> I have a 2002 Plymouth Voyager Minivan. Every 6 months I have to replace
> the front disc pads. I have tried all kinds of pads from soft to semi-
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> have anti-lock brakes and I have replaced all mechanical parts on my drum
> brakes including the self adjuster.
Also make sure the rear drum brake adjusters are working properly. I've
seen where they will not auto adjust if they are installed too loose. A
good way to test they are working is to see if the parking brake sets up
easily and can hold the vehicle from moving forward or reverse when in gear
at idle.
I also get between 20-25K miles before replacing front pads on our 1999 T&C
Minivan.
Bob
> > I have a 2002 Plymouth Voyager Minivan. Every 6 months I have to replace
> > the front disc pads. I have tried all kinds of pads from soft to semi-
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> How many miles between pad replacments? I find the vans needing pads between
> 20k and 35k.
Daniel - 25 Apr 2005 19:31 GMT
WOW.... I just replaced my front pad at 76,000 miles on my 1999 Dodge
Caravan.
Dan
> Also make sure the rear drum brake adjusters are working properly. I've
> seen where they will not auto adjust if they are installed too loose. A
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> between
> > 20k and 35k.
kmatheson@sisna.com - 25 Apr 2005 20:39 GMT
> Also make sure the rear drum brake adjusters are working properly. I've
> seen where they will not auto adjust if they are installed too loose.
A
> good way to test they are working is to see if the parking brake sets up
> easily and can hold the vehicle from moving forward or reverse when in gear
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> between
> > 20k and 35k.
I agree. Make sure that the rear brakes are doing their share of the
work. I about went off the road during a steep canyon descent. The
front brakes were doing all the work. I had just had the rear brakes
replaced, and they were not adjusted properly.
-Kirk Matheson
Gladewater - 26 Apr 2005 02:48 GMT
I set the park brake while the van was in idle. I then switched from park
to drive to reverse. The brakes held.
jdoe - 26 Apr 2005 12:39 GMT
You guys must be incredibly hard on your cars. Even my wife can't go through
brakes like that. The other thing is your rear brakes are not working
correctly or something is wrong in the front brake circuit.
Larry
> Also make sure the rear drum brake adjusters are working properly. I've
> seen where they will not auto adjust if they are installed too loose. A
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> between
>> 20k and 35k.
Bob Shuman - 26 Apr 2005 14:14 GMT
What can I say? I personally get ~35K miles from my front discs and about
double that from the rears, but this T&C van is driven primarily by my wife
who is very hard on the brakes. It sees almost entirely stop and go (around
town short trips) driving and averages about 9-10K miles per year so I end
up doing the front brakes about every 2-2.5 years. Our 1999 van has ~65K
and the fronts are just about ready to be done again (will be the third
time). Incase anyone is wondering, I use Raybestos (best) ceramic pads.
I've only done the rear shoes once during that time and expect these will
last till I need to do the fronts again about 25K miles down the road.
The calipers are not sticking and the braking performance is good (it was
never great). But the van is very heavy and given the usage (and the
driver), I just live with the maintenance as these are easy to replace and
the van is otherwise running very well and still in very good condition.
Bob
> You guys must be incredibly hard on your cars. Even my wife can't go through
> brakes like that. The other thing is your rear brakes are not working
> correctly or something is wrong in the front brake circuit.
> Larry
I have 104,000 on my Plymouth Voyager and the brakes haven't had any
problems yet. Of course, I bought it with 40,000 miles on it so they
may not be original -- but that still leaves at least 64,000 miles on
them. The only problem I have ever had was a bad starter connection at
about 98,000 miles.
> How many miles between pad replacments? I find the vans needing pads between
> 20k and 35k.
The van has 60,000 miles on it. It is mainly driven in the city.
Once a year we will vacation from 500 to 1000 miles away. I am only
getting about 5000 miles of front pad life.
Matt Whiting - 26 Apr 2005 02:36 GMT
> The van has 60,000 miles on it. It is mainly driven in the city.
> Once a year we will vacation from 500 to 1000 miles away. I am only
> getting about 5000 miles of front pad life.
Then something is wrong with your front brakes. Even if the rear brakes
aren't working at all, the fronts should last much longer than that.
Even with the rears working, the fronts still do most of the work.
The only other explanation is that you are really hard on the brakes.
I've seen people that make maximum performance stops at every stoplight,
stop sign and turn. I've also seen left foot brakers who ride the pedal
all the time keeping the brake lights one. Either of these driving
"styles" will ruin pads in a hurry. I get 60,000 miles or more on my
front pads and nearly the same on the rear shoes.
Matt