2011 Tahoe Brakes question

[shahking1120]

Hey guys, Im looking to do the brakes at home instead of paying the stealership to do them. changing both pads and rotors.

I recently learned that there are 3 grades of acdelco brake parts, im looking at either the gm oe(midgrade) or the professional line(highest). I know theres a whole world of aftermarket and what not, not interested.

does anyone have any experience with the professional line? are there any special procedures for these brakes? looking for low dust. what combo of acdelco do yall use?

thanks guys!

also, where do yall buy oe brakes from? ive heard amazon doesnt always send geniune stuff..

 

[OR VietVet]

Buy parts from Rock Auto and use the professional grade if planning on keeping the rig for the long haul. Less dust. Make sure all is very clean during reassembly. Make sure all caliper contact points are cleaned and lubed with high temp grease. When you go for first road test make sure you burnish in the brakes. A few stops in a parking lot or in the street stopping from 30-40 mph and apply harder pedal but not soft and not panic slam on the brakes. Clean, clean and oh yea, clean.

 

[iLikeEggs]

Just did the rear brakes on my 2011 SSV today. It took about 90 minutes with distractions (look... a squirrel...) and everything. I went to NAPA and got their OEM pads and rotors. I've used their pads and rotors on my other GM vehicles for years and have had no problems. Like the other guy said, clean is good. ***** the caliper down with brake cleaner before you put the new pads on. It will make things easier and things will just work better when clean(er).

All in all I spent about $150 for new pads and rotors. Front cost me about $180.
You can spend more or less. There's lots of options. NAPA just happens to be close to where I live and I have a good relationship with the guys. I don't exactly have a princess truck so keep-it-stock works for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

Tool List: 18mm socket for the caliper bolts. 7/8" socket for the lug nuts. Get something to hang the caliper with once you remove it. you don't want to let it dangle from the brake line. My wheels have the center caps which also take the 7/8" lug nut socket to remove.
Anti-seize compound for the wheel studs will make a huge difference the next time you need to remove a wheel. A small packet is around a buck and will do two wheels easily.
For a jack I used my Harbor Freight 3 ton. Worked like a champ. Wheel chocks are also important, if not critical for a vehicle of this size.

TIP: if you don't have access to an impact wrench, take an 18mm wrench or breaker bar to the bolt and tap/bang on the wrench a few times with a hammer. It will break the bolt loose.

Edit/Tip: How could I forget this? When replacing pads on a vehicle with ABS you need to depressurize the brake system before you do anything. 1st step- make sure ignition is off and key is removed. 2nd step- repeatedly depress the brake pedal about 100 times. This will bleed the pressure off the brake lines. Once you do this then you will be able to push the caliper piston back so you can get a big enough spread to fit the new pads around the rotor. The minute you turn the ignition back on the ABS system will pressurize again.
If you do not depressurize the brake system then you will have a hella time trying to push that piston back into the caliper. Cheers.


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[2007tahoe]

From my experience the pads do not last as long with slotted. I got 70k with oem and about 40k with slotted. I have r1 concepts.

 

[mattjones]

Changed my rear brake pads last sunday, didn't replace rotors though. These are what I used:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S2MP08?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Looks like the professional line you're talking about. The other ones I saw were about 5 bucks cheaper, but some of the reviews said they squeaked so I went with these. Seem pretty good so far, 38 bucks on amazon.

Was the first time I've ever changed brake pads. Make sure you have a c-clamp in order to compress the caliper piston before you start.

 

[iLikeEggs]

Nice looking pads, excellent price! I've heard that too about the squeaking. So far, so good though.
There's usually several reasons for squeaking. It's not always generated from the pad though. It could be vibration, poor mating surfaces, too much metal in the semi-metallics, glazed rotors, etc.
I've even seen squealing come from me pads, rotors and calipers. Ceramic pads are probably the best all around chances to reduce squealing though.