Brake Wear (one side)
 

Posted this in another thread, but thought the chances for an answer may be better in it's own thread.

Replaced pads and rotors on the front of my Disco about 10,000 miles ago (maybe less), two days ago got an awful metal on metal grinding sound when I stopped in the parking lot at work.

So yesterday pulled the wheels, calipers and rotors.

Right side (front), as suspected, down to the metal on the brake pads, no pad material left on inside or outside pad. Drivers side, looks like I'm missing about 10% of the pad, everything looks perfect on that side.

I'm hoping I won't have to replace the calipers, though right now it's sitting on jack stands with everthing removed, so no time like the present to replace them if I need to.

I've already ordered new pads and rotors for both sides, do I need to order a caliper too?

Could be a caliper binding (you can check with the brake hose disconnected), or an internal failure of the brake hose. The hose can be restricted, not allowing fluid to flow from the caliper when the pedal is released. A caliper slide problem usually results in one brake pad on that wheel being very worn, while the other brake pad on that wheel looks good.

And for those who suspect this may be a problem for them, but have not yet pulled everything down, your handy infrared thermometer can be used to "shoot" the brake discs after driving (and coasting to a stop if you can safely). Discs on same axle should be about same temp. Much hotter disc is warm for a reason, usually it is in the grasp of a stuck caliper. I believe you can get caliper seal kits, but the metal parts may have been scored and replacement is better.

if you could, describe the process.. THanks!!

I'm confident it's not the brake hose as I bled all four brake lines when I did the last pad and rotor change on the back wheels (<5000 miles ago)

When bleeding the lines, brake fluid is only going one way through the lines and hose: into the caliper. One of the problems with brake hoses when they fail internally is they essentially become a one-way valve- allowing the brake fluid into the caliper, but not back out. So bleeding the brakes will not conclusively test for this problem.

To check if the caliper is binding, remove the brake hose, and see how easily the piston compresses back into the caliper. The reason you do this with the brake hose removed from the caliper is mentioned in the paragraph above.

Or, you could just replace caliper and hose to be sure.

check the caliper guides, they should move in and out by hand. I just did brakes on my truck and another NE. truck and the guide were frozen on both trucks and on just about every caliper. If the caliper can not slide back and forth it will burn up the pads very quickly.

Thanks all!

When I bought my rig, the front pads were recently replaced (pads only). With a few weeks of driving, the front right rotor warped. When I pulled the components off, I found the right front outer pad worn completely down. I ordered the complete brake kit, replacing all part that held the pad in place. I made sure the pistons still moved well, apply some air pressure, no binding.

I attributed that issue to bad guides. So, to remedy the issue, I put anti-seize on NEW pins and springs.....hope that did it....2k miles....so far so good

anti-seize is what i used too.

Try disconnecting the battery for 20 or 30 seconds