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Rotor/Pad recommendations


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Well, the REAR brakes are almost worn out on my 2012 Journey SXT with only 36,000 miles (mostly rural and interstate) That amazes me because about 75% of my driving IS interstate with the cruise control on. And I'm usually driving light - no cargo and by myself. And I've only towed trailers for maybe 500 miles total, with lots of rural driving and interstate in that as well. AND I scrupulously use the autostick to engine brake going down grades, and to corners. I'd figured I'd get 60,000 miles out of a set of brakes. When I traded my 2008 VW Rabbit for the Journey, that car had 91,000 miles on it - STILL with the original brakes. I've owned a couple trucks that I towed with far more frequently than the Journey, and never had pads wear out that quickly.

Someone who lives in a more urban area with 3 or 4 passengers on a regular basis - they'd probably be lucky to get 15,000 miles out of a set of these brakes - a horribly bad design! I will definitely be filing a complaint with Chrysler next week. Even the dealer's service rep told me the rear's tend to hang up and drag, causing them to wear out much faster than the fronts.

The dealer wanted $390 for rear pads and rotors, which is incredibly expensive. I'll just do them myself - I've seen the Youtube videos it looks straightforward enough.

Recommendations for replacement rotors and pads? Amazon sells a Powerstop K4569 rotor/pad kit for $130 with a pair of slotted, drilled rotors and ceramic pads. Is anything going to get better life than stock? Thans.

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I'm no mechanic and I've never changed my own brakes, but it seems to me that if the brakes are hanging up in the rear then the calipers are to blame for that. Even high dollar rotors and new ceramic pads will wear out if they are in constant or more frequent contact. If that's the case, and your brakes are hanging up, you should also expect to be getting sub-standard gas mileage. I'd look seriously at your calipers. Take your DJ to a shop that you trust or you could DIY. My understanding is that brake jobs are quite straightforward IF you know what you are doing. I think there are a number of things that a newbie can goof up; bleeding, pad alignment, etc. I think the rotors need to be turned even before first install. Not sure on that though. Good Luck.

Peace.

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Just be sure that when you replace the rear pads that you use the special tool 8807 to retract the caliper piston to accommodate the new pads....do NOT use a C-clamp for the rear. Local auto parts stores like advance auto have a rent a tool deal that you can do or be real cheap like me and get this tool for $8.00 that worked but did take some effort.

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While you have the brakes exposed you might want to lubricate the caliper slide pins too.

As far as the Powerstop cross drilled rotors and pads for 130.00 it sounds little too cheap for a set. You may want to google what others users think of them. I just used Rock Auto for mine and they have a great line of brakes you can choose from Economy, Daily Driver and High Performance.

Edited by Journey_SeXT
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Thanks, Journey! I have changed brake rotors and pads before, just not in years since I haven't had a vehicle since 2008 that's needed brakes - LOL

Just ordered from Amazon a Callahan brand rear brake kit with rotors and ceramic pads for $105 and free shipping. Also ordered some CRC synthetic caliper lube to lube the sliders, and a can of 3M brake parts spray for cleaning stuff up.

Lubing the sliders is crucial for a good brake job. Clean them up good, and lube them. Not sure I could count on a garage to do that properly, carefully, and thoroughly. it's an old cliche, but if you want it done right, do it yourself!

I was aware of the wind back rear caliper issue - so I ordered an OEM brand disk brake tool set. Rather than get a cheap tool, rather have good quality stuff that can be used on multiple vehicles. This will come in handy when I do the brakes someday on my Challenger too.

The whole deal with the tool set, and with tax is only $160 - that's still $230 less than just the pads and rotors at the Stealership. What a rip off - lmao!!!

51NOYRuwcJL.jpg

Just be sure that when you replace the rear pads that you use the special tool 8807 to retract the caliper piston to accommodate the new pads....do NOT use a C-clamp for the rear. Local auto parts stores like advance auto have a rent a tool deal that you can do or be real cheap like me and get this tool for $8.00 that worked but did take some effort.

2990062.jpg

While you have the brakes exposed you might want to lubricate the caliper slide pins too.

As far as the Powerstop cross drilled rotors and pads for 130.00 it sounds little too cheap for a set. You may want to google what others users think of them. I just used Rock Auto for mine and they have a great line of brakes you can choose from Economy, Daily Driver and High Performance.

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Well, the rear rotors and pads arrived from Callahan yesterday - installed them in my garage this morning in about 1 1/2 hrs. I was delighted to find the pads are actually Power-Stop pads which seem to be fairly well regarded.

My brake piston kit didn't arrive yet (delivery is supposed to be next Thursday), so I borrowed an Astro-brand kit this AM from a good friend who owns a local garage. Very easy to compress the twist pistons with this

This youtube video is a very good reference for what to do and what not to do. Just be careful (I was) pulling the slider off not to over stretch those little rubber boots - slide off with your fingers then pull the slider, because you don't want to tear them - they help keep dirt out of the sliding rods. Also, go very slow on the first 1/2 turn of the caliper press to allow the piston to rotate in the rubber surround, AND that also lets you make sure that the pins on the tool are seated in the slots on the caliper piston

At any rate, install was breeze. The Callahan kit also comes with a detailed instruction sheet for proper brake bedding - 5 moderately hard brakings from 40 to 10 mph, followed by another 5 from 35 to 5 mph in rapid succession, and then drive without coming to a complete stop at moderate speeds for about 5 minutes. The rotors look nice and 'blue' where the pads bedded.

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I don't think I'm going to bother with a complaint - this wasn't that expensive DIY ($105) and it's something to do only every couple years.

Edited by Jay Sixspeedrt
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Glad to hear it was a breeze for you to do the rear brakes! :) You saved yourself a tonne of cash and probably did a better job if it was done at the dealer or autoshop where they don't have all that time to give it TLC.

Thanks! Yeah, it was enjoyable and gives me a feeling of satisfaction to have taken care of it myself.

Here's a photo of one of the rotors and the pads - metal was just starting to show through the pad - so when the dealer told me "zero percent" on the back brakes last Saturday, they weren't kidding. LOL

971645_521685277925576_282100032_n.jpg

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ive got 55k on my2011 and the fronts had been done thur warrenty at the dealer at 28 k (2nd time) so thought id check my rears and the rotors are smooth as silk and the inside pad is wore down a little more than half,so guess i am good for about another20 k or so. every yr around may thermoQuite runs a rebate on their pads and i buy thur advance auto and use retailmenot.com and get an extra $20. over $50 purchase and also with advance when the thermoquiets wear out they will replace them 1 time for free. saves quite alot of the price of brake jobs. i also do my daughters mail vec. maintance so it really saves money for her.LOL take care everyone

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  • 2 months later...

Well, I changed my FRONT brakes today! When I got my new tires last week, I noticed the pads were getting down on front - rather do 'em sooner than later. Ordered pads and rotors late Monday night from Amazon - delivered by "Callahan Brake Parts" - lololol!!! I had purchased the rear rotors and pads from them as well. Quick shipping, and no delivery cost. They were waiting for me when I got home last night - two days - can't ask for much better.

It's so easy too with decent tools - I have a good shop jack, and Craftsman hand tools. A little over an hour, not much longer than an oil change and saves so much. Bedded them properly too.

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Brakes......such a touchy subject with Journeys.....The first few years, I admit, they were complete junk. Our 09 had rotors/pads replaced twice by the dealer before 20k miles. Third time we started getting pulsations I replaced them myself with aftermarket parts. Never had another issue for 60k more miles (when we traded her in). The brakes on our 2013 are massive. Rotors, calipers and pads twice as big it seems. I aplaud Dodge (or Fiat, lol) for listening and at least trying to address the problem by providing bigger hardware. Our 13 only has 11k on it now. I am curious to see how they last. I have owned several Dodge vehicles in the past and what I have found is if you keep replacinf OEM parts with OEM parts, you will continue to have problems. If it is something that is not covered by warranty, I will replace it myself. You can get pads with a "life of the vehicle" warranty at many auto parts stores.....same for alternators, AC compressors, wheel brake cylinders, etc...Dodge, and other vehicle manufacturers make some great products, but some parts are "designed to fail"....that keeps the service departments in business. Go with aftermarket quality parts whenever possible.

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Brakes......such a touchy subject with Journeys.....The first few years, I admit, they were complete junk. Our 09 had rotors/pads replaced twice by the dealer before 20k miles. Third time we started getting pulsations I replaced them myself with aftermarket parts. Never had another issue for 60k more miles (when we traded her in). The brakes on our 2013 are massive. Rotors, calipers and pads twice as big it seems. I aplaud Dodge (or Fiat, lol) for listening and at least trying to address the problem by providing bigger hardware. Our 13 only has 11k on it now. I am curious to see how they last. I have owned several Dodge vehicles in the past and what I have found is if you keep replacinf OEM parts with OEM parts, you will continue to have problems. If it is something that is not covered by warranty, I will replace it myself. You can get pads with a "life of the vehicle" warranty at many auto parts stores.....same for alternators, AC compressors, wheel brake cylinders, etc...Dodge, and other vehicle manufacturers make some great products, but some parts are "designed to fail"....that keeps the service departments in business. Go with aftermarket quality parts whenever possible.

Now that I've changed both the front and rear rotors and pads, my impression is the brakes on the 2012 and earlier Journeys are just too small for a 4200 lb plus vehicle that's supposed to carry cargo, passengers, and tow up to 2500 lbs- that's why there's premature wear - small surface area requires a higher pressure per sq inch to stop.

The upgraded late 2012 and 2013 brakes is the proof in the pudding so to speak. The new brakes have about twice the surface area. That's how they should have been in the first place.

I've driven my Journey about 150 miles since I changed the pads Friday morning.... what a difference - I had gotten slowly used to the vibration, noise and chatter of the front brakes... it's so nice to have brakes that perform PROPERLY again, smooth, quiet and vibration free.

I took a photo of the removed factory pads from the passenger side of my Journey. There was some life left on the outside pad - you'd figure a few thousand more miles, but the inside pad was heavily worn towards the top of the pad - the top was thinner than the bottom, and metal was showing through. We'll see how well the Powerstop aftermarket replacements will hold up. At any rate, the factory brakes are definitely substandard, and my feeling is that Chrysler should provide some sort of financial assistance to Journey owners to upgrade to the current generation of rotors and calipers.

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  • 2 months later...

Well, I've got 9000 miles or so on the rear pads/rotors, and 4500 or so on the front pads/rotors. Stopping power and performance seems excellent - no shudder or vibration yet. When the weather turns warm, I plan to rotate my tires - I will check the pad wear at that point - I'm not really sure on that part of it.

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Thank you guys!

So, I think I'm going to order the Callahan kit from Amazon just for caution if I need to replace the brakes. I just bought a Journey R/T 2010 with 38.000 km and I'm loving it.

I live in Brazil and prices for Dodge parts are outrageous around here. Official dealer charges around USD 1.500 for the pads/rotors replacement and service.

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Thank you guys!

So, I think I'm going to order the Callahan kit from Amazon just for caution if I need to replace the brakes. I just bought a Journey R/T 2010 with 38.000 km and I'm loving it.

I live in Brazil and prices for Dodge parts are outrageous around here. Official dealer charges around USD 1.500 for the pads/rotors replacement and service.

Geez! $1500 for a brake job is a little pricey. That's the only motivation it would take for me to do my own brakes as well. :lol:

Good luck with the Callahan kit. Hope it works well for you.

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Thank you guys!

So, I think I'm going to order the Callahan kit from Amazon just for caution if I need to replace the brakes. I just bought a Journey R/T 2010 with 38.000 km and I'm loving it.

I live in Brazil and prices for Dodge parts are outrageous around here. Official dealer charges around USD 1.500 for the pads/rotors replacement and service.

Great, now we will wait for your feedback also on the Callahan's! :)

Edited by Journey_SeXT
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Geez! $1500 for a brake job is a little pricey. That's the only motivation it would take for me to do my own brakes as well. :lol:

Good luck with the Callahan kit. Hope it works well for you.

As high as that is, it's not that much higher than the dealer. The dealer wanted $390 + tax for the rear pads and rotors. I bet the fronts would be $450-475+tax. I would be pushing $950 U.S. with the tax for the brakes. Thanks, but no thanks. :) DIY, my brakes were about $250 including that nice caliper tool kit and shipping!.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm having EBC slotted and dimpled rotors, and Green Stuff pads installed at all four corners of my '11 AWD Crew today. I'll report back with results.

I will say this for now; they are very expensive. $710 shipped. Don't know what the labor will be.

Do it yourself and save the labor cost.

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I'm having EBC slotted and dimpled rotors, and Green Stuff pads installed at all four corners of my '11 AWD Crew today. I'll report back with results.

I will say this for now; they are very expensive. $710 shipped. Don't know what the labor will be.

These are normally what I buy... It's really pretty cheap if you think about it. You are at about $180 per wheel. Not bad for a nice brake setup like that... The labor is going to hurt though. Brake jobs are pretty routine, I try and do them myself if I have time. The markup for labor is INSANE!

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agreed that labor is a lot of money, but I have not done brake jobs since my 20s and I can't be bothered any more. I'd rather have my mechanic do it. He's forgotten more about cars than I'll ever know. But good on you if you're doing your own. Oil changes and other simple fixes are about the extent of my tinkering these days.

anyway, initial impression is very good. They told me to go easy today while they seat. I drove slowly just now when I picked the car up and took it to get a mid-day coffee. They sure do look nice. The rotors have an expensive look to them, because the edges are painted black, and the dimples and slots show up nicely through the big black 19" wheels. The green on the pads looks kind of cool too. They probably won't stay that way for long, but for now they look impressive.

I hope this is the end of warping brakes. My mechanic seems to think it will be.

So I know a lot of you will spit coffee out your nose at the price of this 4 axle brake job, but it was $710 for the parts, and $350 for labor. Most expensive brake job I've ever paid for. But that shows how much I like this car. Because prior to this Journey, any car I owned that put me in the position of paying over $1,000 for brakes would have been traded in.

Edited by Destination
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Glad you got it worked out. I know on our 09, the front rotors warped at about 12k. Dealer replaced them for free cause my wife, well, when she gets angry, look out.....then the rear ones warped at about 15k. I replaced those myself with some good wagner brand rotors and ceramic pads, then the front ones warped again just around 20k. I decided to go ahead and replace them myself again with the same wagners and ceramics I put on the back. When we traded it in at 80k last year, brakes were still fine. Just saying you dont havw to break the bank to get better brakes, just some quality aftermarkets are a huge step up from the crap Chrysler put on there in the beginning.

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agreed that labor is a lot of money, but I have not done brake jobs since my 20s and I can't be bothered any more. I'd rather have my mechanic do it. He's forgotten more about cars than I'll ever know. But good on you if you're doing your own. Oil changes and other simple fixes are about the extent of my tinkering these days.

anyway, initial impression is very good. They told me to go easy today while they seat. I drove slowly just now when I picked the car up and took it to get a mid-day coffee. They sure do look nice. The rotors have an expensive look to them, because the edges are painted black, and the dimples and slots shot up nicely through the big black 19" wheels. The green on the pads looks kind of cool too. They probably won't stay that way for long, but for now they look impressive.

I hope this is the end of warping brakes. My mechanic seems to think it will be.

So I know a lot of you will spit coffee out your nose at the price of this 4 axle brake job, but it was $710 for the parts, and $350 for labor. Most expensive brake job I've ever paid for. But that shows how much I like this car. Because prior to this Journey, any car I owned that put me in the position of paying over $1,000 for brakes would have been traded in.

Yeah, I love the look of those. Once they are fully bedded and broken in they will stop so much nicer. One thing I've noticed (and it mentions it in the install instructions) is that they have a strong odor for the first few hundred miles...almost a sweet coolant type smell. Have you noticed that, or is it still too cold to roll the window down in CT?

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