Median time between brake jobs

Post by **E Showell** » 30 May 2016, 18:40

Ok -- So front brakes were last done on the '99 V70 in early July of 2013, about 33,000 miles ago. Rebuilt calipers (not by me), can't be sure of rotor brand or pads, but they're awfully dusty so they could be OEM Volvo, but more likely generic auto parts store semi-metallics. I live in a very hilly area requiring some pretty enthusiastic braking.

So almost three years and about 33,000 miles for a set of front brakes with probably relatively generic components -- the rotors could be Zimmermans or Brembos, or ATEs. How's that square with your experience as far as life of components?

I've got a seized caliper on the passenger front, so I'll probably do a complete brake job- front and rear this coming weekend.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 30 May 2016, 19:19

I've never had issue but I always use the dusty Volvo brake pads and the Volvo brake grease. I clean and re-grease every component in the system and put a pretty good film on the backs of all of my pads. I probably go 40- 50K miles between brake pad replacement. We went 100K on the front rotors and probably need to do the rear now as we passed 250K miles. The rear pad get replaced every other front pad change, so I think we've only replaced the rear's twice or maybe three times. Oh, and every time I do the rear pads I've bled all the brake fluid out and put new in with a pump I bought for that purpose. When a friend's front driver's side caliper seized, instead of rebuilding it, we just grabbed another one off off a wrecked Volvo at the junk yard- it seemed much easier and it's held up. I find that Volvo brakes are very easy to change and deal with and as long as you treat them right (and use the right pads too) and don't go crazy with them, they should be fairly problem-free. That said, I have drilled and slotted rotors from R-1 Concepts that are zinc plated. They've held up well, look good and don't seem to chew through pads much faster. I suppose I've just been lucky. On this car though, I can tell the front lines are getting weak and if I could ever figure out how to deal with the stubborn connectors, I would replace them with some stainless braided lines I have sitting in the garage.

Post by **benpineapple** » 31 May 2016, 09:55

That seems like a short life for that seized caliper.

I pull the components and inspect them every 35,000. Only replace as-needed. If there's plenty of power from the caliper, plenty of meat on the pads, and no wobbles on the rotors, I won't worry about preemptively replacing anything. The main thing I look for are leaks, especially in the brake lines. Last time I inspected them, found one of my front lines had a pretty big bulge in it, and part of the exterior rubber looked cracked. Immediately replace both front lines. Re-lubing components is a good idea while you're removing and inspecting stuff.

Post by **E Showell** » 02 Jun 2016, 04:43

Checked with my local indie mechanic. He said due to the hilly area we live in, most folks get about 35k miles to a brake job.

Lubing caliper slide pins has not been part of my regular maintenance procedures. It will be now.

Post by **abscate** » 02 Jun 2016, 05:30

Lube slide pins on rear ( dual piston, non sliding calipers)

Brush and lube caliper slides on front ( single piston, floating calipers on front )

There are mechanics who refuse to do this, and car makers like BMW that don't recommend greasing brakes, but in the Northeast I don't think it's optional

Post by **850 LPT** » 02 Jun 2016, 05:53

33k does seem like a rather short lifespan. My experience is anywhere from 50k - 80k.

I'm doing a complete brake job on my XC right now and I've gotten 50k out of them with OEM rotors and Akebono pads. I could have gotten more out of them but the rears were vibrating badly.
The most I've ever gotten was 80k on my old 850 with Zimmermans and Akebonos. But they were really shot after that.

I'm very leery of rebuilt calipers. I think some companies use cheap seals that don't last very long. And once the seals crack it is only a matter of time when they seize.

Dirk

101 · Post by **101** » 02 Jun 2016, 07:44

My experience using OEM pads was about 30K in the front and about 45K on the rear. I've since switched to the Akebono pads and they last roughly twice as long.

YMMV.

Post by **E Showell** » 05 Jun 2016, 08:27

Both front calipers seized at 33K. Replaced yesterday. Added ceramic pads to reduce brake dust and hopeful prolong brake life, but I'm still going to disassemble and grease pins 2X/year. Local NAPA guys says most folks in our area get about 30K miles to a set of brakes.