Brake Wear issue

[wayno]

G'day guys,

I have recently had my manual ML Triton serviced. During the service they picked up that the front brakes are pulsating which I had also noticed. I have had an independent service centre look at them also and they confirm the front brakes are going to require machining and although not worn, possibly new pads to elliminate the vibration.

My question is, should this be required on a vehicle that has only 45000kms. It first started around 40000km and has progressively gotten worse. I am not heavy on the brakes at all and use engine braking rather then just stomping on the brakes. It has also been used mainly on longer runs not just around town. I ask as I have never had a vehicle ever that has required this at such an early age.

Has anyone else had this issue and should I pursue this under warranty?

Thanks for your assistance.

[big_bob_thefirst]

Hmmm, I've only recently got my triton, it's got 90k on it, and I also notice a pulsing when braking. I never thought much of it though. Maybe something I'll mention next time it's in the shop.

Do your front brakes squeak / squeal when braking? Mine do sometimes.... I just figured it would wear down a little more and stop...

Sorry, raised more questions then answers.

[snowman]

have you driven through any deepish water or puddles lately Wayno?

[ag9111]

Replace my front pads at about 42,000km and my rears are now shot at 67,000km. Manual and I always use engine brake and dont tow a lot
My rotors are still OK though

[Pauly_t]

Had the same problem around the same km's. Was told heavy breaking or driving through water when the breaks were hot.

Jumped of the break upgrade spoken about on here. Worked out a little more expensive, maybe $250 vs $380 but well worth it. Was surprised with the difference.

Paul

[Homer]

I found the brakes were good until I overheated them once. By that I mean I drove a 4K bit of road hard with hard acceleration and braking being a dick.
I found the rotors get "hotspots" really easily - but so did my MK.
One trip down a decent mountain range and they were shuddering by the end - and then that is that, rotors are shot.

My brakes now squeal just as I stop. But that is because I left the shim out of the drivers side pad when I changed them last month

[Mooons]

I can't believe how hot my rear drums get compaired to everyone else on the HC trip
I'm not sure but it maybe because I put the upgraded brake lines from ultimate's on the back but being a slacker I haven't done the front ones yet

[fridgie]

Don't get me started on brakes

[wayno]

I have never done anything untoward to mine. It has really only done highway driving, never been through deep water, the only water being what you would expect on a wet road. I am not heavy on the brakes. In any case you would expect better of what is supposed to be a heavy duty 4WD. I have had passenger vehicles including a WRX which at 100000km when I sold them had no unusual brake warping etc. My vehicle does not carry heavy loads or even tow except for the odd box trailer. I think this is pretty poor and really I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect better from a 4WD. Do they just put cheap crap quality rotors on these? In any case I think I might take this up with Mitsubishi.

"big bob" to answer your question, my brakes don't squeek, just vibrate.

[Lee-thal]

Have a read of your wty book, Brakes are wear and tear and wont be covered,

Brake shudder does not do any harm, its just the feeling, I have it in mine and it doesnt bother me, i just put up with it until i replace the pads then i will machine.

A lot of things can contribute to brake shudder, most of the time it occurs after getting too hot or after being rapidly cooled.

Compare your brakes to your WRX, it has sports pads and rotors front and rear, Designed to get very hot and wont warp.

If it doesnt bother you, wait until your pads need to be replaced, My opinion anyway.

Cheers Lee

[ultimate]

As lee-thal said, Brakes are consumable items and your issue is considered wear and tear. In my opinion all dual cabs have poor brakes especially compared to performance sedans. The brake systems are cheap and built to a compromise as with a lot of commercial vehicles. The rear drums aren't very effective so we basically rely on on our front rotors. 40,000km is about the average lifespan with a few members only getting 15,000kms and some over 80,000km. It just depends on the individual vehicle. With brakes in general, the better performance, the more wear and dust is created. If the rotors are warping, they are generally being misused or not the best quality.

[Notso]

I'm up to 112000 now and mostly towing a van, still on original pads and discs. 2006 ML

[Lee-thal]

Judging by your Avatar your van would most certainly have electric brakes, These take a massive load off the brakes on your vehicle, That would be the biggest reason you have gotten such great life from them.

Cheers Lee

[MN GLXR]

Just about to clock over 40k and today I felt the brake shudder problem mentioned in this thread.

In a strange kind I way I feel relieved that it seems to be normal wear and tear at 40k.

[geoduck]

Just about to clock over 40k and today I felt the brake shudder problem mentioned in this thread.

In a strange kind I way I feel relieved that it seems to be normal wear and tear at 40k.

It might be worth getting some red rubber grease on the slider pins in the calipers where they run in the rubber boot. I thought I had warped discs and doing this cleared the judder. Sticking pistons can also cause it, along with excessive wear.

[MN GLXR]

Thanks for the tip mate. Funny that today I could not feel the shudder.

I felt it yesterday when descending a mountain pass when I shaved off some speed.

[geoduck]

Thanks for the tip mate. Funny that today I could not feel the shudder.

I felt it yesterday when descending a mountain pass when I shaved off some speed.

Funny that! Sounds similar to when mine shuddered. Down hill keeping the car under control, light pedal pressure.

[snowman]

my shudder is back. same as before.

so to be specific it is not so much a shudder (vibration) as almost an 'on-off' brake feel at low pedal percentage.

last time this happened my brake discs (aftermarket) were straight as a die and we blamed some heat marks for them.

Geek borrowed and tested them and they were fine and they went back on my car. So i dont think it is a disc issue in my case.

so i am interested to see what this might be. only occurs under light braking - hard braking does not seem to have any significant effect. However, it is on the back of some very poor braking performance which seems to have gotten better again.

maybe pads? certainly not worn down
maybe this issue with the calipers not self centering properly is worth checking.....

i did give the rotors a big spray with brake cleaner. maybe i should pull the calipers off and have a better look.

[geoduck]

Brake judder is a common topic on the Pajero forum here in the UK.
Mainly caused by people using a non rubber compatible grease on the brake caliper slider pins, along with the pistons sticking. I used to use a well known copper based grease, now only use it on the back of the pads.
http://redrubbergrease.com/
Hope this is of help.

[RHKTriton]

At 130k +, I've been putting up with the shudder for nearly 100k.

Being my first ABS vehicle, I'd originally assumed the ABS was getting into the act.

The rotors still look like new and the pads have heaps to go.

I've been meaning to check the rotors for warping and thickness variations ( for about the last 90k) but not done.

Sticky sliders seems a worthwhile check. I did find at around 60k I got rid of some of the problem by cleaning behind the rotor and surfaces where the wheel sits against the hub and sequencing the wheel nuts properly.

[Kiwimark]

I managed to get the dealer to put new pads and rotors ( came as a set) at 15000k as in my opinion that's not a good life span at all. That was 4 months ago and 4500k and I have just had it serviced under warranty and had mentioned similar vibration in the brake pedal. They machined the rotors and charged me $400 for the privialage. I have tried argueing that its crazy they need doing again so soon but I am told I am a "constant" heavy load. I have timber/steel tray, towbar and 2 tool boxes on the back. With me in the ute i am 500kg over the 1770kg cab n chassis base weight. I am a gardener so i may add between 100-200kg in green waste on the back. And i tow a small cage trailer. Unbraked and around 350kg, has a measured downward force of 45kg. So at my heaviest weight i would be 700-800kg above chassis weight with a small trailer. I drive it around the suburbs 95% of the time. Any opinions greatly excepted. Are the dealers right, i am heavy and should expect brakes wearing at such low K's or does this sound like theres a problem? Fixes?

[RHKTriton]

I finally replaced the front rotors and pads at around 155k from memory with the least expensive bits I could buy, RDA rotors and extreme RDA pads, no more vibrations and stop well.

I got a set of RDA shoes for the rears in anticipation, however when I got ready to install them I found the shoes had barely worn half way. I'd reckon they should last another three years or so, maybe at around 250 to 300k.

Re machining discs or drums, I found its just not economic, esp with discs that could just as easily distort again.

[Joel]

Just had new pads put on at 45k service. I do tow alot but thought i should still get a bit more from them than that. I got 80k km from my old falcon towing just as regularly.

[biggibbo]

Was your handbrake pretty loose by the time you got a service??

The biggest contributor to early pad wear in the tritons is lack of rear brake adjustment.

By 15,000km between services the rears are completely out of whack and doing nothing, hence the rears are lasting 200,000 and the fronts 50,000.

My tip is to adjust them every 5000 km to make sure the rears are sharing the load.

There's instructions here on the forum on how to adjust them yourself - a quick 10 min job assuming you can use a jack and a screw driver

[Joel]

It didn't seam too loose (probably 4 clicks till tight enough to hold the car on my steep driveway) but might be worth while checking in the future. Sure is nice not to hear that high pitched squeal as i brake now.