drum brakes on 2005 silverados. wierd.

[vortec]

a few weeks ago, my friend and were checking out the new trucks and noticed an 05 with rear drums. we thought it was a fluke so we checked a few others. several had them. personally, i don't have a big problem with drums, but i find it strange that the general is regressing to that after they boasted so much about 4 wheel disk brakes, since '99.

 

[redneckdude]

I believe it is now an option...and had something to do with the ****ty ebrakes on the discs. Can't remember 100% rt now. I know its been discussed on gmfullsize and other sites.

 

[sled_dog]

problem is, rear discs rust up. They aren't used as much so rust can build up and not get cleaned off. Makes for a very bad braking surface. This is what a couple of my GM tech teachers told me. Doesn't sound like a good reasoning to me.

My dad's 02 F250 with rear discs stopped good, his 04 2500HD(I Believe rear discs) stops GREAT, but that has hydroboost as well. Heck the F250, we drove all the way to northern PA, with no trailer brakes, and didn't even realize it! And the 2500HDs brakes are better then that.

 

[dyeager535]

sled_dog, I wonder if both yours and redneckdude's posts combined are the answer.

I'll reserve my thoughts as to what I think about not using e-brakes, but since so many people do NOT use their e-brakes, when they do, if they are all rusted up, they probably don't work right. Probably makes for a fair amount of broken parts too. I know little about the mechanics of the drum in hat, but I'd suspect e-brake usage is what keeps the drum portion adjusted tight enough to hold the vehicle.

Same idea as to why folks have problems with the Cadillac calipers...you have to use the e-brake for them to work right. At least with the later stuff, the disk portion is seperate of the e-brake, (unlike the early Cadi ones) so the disk portion would continue to work fine. But I suspect with the drum in hat setup, the smaller surface area + more confined/sealed space, would lead to even faster corrosion and less holding power.

Wasn't the drum in hat design used starting in the late 60's on Corvette's? (and continued for a LONG time)

 

[zcarczar]

Those trucks had a problem with low brake pedals and a crappy brake pedal feel when the brakes were worn, so they went to drum and disc on the 1/2 tons and increased the front rotor size, and believe it or not the truck actually stops better than the old disc/disc setup, and the brake pedal feels much better.

 

[6.2Blazer]

problem is, rear discs rust up. They aren't used as much so rust can build up and not get cleaned off.

Huh? That doesn't make much sense..........they are used just as frequently as the front brakes.

I glanced at Chevy's website and they do list rear drum brakes for the 1500 models, though anything heavier (1500HD, 2500, 3500) only list rear disc, though I'm still surprised.

 

[dyeager535]

Those are odd results!

Why would they have problems on trucks when disk/disk setups have been used successfully on GM vehicles for 35+ years? (not to mention everyone else using rear disks now)

Those symptoms wouldn't be related to the drum in hat e-brake, so what could possibly cause the problems that exist only in the truck setup?

It seems especially odd since the new(some? all?) Astros are 13" rear/12" front disk/disk.

 

[ryan22re]

all 05 silverado's and sierra's are drums in rear. not even a disc brake option. i like it alot better than the disc/drum in hat, except when you put a lift kit on it. the 04's park brake cable came in the top, so it really wasnt a problem, but the drums, the cables for the park brake come in low, so there isnt that much slack in the cables. drive an 04 then an 05 and notice how much better the pedal feels.

ryan

 

[ryan22re]

i meant all 1500's

ryan

 

[perp]

maybe the rear drums are CHEAPER to make and the 1/2 ton doesn't need the increased stopping power of a disk/disk setup.