Hard hard would it be to start a class action lawsuit against GM regarding brake durability, performance, and corrosion issues. It seems to me that corrosion of the mounting ear contributes just as much to improper brake performance as the "ABS sensor clearance issues." Plus the delamination of the rotors.

The solution is very simple. Change the alloy used to manufacture the EAR that holds the pads. The Lexus and Toyotas with the same design pad holders do not see this issue to anywhere near the same extent, in my experience. The lack of proper training and service practices of these brakes is not limited to GM techs, though. But, I've never had a dealer tech do them right, either.

BTW, Ford got it wrong, too. At least on my Superdutys.

At least the air brakes on your Pete will keep you happier than the GM and Ford pickups!!:D How are the brakes on your 2-ton GMs?

must be nice to be perfect...

must be nice to be perfect...Oh, it's very nice indeed. Hard, but nice.

must be nice to be perfect...
Rethinking your post, it comes down to this. The binding of the brake pads contributes to accidents and further component failure. A system as critical as the brakes requires better durability (corrosion resistance) to save lives, money, and grief (in that order). GM is clearly aware of the problem as witnessed by better slide bolt hardware as the years progressed and the (poor) choice to return to rear drum brakes on several 1500 models. The intrinsic design here is sound, but the implementation here is poor and, IMHO, will cause accidents, hence the original question.

i think there was something on the brakes of the earlier models. My 04 LLY has been fine on brakes. Actually has performed well for 180K miles even with towing trailers up to 12K lbs on them. The brakes had about half their life left with them. You can try going to GM with it but I would check to see if there was a TSB about this in the past first.

This seems to be a common problem for all car manufactures today. At least here in the Northeast it is, I blame it on all the road salt during the winter months. I grind the mounts and grease them every year on my wifes Honda and by spring the rotors are warped from the corrosion build up. The rotors on my HD are starting to pulsate but it has gone through three winters of plowing driveways and i tow alot with it which sometimes will put more stress on the trucks brakes. At 56k and original brakes i am happy with the HD.

The brakes on my 1/2 ton have never been better than they are right now. After clearancing them properly they operate fine, hopefully the inboard surface corrosion problem is solved with the clearance and the delam problem is solved with the Brembo rotors.

This truck has been a nightmare to keep the brakes funtioning properly, the rotors were rotting off of it when I got it at 36,000 miles/6 1/2 yrs old.
I have replaced the front rotors once and the rears twice, both front ABS sensors even after the recall was performed they still failed again within 2 yrs, replaced the ABS electronic module, both rear calipers froze up and were replaced. This is a very well maintained truck that was never abused and it has still cost me a fortune in parts and my time to keep the brakes functioning.

I firmly believe that had GM not cheaped out on the quality of most of these parts that I would still be on the original pads and rotors at 66,000 miles.

Scott

in your owners manual in the maintenance section it says to periodically insp brakes(that doesnt mean just the pads or shoes) it means overall brake system. if the slides are frozen it is a customers responsibilty to have it done. I hate the fact that people are always trying to blame gm for lack of maintenance or environmental factors. 9 times out of 10 if i am refacing rotors for a pulsation the pads are binding in the brackets and i clean and lube as neccesary. just like the new recall on supercharged regals and grand prixs. we have to fix oil leaks on a 10 year old car because the owner is too stupid or cheap to fix it so they drive it till it bursts into flames, come on now where has the common sense gone???

I agree...no matter how valiant the effort I think this would end up a hard and lengthy process.

Not that I don't applaud your thinking heymccall.

Why not sue the cities and counties for using salt on the roads. Out here in the West, where no salt is used on the roads, we don't have brake issues like these.

Besides the millions in financial backing you'd need - hard.
Love the idea though. They should have engineered and built this crap correctly from the start

To all the naysayers out there that think this is simply a maintenance issue, Do you not have a 7yr/100k miles corrosion warranty on the sheetmetal? Why not on a simple piece (4 pieces, really) of cast steel that can kill you?

I agree,we should sue them for putting that crap on our roads. Sure it melts some snow but it sure eats on vehicles where they apply it heavily :mad:.

Why not sue the cities and counties for using salt on the roads. Out here in the West, where no salt is used on the roads, we don't have brake issues like these.

I agree,we should sue them for putting that crap on our roads. Sure it melts some snow but it sure eats on vehicles where they apply it heavily :mad:.
My Toyotas and Lexus' are driven in the same CRAP, and yet at 100k their pads still slide in the ears (the design is nearly identical).

And, I've had May delivered trucks with the brakes binding (soft pedal) by October, long before they were ever exposed to salt or Potassium Chloride. And, if road salt exposure is the culprit, I wouldn't find many members on here who live outside the rust belt and have the same problem. I'd bet they are out there.

I finished my 1/2 ton front brakes tonight. Ran into the same problem as the rear, the inboard pad stuck in the bracket. I removed them, cleaned them (a lengthy job as rusty as they were) relieved them, painted and greased them and put it all back together. I thought the brakes were pretty good after just redoing the rears, now I have the pedal feel I should have and the truck will stand on its nose when I slam the brakes on.
I will say that the front brackets did have some black paint like coating on them at one time but most of it was flaking and some had quite a bit of rust growing under it. I had one front pad that had an ear that required quite a bit of work to get it to clearance, that was my bad for not knowing that needed to be done when I did the brakes the last time.

As for road salt..... around here I have seen them salt dry roads in 40 degree weather, they are absolutely ridiculous with the amounts of it they use, the same amount goes down if we get a dusting or a foot, theres no common sense used. They also love to dredge the gravel shoulders several times a month and drag all the rocks into the roadway while still leaving big holes in the shoulder and chewing up the edge of the pavement. One of the biggest reason the roads are so bad in MI is because they dont grade the shoulders the right way to get the water to run away from the roadway, apparently the whole thing about water running downhill escapes them.

Back to original question, a class action lawsuit would be a huge undertaking, you'd spend way more money/time and probably would just get a new set of brakes out of it in the end. Why bother.

I know HD's are a different animal, but the brakes on my 1500 Z71 ext cb SWB were the best set of brakes I ever had. Checked them regularly and never had any issues for over 150k miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Had rears redone after right rear seized at 165K miles. Truck is retired to hunting duty, but fronts have never been replace and still have life left. Again, best set of brakes I have had on any vehicle, PERIOD.

Hard hard would it be to start a class action lawsuit against GM regarding brake durability, performance, and corrosion issues. It seems to me that corrosion of the mounting ear contributes just as much to improper brake performance as the "ABS sensor clearance issues." Plus the delamination of the rotors.

The solution is very simple. Change the alloy used to manufacture the EAR that holds the pads. The Lexus and Toyotas with the same design pad holders do not see this issue to anywhere near the same extent, in my experience. The lack of proper training and service practices of these brakes is not limited to GM techs, though. But, I've never had a dealer tech do them right, either.

BTW, Ford got it wrong, too. At least on my Superdutys.

You will lose. No attorney will touch this unless you pay up front. 200.00 per hour till court time then it doubles or triples. You will need to pay big money to experts to testify and in the end, if you win, the attorneys get 10 million and the rest get .50 per truck.

I agree,we should sue them for putting that crap on our roads. Sure it melts some snow but it sure eats on vehicles where they apply it heavily :mad:.

this year they used soemthing on the roads that ate sheet metal, aluminum and steel like rosie o'donelle goes through donuts

why not have a little bit of the frame/sheet metal "lineX"ed or rhino lined? Sounds like that would work against the salt and crap. Or does salt eat thru that liner too?

why not have a little bit of the frame/sheet metal "lineX"ed or rhino lined? Sounds like that would work against the salt and crap. Or does salt eat thru that liner too?

I was thinking about this myself. But if I'm going to that length, I may just end up using POR 15. Doesn't have the texture that a bed liner would and not nearly the weight.

I was thinking about this myself. But if I'm going to that length, I may just end up using POR 15. Doesn't have the texture that a bed liner would and not nearly the weight.
Anything I've had sprayed with bedliner coating that wasn't painted first has the rust leaching through. That means my headache racks, and one of the older fuel tanks. It seems as if the coating is porous to a point.

Sorry to dredge up an old post but I've been reading about Hemmycal's experiences with the brake corrosion (great & informative posts by the way) and wondering about painting the caliper with something a little better than rustoleum. I have a can of CRC Zinc-it spray paint, it's a metal flake zinc paint for kind of a cold galvanizing... Whatya think?

Sorry to dredge up an old post but I've been reading about Hemmycal's experiences with the brake corrosion (great & informative posts by the way) and wondering about painting the caliper with something a little better than rustoleum. I have a can of CRC Zinc-it spray paint, it's a metal flake zinc paint for kind of a cold galvanizing... Whatya think?
Any coating will work.....I'm currently testing POR-15.

And, yes, this is an old thread...... Ironically, I just reread the title today in a search for a link to straighten out another DPer.

I know this is old, but on topic. Has anyone in the aftermarket ever considered making a cast aluminum bracket?

Aluminum presents a whole other set of problems, while still have corrosion issues.

I do have to wonder though why a new bracket from GM cost more than an aftermarket reman caliper with the bracket, and I cannot purchase the bracket individually in the aftermarket.

How hard is it to take on GM.....

Back to original post question.

All it takes is very deep pockets and LOTS of time. Good luck with that, especially now that BHO and the libtards have their hands in the management of GM

It seems that in most of the class actions law suits, the lawyers are the only ones to make out.