake job you would definitely go back on them and sue them so why would anyone be annoyed with a bill to replace parts I personally drive a 2500 pro master every day and know how expensive parts are and how hard they are to come by so I know how you feel however being a mechanic is the only job I’ve ever done professionally

 

[2011RamCC]

Team,

Need your help. My brakes need to be replaced. No problem, the truck has 76K miles and tows horses. I haven't taken anything apart yet , but I am confident the rotors are absolutely fine... maybe could use a pinch of turning. My concern is this - my neighbor is a Ford mechanic (as in... only touches Fords), he said the Ram design is such that anytime i replace the pads I have to put in new rotors. Obviously, this triples my cost. I forgot his convoluted explanation for it. Am taking it to a brake chain place tomorrow for a look and second opinion. I want to know if I get out of this for about $500, or about $2,000.

Any feedback and opinions would be welcome. Y'all are the only ones I trust.

Kevin

I definitely don't agree that it's a RAM thing to have to change rotors for every brake job. I know that I have changed brake pads on my 2011 RAM 1500 without having to replace the rotors, too. Now, I've changed the rotors in the past, but the truck has over 107,000 miles. I just replaced the brake pads, front and rear, on my fiancee's Jeep Grand Cherokee without having to change the rotors.
Rotors are now made much thinner, so turning them is almost not cost effective. Used to be that you could get rotors turned 2 or 3 times before needing to replace them. Part of that is manufacturers are making them lighter for fuel economy. I had a 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix, and had the rotors turned a few times. But, they were noticably heavier than the ones nowadays.

 

[Submarine Jim]

Team,

Need your help. My brakes need to be replaced. No problem, the truck has 76K miles and tows horses. I haven't taken anything apart yet , but I am confident the rotors are absolutely fine... maybe could use a pinch of turning. My concern is this - my neighbor is a Ford mechanic (as in... only touches Fords), he said the Ram design is such that anytime i replace the pads I have to put in new rotors. Obviously, this triples my cost. I forgot his convoluted explanation for it. Am taking it to a brake chain place tomorrow for a look and second opinion. I want to know if I get out of this for about $500, or about $2,000.

Any feedback and opinions would be welcome. Y'all are the only ones I trust.

Kevin
Horse poop. The machine used to resurface rotors is just a lathe. It's not the lathes fault if the "technician" running is not really qualified or just in a hurry. I turned my rotors every time I changed my pads until it made more sense to buy new cuz they were so inexpensive. And I've been around a while. My first car had drum brakes all around.

 

[Submarine Jim]

NO, it isn't good practice for anyone to change the rotors each pad change. It is great for the parts supplier though. A rotor that isn't damaged, scored or warped is fine to keep in service.
Brake shops are notorious for using scare tactics to pad the bill. If the pedal doesn't pulsate and the truck doesn't shake when braking, the rotors are probably fine.


FACT.
If you ran the pads too long and went metal to metal, that is where it is smart to have the rotors machined at least, if not replaced. Calipers rarely fail in dry climates but if you live where there is a lot of rain or snow, the mud and slush can get on the brakes and grind away at the seals, pistons and of course, the rotors.
I realize that not everyone is willing or capable of doing their own work but some things like brakes are actually quite easy to do for a fraction of the cost of paying a shop to do it.
I used to commute 1000 miles a week and did all of my own servicing except wheel alignments. Oil changes, transmission servicing, brake jobs, spark plugs and replacing any part that goes bad.
The $1500 the OP paid isn't horrible given the high cost of everything....when even mouth breather idiots are getting $15 an hour to make tacos or flip burgers, a trained mechanic is certainly worth much more than that.
Still, you could have done the work yourself for less than half the cost. You'd need tools and a place to do the work, not everyone has those.
I'll buy an expensive tool that I need if I think I'll use it on more than one job, otherwise I'd buy a cheaper tool or see if a buddy has one to lend.
It worked out well for you though. Maybe consider getting familiar with basic maintenance so you can do some of the stuff you're comfortable with.
I have been able to get this many miles....

View attachment 150260

Out of this 2007 Dodge....

View attachment 150261 View attachment 150261

...and still have the original calipers on it. Yeah, I've replaced the pads and rotors numerous times over the years but then, I like doing this stuff.

I'm real curious what was wrong with the calipers..
I have 280K on my 2013 Ram 1500 Quad Cab and the calipers are still in great shape.

 

[Kern Dog]

Mikey gets it. Thank you for standing up for those that THINK for themselves.
Regarding failing calipers...
Maybe, driving in optimal conditions results in far fewer failures and less trouble. I'm in Northern CA where it doesn't snow and cars don't rust. 400,000 on original calipers and master cylinder but I've replaced the rotors a few times.
People living in the snow belt probably deal with whatever the cities use to dissolve snow for safer driving. Salt, sand, brine solution and who knows what else. All this stuff gets sprayed everywhere under the truck when you're driving.
Calipers have rubber boots to seal out the elements but what if the elements eat away at the seals?
I knew a guy in Nova Scotia that spoke of surface rust on the rotors of new trucks sitting on the dealer lots. I can only imagine how snow and rust affect some of you guys.
My truck looks only a few years old from underneath.

I've seen pictures and video of trucks 5 years old with 1/4 the miles and they look far worse!

 

[kree]

If you guys are comfortable resurfacing or replacing rotors that look fine, go right ahead.
You think it is necessasary just like SOME people chose certain medical injections.
Some felt it wasn't necessary and went on to be just fine.
New pads over rotors without damage is fine. What do you think that you gain by resurfacing or replacing a rotor that isn't grooved or damaged? It is very likely that you are engaging in a "feel good" measure that provides zero improvement.
Go ahead and spend the money if you have it. Don't expect your advice to have any impact on those that know better.
In my 41 years of messing with cars, I've put new shoes and pads over worn out drums and rotors, clean used ones, freshly resurfaced ones and new ones. A new pad will wear into the grooves of a scored rotor and still stop just fine. You are playing it safe based on a perceived fear of failure that probably won't happen.

There are calculated risks we all take where the chance of failure is determined by experience. You have a far higher risk of failure from a fluid leak like a caliper or master cylinder.
I have well over 1.5 million miles of driving in my life and 98% of the repairs and maintenance of the cars and trucks have been done by me with zero brake failures.
The sky isn't falling, people.

I think the operative phrase here is “messing with cars”, so, I gather you are not a mechanic. We all may make calculated risks, and as long as they only affect you, that’s fine. The fact is, brakes can fail to work as designed, and someone could be killed… Oh well, they looked good to my neighbor, so I thought it was Okay?
People are complaining about the cost of the parts, no shit, when I used to get brake jobs for 150 bucks, full size pickups cost between 15 and 20 grand, what do they cost now? 60 grand? I wonder why the parts are higher? It’s a mystery. If I ran a shop, I’d do what I knew for a fact was safe, and I wouldn’tt risk someone life on a gamble or hunch.

 

[Kern Dog]

"Messing with cars" can be interpreted many ways.
No, I'm not a professional mechanic. I'm a retired Carpenter that often drove 1200 miles a week commuting so I knew how to keep my cars running. I've restored numerous cars, rebuilt numerous engines, transmissions, done far more than the average "Dodge Ram" owner in terms of hands on work but I'll forgive you for being ignorant as to what I know and what I don't. I've seen people needlessly spend money for parts and repairs far too many times. Shops are encouraged to push parts and repairs for a variety of reasons including profit and the fear of litigation for a problem that would not likely happen. They can't take the .03% risk that it might.
I will not drive a car or truck with unsafe brakes. If I installed new pads over heavily scored rotors, I'd be an idiot. I was not suggesting that. I just see people defaulting to replacing rotors that still were fine to use and I stepped up to call it out.
Again, if YOU feel comfortable spending money where there probably is no benefit, go for it. If I did a short cut on my brakes and if they felt wrong, I'd admit the mistake and immediately correct it. So far, it has not happened.
Am I lucky or just sexy?

 

[ranhood]

Team,

Need your help. My brakes need to be replaced. No problem, the truck has 76K miles and tows horses. I haven't taken anything apart yet , but I am confident the rotors are absolutely fine... maybe could use a pinch of turning. My concern is this - my neighbor is a Ford mechanic (as in... only touches Fords), he said the Ram design is such that anytime i replace the pads I have to put in new rotors. Obviously, this triples my cost. I forgot his convoluted explanation for it. Am taking it to a brake chain place tomorrow for a look and second opinion. I want to know if I get out of this for about $500, or about $2,000.

Any feedback and opinions would be welcome. Y'all are the only ones I trust.

Kevin

Mine has 156k miles, I tow a 23’ boat and have replaced pads twice but not rotors. I will do both rotors/pads this summer. I wonder if you buy the rotors/ pads you want and have a shop install. Only reason I would say you might change rotors is because you tow horses. 🐴 lot of weight. Otherwise there’s no reason rotors need to be replaced but inspect them.

 

[blacknock]

I remember when disc brakes first came out. And I would see signs at different shops advertising break jobs. These shops wanted more money to do disc brakes (that is when you had disc on the front and drum on the back), just a little history. Anyway, I do my work myself. I had a V10 2500, and I was doing a break job on it (I had this truck from new). So, on the front was disc, so, I took them to an auto parts store to have them turned. They said that they were too thin and wanted me to buy new rotors (they looked good to me). I told them no thank you. I went home and got my angle grinder and roughed up the rotors. I put the rotors back on the truck with the new pads. I never had any problem with that truck, and we pulled a 30-foot toy box with that we would take our car to all the big car shows around the country. I am now 75 and like I said, I work on our vehicles myself. If y'all would learn to work on your vehicles yourself, just think how much money you would save on labor. This is just my thoughts. To each their own. Most of the time, when I drive my trucks that I have had over the years, I have the radio turned off, that way you can listen to your truck and will know when it is making a new sound, and you can investigate it before it is too late.

very smart I agree

 

[Tom-G]

Please keep this discussion thread on topic and civil. Otherwise it will be closed.

 

[Tred]

Okay, this was supposedly handled yesterday. I am going to say this once, this is NOT a political forum. Anymore posts (for or against) will result in both members being BANNED.

Thank you.

 

[tullosjf]

The rotors have a minimum thickness. It is best practice to replace the rotors and pads at the same time. I put new pads on old rotors before and they wore out prematurely. This is what I use:
Amazon.com: Detroit Axle - Brake Kit for 2006-2018 Dodge Ram 1500, 2007-2009 Dodge Durango Chrysler Aspen Drilled Slotted Brake Rotors and Ceramic Brakes Pads Front and Rear Replacement : 13.23" inch Front Rotor : Automotive \
Your stopping will improve

My original brakes lasted 199k miles from the factory on 09 Laramie 1500. When I done the brake job myself I had 2 rotors turned and all new high end ceramic pads from O'Reilly's. I have made it 34k miles and hear grinding. Thats unacceptable and not even close to what I expected. I am changing out everything today, all 4 rotors and pads after reading this thread.

 

[mike.amsbaugh]

I have the EXACT same issue. While getting some basic maintenance on my 2018 Ram 2500 HD, the technician advised me that I needed new brakes and rotors for $1,350. I looked up the Ram manual, and it’s accurate that the Heavy Duty 2500, 3500, and higher trucks require changing the rotor when replacing the brakes. The brake pads and rotors equally last about 80 K miles, but that can vary with use. You might extend rotor life by changing pads at a lesser interval. So, the key to changing the rotors is the HD 2500 and larger trucks.

 

[mike.amsbaugh]

Team,

Need your help. My brakes need to be replaced. No problem, the truck has 76K miles and tows horses. I haven't taken anything apart yet , but I am confident the rotors are absolutely fine... maybe could use a pinch of turning. My concern is this - my neighbor is a Ford mechanic (as in... only touches Fords), he said the Ram design is such that anytime i replace the pads I have to put in new rotors. Obviously, this triples my cost. I forgot his convoluted explanation for it. Am taking it to a brake chain place tomorrow for a look and second opinion. I want to know if I get out of this for about $500, or about $2,000.

Any feedback and opinions would be welcome. Y'all are the only ones I trust.

Kevin

I have the EXACT same issue. While getting some basic maintenance on my 2018 Ram 2500 HD, the technician advised me that I needed new brakes and rotors for $1,350. I looked up the Ram manual, and it’s accurate that the Heavy Duty 2500, 3500, and higher trucks require changing the rotor when replacing the brakes. The brake pads and rotors equally last about 80 K miles, but that can vary with use. You might extend rotor life by changing pads at a lesser interval. So, the key to changing the rotors is the HD 2500 and larger truck designation…light duty 1500 trucks do not require new rotors and/or can turn serviceable rotors.