Question about brake pads

[Zilog B]

Anybody know what could cause brake pads to wear uneven? As in the outside brake pad wore evenly, but the inside one wore very unevenly. It was also causing the vehicle to pull to one side when braking. Now with new pads it doesn't pull. Ongoing problem or just a bad pad etc?

1993 nissan truck, it was a front disc brake.

[tHE_0ne]

maybe the brake rotor is warped? You should get it looked at, or even turned.

Advance Auto/Auto Zone sells brand new rotors for cheap, easy to swap out, all you need is one of those hammer-screw-drivers to break the screws loose on the rotors.

[twwabw]

That's usually caused by either seized slide pins on the caliper (rusted) or rust/dirt binding an edge of the shoe on the caliper itself. Most newer caliper / shoe assemblies have stainless steel slides that snap onto the caliper where these surfaces rub against each other.

[Zilog B]

I can definitely believe it could be a rust/dirt issue lol. I'll check and clean calipers tonight if I get the chance.

[twwabw]

Don't know if the Nissan has twin piston calipers, but if it does- a piston could be hanging up. Pretty common in old calipers. The bores can wear; the pistons can wear and hang up; or the seal can roll inside the cylinder. Then all the hydraulic pressure is applied through the oer piston, pushing the shoe crooked.

[Zilog B]

It's a single piston design, but the rubber boot thing around the piston is worn and torn. Maybe I should just replace the whole caliper?

[twwabw]

The rubber boot is a dust seal to keep dirt from getting into the cylinder. It could only cause a problem if a piece of it gets drawn in between the piston and the cylinder wall, but if dirt or rust got in behind it, it could freeze the caliper. This still wouldn't cause them to wear crooked, just to freeze up.

As far as replacing the caliper- maybe. But I generally would never replace a single caliper, especially if they're old like that (13-14 yrs??). If one is worn out, so is the other one.

[joecool169]

Often overlooked and really neglected is changing your brake fluid. Why change your brake fluid? The job brake fluid does is more than apply hydro pressure for your brakes. It also has additives that stop corrosion and absorbe moisture. Often times rust from our weather is blamed for causing caliper/ brake hose/ and wheel cylinder failure, but many times this can be prevented by changing the fluid every other year as recommended by most auto makers.

Also no offense but many people think that changing brake pads is easy and can be done in the driveway to save some cash, but few are actually doing the job correctly. Slide pins/bushings should be taken apart and lubricated with the correct lubricant. Caliper mounting brackets need inspected, calipers and hoses carefully checked.

Many times the front brakes are changed without even looking at the rear ones. If the rear brakes are dirty/ out of adjustment then the front brake life is shortened.