Best OEM replacement rotors, drums, pads. 1998 k1500

[IROCZSPEED]

I know this has to be discussed somewhere in here. Forgive me please, I'm a new user. I see a lot of discussion about upgrades to larger brakes and better axles, and troubleshooting problematic brakes. I just want to upgrade my stock rotors, pads and drums. My truck stopped acceptable until the pads ended their life. I'd love to try some slotted rotors and higher end pads, etc. I see so many options when I search and not sure which direction to go. Thanks in advance. This forum is great, love seeing y'alls trucks.
1998 k1500 Z71

 

[GoToGuy]

So at work I opted to try the best , top choice , Carquest brand. New pads, rotors, shoes, drums. And I have been really pleased with them . On my 95 k2500. Six lug xcab, sb.

 

[Schurkey]

I see a lot of discussion about upgrades to larger brakes and better axles, and troubleshooting problematic brakes. I just want to upgrade my stock rotors, pads and drums. My truck stopped acceptable until the pads ended their life. I'd love to try some slotted rotors and higher end pads, etc.
1998 k1500 Z71

WHAT is your brake option code? Kinda guessing JB5.

There is no such thing as "upgrading" the hateful, crappy 254mm (10") leading-trailing shoe rear drum brakes. They're total junk, should never have been installed on these vehicles.

You can bring them up to "as new" spec, but they're never going to be "good"; and if you don't use the park brake frequently, they'll return to their typical crappy action in short order. The usual problem with that is that the park brake cables are seized from non-use because nobody uses the park brake any more.

If by some miracle, you have JB6 brakes, you have the wonderful 11.x Duo-Servo rear drums.

OTOH, there's nothing really wrong with the front brakes, master cylinder or booster provided they work properly. Which likely means that the front calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced, the pads need to be replaced with GOOD friction material carrying a high letter rating for cold and hot operation. "FF" or higher recommended. I see lotsa praise for Raybestos Element 3 pads of proper part number for your calipers; I suspect the shoes would be similarly good. I bought front-and-rear Element 3 pads for Father-In-Law's Impala, but haven't installed them...yet.

Drilled/slotted rotors are of no benefit for street use. They're primarily a way to extract more money from people who don't know better.

GM gives service limits for drum and rotor wear, download the service manual set for your vehicle from the links in the Sticky thread section of the Engine forum, read the appropriate brake chapters.

You WILL want to flush the brake fluid from the entire system, which will include the ABS unit. You WILL need a suitable scan tool with the appropriate software to properly bleed the brakes. Instructions attached.

 

[IROCZSPEED]

WHAT is your brake option code? Kinda guessing JB5.

There is no such thing as "upgrading" the hateful, crappy 254mm (10") leading-trailing shoe rear drum brakes. They're total junk, should never have been installed on these vehicles.

You can bring them up to "as new" spec, but they're never going to be "good"; and if you don't use the park brake frequently, they'll return to their typical crappy action in short order. The usual problem with that is that the park brake cables are seized from non-use because nobody uses the park brake any more.

If by some miracle, you have JB6 brakes, you have the wonderful 11.x Duo-Servo rear drums.

OTOH, there's nothing really wrong with the front brakes, master cylinder or booster provided they work properly. Which likely means that the front calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced, the pads need to be replaced with GOOD friction material carrying a high letter rating for cold and hot operation. "FF" or higher recommended. I see lotsa praise for Raybestos Element 3 pads of proper part number for your calipers; I suspect the shoes would be similarly good. I bought front-and-rear Element 3 pads for Father-In-Law's Impala, but haven't installed them...yet.

Drilled/slotted rotors are of no benefit for street use. They're primarily a way to extract more money from people who don't know better.

GM gives service limits for drum and rotor wear, download the service manual set for your vehicle from the links in the Sticky thread section of the Engine forum, read the appropriate brake chapters.

You WILL want to flush the brake fluid from the entire system, which will include the ABS unit. You WILL need a suitable scan tool with the appropriate software to properly bleed the brakes. Instructions attached.

Miracles happen!

 

[df2x4]

Lots of good info about brake pad and shoe selection here:

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/ebc-yellowstuff-brake-pads-worth-it.47903/

Long story short, Raybestos EHT369H pads have the most aggressively rated DOT friction code you can get that I'm aware of for the JB5 and JB6 equipped trucks. (Currently HH)

The most aggressively rated JB6 rear shoes I could find were FF code unfortunately, I used ACDelco 19150002.

Like @Schurkey mentioned, I'd steer clear of fancy rotors. Anything drilled especially. Slotted isn't as bad but also isn't necessary. IMO, a blank face rotor will probably have the best performance in a panic stop situation as there's more surface area in contact with the pad than there would be on a drilled/slotted rotor. I put a set of fancy EBC dimpled and slotted rotors on my Suburban and they were warped beyond repair shortly after. I'd recommend sourcing drums and rotors locally if you need them, that way you can have them checked before installation. Almost every set of rotors I've bought online in recent years have showed up warped, I stopped trying.

Upgrading the soft lines to braided stainless lines may improve pedal feel, especially if your existing soft lines are old and tired. I used Russell kits on my trucks but IIRC there are better options available now from Classic Tube.

Definitely do the ABS bleed with fresh fluid, that alone can be a huge help if you have a soft pedal. Bosch ESI 6 brake fluid is cheap on RockAuto and has good dry/wet boiling points.

 

[Road Trip]

I see so many options when I search and not sure which direction to go. Thanks in advance. This forum is great, love seeing y'alls trucks.

Greetings IROCZSPEED,

Welcome to the GMT400 forum. You will find a wealth of real-world experience in here, shared
as if they are the friendly neighbors that are also enjoying the old truck hobby.

There's been lots of solid GMT400 'best brake practices' shared above. When I was lurking in this
forum, after accidentally discovering my rear brakes needed attention (not through an accident, but
because of a missing parking brake cable :0) ...I followed the advice of others in here, and ended
up with really solid brakes on my old chore truck.

If I were to add anything to this discussion, it is that I would strongly recommend making the very
best of the rear drum brakes that you have. When these are adjusted for a whispery light drag, and
running good shoes on round, freshly turned drums, they help those front disc brakes haul the truck
down like a modern vehicle. (!)

Although my JD7 rear brakes will vary somewhat in detail from yours, if you take a look at this reply
(my rear brake dissy #79) followed by skipping to reply #84, and you will see what it takes to peel
back the years of aged rear brakes and get them back to new condition.

And just in the past week I've encountered (2) different situations where defensive driving + best brakes = accident avoidance.
(Deconflicting other people's sudden maneuvers infringing into my trajectory? And both times their
hoopties exuded the 'no worries, I have no insurance' vibe... :-(

****

Perfect your rear brakes, refresh the front discs, be ready to replace the master cylinder if the pedal
doesn't firm up after all 4 corners are renewed (ie: rusty bore shredding o-rings during full-stroke
brake bleeding) ...and bonus points for the braided stainless flexible line upgrade recommended by
@df2x4.

In English, lots of folks believe that our older GMT400 vehicles must suffer from bad braking, but this
is not a truism. 99% of that belief is based upon partial/incomplete brake system overhauling.

Best of luck, and do what it takes in order to have the biggest possible anchor to throw out when
really needed.

Safe travels --

 

[454cid]

I'd get coated rotors so they stay nice looking longer, and also may dissipate heat well for a longer period if they don't turn to rust in the vanes. They're more widely available than they used to be.

 

[df2x4]

be ready to replace the master cylinder if the pedal
doesn't firm up after all 4 corners are renewed (ie: rusty bore shredding o-rings during full-stroke
brake bleeding)

On a related note...

If you do end up needing a new master cylinder, the Raybestos MC390259 is around $38 on RockAuto and works great on my JB6 equipped Suburban. Raybestos is a current supplier for GM brake parts, so this is probably the exact same part you'd get in a GM/ACDelco box for much less money.

Somewhat related to that last part...

Raybestos 473PG Element3 brake shoes are currently $22 on Amazon and appear to have an FF friction code in the photos. If those would've been available when I was picking parts for my Suburban I would've gone with them instead of the ACDelcos for sure.

 

[IROCZSPEED]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate it immensely!

 

[Schurkey]

Miracles happen!

LUCKY BASTAGE!

F44, GT4, JB6, AND G80. Somebody knew what they were doing when ordering that truck. OK, I'm not so thrilled with the likelyhood of an 8.5" rear axle, but other than that you've hit the jackpot.

If that truck happens to have a 9.5" "14-bolt" axle, you should buy a lottery ticket. You'll only need one...

I would strongly recommend making the very
best of the rear drum brakes that you have.

That's gonna be relatively easy, since the 11.x rear drums are wonderful to begin with. All you gotta do is make them work like new, and you're all set.

'Course, "making them work like new" is likely to require a bunch of "new" parts--wheel cylinders, springs, shoes, turned or new drums, rear brake hose, perhaps new brake tubes from the hose to the wheel cylinders, maybe some minor welding on the shoe contact points of the backing plate--they tend to get grooves worn into them.

lots of folks believe that our older GMT400 vehicles must suffer from bad braking, but this
is not a truism. 99% of that belief is based upon partial/incomplete brake system overhauling.

And that the vast majority of GMT400 trucks (BUT NOT THIS ONE) came with leading/trailing shoe rear drums, and consequently are miles out of adjustment leading to crappy pedal "feel".