The front pads were looking thin, and I had just done the rears a few weeks back. The drivers side front was very easy, and the pistons pushed back in with no issues. Those pads still had some meat left on them. The passenger side pads were worn more, especially the outside pad which was almost bare. The pistons were a pain on that one to push back in with the c clamp too.
Anyone else have something similar with one side being worn more, or with a caliper that is tougher to push back in? I have never had brant issues on the truck, and she seems to stop good. I did a quick bedding of the new pads and it felt ok after.

 

Sounds like you need to replace that caliper before it fails.

Brake calipers, are mechanical components that help to slow the car's wheels during braking, may either leak brake fluid or get stuck, lessening their effectiveness and calling for rebuilding or replacement.

Calipers depend on consistent brake fluid pressure to operate correctly. If a caliper begins to leak, it will not receive enough pressure to do its job, and the brake fluid may take on air, reducing its effectiveness.

Sticking Caliper components that stick in place instead of moving freely will malfunction by causing the car pull to one side when the you apply the brakes,

Caliper Piston The brake fluid moves a lubricated piston inside the caliper to compress the brake pads against the rotor. Corrosion, built-up dirt or a lack of lubricant can impair piston motion.

 

You can take your IR thermometer, drive truck, coast to a stop on an open road, and "shoot" the brake discs. Should be same temp (or close) on same axle. My sticky caliper made one disc hotter than the others. And don't go for rebuilding calipers yourself, by the time you notice it the scoring to the bore is already done.

 

Same exact problem with my brakes! Front pads are shot, front passenger side is almost bare, and gets hotter then driver side. Funny how this happened to someone else. Unfortunately I have yet to change the pads and calipers....l problems are only getting worse while I save the needed $$$

 

If it had been sticking while driving before, wouldn't that have been pretty obvious? The truck would pull while coasting, burning brake smell, excess brake dust on that wheel, etc? I had not of that. If anything, the truck seems to pull a bit to the left on hard braking. Also, no leaks, the fluid has been flushed every year and no hardships on the brakes like towing.
A couple more questions:
What is the easiest way to test if a caliper is working OK? I don't want to rebuild one if not needed.
Also, if there was an issue with one, wouldn't that cause the Amigos or some other issues? For example, would traction be reduced in the snow letting that wheel either spin or not spin enough?
Thanks!

 

I have had uneven wear on brakes in many cars in the past. One side always wears down quicker. On this truck, when the backs went it was also the passenger side that wore down quicker. The front just seemed a bit too far off for my liking, especially the outside pad. That is what got me thinking there was an issue. I'm thinking maybe if the caliper was frozen, the inside part was not clamping down on the rotor as much, leaving the outside pad to do most or all of the work. If so, I suppose I will have to rebuild that one then. Everything seems to be working pretty normal with it now though.

 

Keep in mind that Atlantic British sells new caliepers for around $130 each. I'm getting 2 front calipers plus new brake master cylinder for $535 shipped - not to bad in my opinion. The point is that these dual piston calipers can be tricky when they have alot of miles on them so in the long run it may be cheaper to just replace them rather than rebuild.

 

Yeah, I figured they would have been more, and then looked after I posted before. For the 2000 they are $150. Not as much as I figured they would be.

 

Anyone know the name of the OEM manufacturer for the caliper? I thought I remember seeing Fenco. When I just looked at the Advance Auto site, they sell Fenco. They are $65 (plus the core) and with the promo code they would be $55 and you get a $25 coupon for a future order...so $30 all in doesn't sound bad at all. I'm wondering if maybe they were replaced a while ago with that brand, or maybe I'm remember wrong.

 

I don't know who the factory manufacturer of the calipers is, but I'd recommend going with the calipers from Atlantic British, or relevent (ie: DAP Enterprise, Roversnorth, British parts of Utah etc - Someone who specializes in Rovers) rather than those really cheap parts found at local auto parts stores.... "if its to good to be true then leave it alone cause it probally is... local parts stores are good for fluids, lubes, tools, hardware..... THATS IT!

But that's my opinion. But in the rare event that a local parts syote carries the same brand of calipers identical to OEM then do some more research before buying them. Sometimes trying to sage a few extra $$ could end up costing you $$$$ down the road, because the quality was so cheap.....