Thoughts on Duralast products?

Gotta redo the brakes before I don't have any....

Looking at AutoZone. The kits really are the same
no matter where you buy them so it's down to the
pads/shoes.

Yea.. The add for Duralast almost ****es me off enough
that I want to buy from someone else.

So it's Duralast Gold Cmax pads for the front and
regular Duralast shoes for the back.

Will probably replace the rear drums (cheap enough)
and I won't have to mess with turning them.

Wondering about rebuilding the calipers and pistons.
The ones in there aren't leaking but they are old.
(21 years old)

Hoses probably need to be done. I've seen older hoses
still holding up but really what is the replacement cycle
on those things?

Of course new fluid and full flush. No sense in pushing
old fluid back up the line.



--
DougW

"DougW" > wrote in
:

> Gotta redo the brakes before I don't have any....
>
> Looking at AutoZone. The kits really are the same
> no matter where you buy them so it's down to the
> pads/shoes.
>
> Yea.. The add for Duralast almost ****es me off enough
> that I want to buy from someone else.
>
> So it's Duralast Gold Cmax pads for the front and
> regular Duralast shoes for the back.
>
> Will probably replace the rear drums (cheap enough)
> and I won't have to mess with turning them.
>
> Wondering about rebuilding the calipers and pistons.
> The ones in there aren't leaking but they are old.
> (21 years old)
>
> Hoses probably need to be done. I've seen older hoses
> still holding up but really what is the replacement cycle
> on those things?
>
> Of course new fluid and full flush. No sense in pushing
> old fluid back up the line.
>
>
>

Personally I've used Duralast pads and shoes with no problems
other than some of the lower cost / quality parts tend to be a bit
grabby in the rain or cold.

If you can, I'd go up one price level if you are looking at the
lowest-buck stuff for that reason.

As for wear, I'm super gentle on brakes and can get more than
advertised mileage from the lower cost brands.

One tip: Scrub the face of the shoes and pads with 60 grit
sandpaper till the gloss is gone and rinse the dust off with brake
cleaner.

This cuts down on glazing and shortens break-in time.

Budd

Budd Cochran wrote:
> "DougW" :
>
>> Gotta redo the brakes before I don't have any....
>>
>> Looking at AutoZone. The kits really are the same
>> no matter where you buy them so it's down to the
>> pads/shoes.
>>
>> Yea.. The add for Duralast almost ****es me off enough
>> that I want to buy from someone else.
>>
>> So it's Duralast Gold Cmax pads for the front and
>> regular Duralast shoes for the back.
>>
>> Will probably replace the rear drums (cheap enough)
>> and I won't have to mess with turning them.
>>
>> Wondering about rebuilding the calipers and pistons.
>> The ones in there aren't leaking but they are old.
>> (21 years old)
>>
>> Hoses probably need to be done. I've seen older hoses
>> still holding up but really what is the replacement cycle
>> on those things?
>>
>> Of course new fluid and full flush. No sense in pushing
>> old fluid back up the line.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Personally I've used Duralast pads and shoes with no problems
> other than some of the lower cost / quality parts tend to be a bit
> grabby in the rain or cold.
>
> If you can, I'd go up one price level if you are looking at the
> lowest-buck stuff for that reason.

Yea, that's the CMax line of pads. The rest only comes in one quality.
Odd are the guts don't need replacing, but I figure while in there it's
only $20 in parts so why not. Beats needing the stuff and not having it.

> As for wear, I'm super gentle on brakes and can get more than
> advertised mileage from the lower cost brands.
>
> One tip: Scrub the face of the shoes and pads with 60 grit
> sandpaper till the gloss is gone and rinse the dust off with brake
> cleaner.
>
> This cuts down on glazing and shortens break-in time.

Almost typed that.. I usually just buzz the pads with the jitterbug and
blow them off. Now the better pads come with beveled edges, before
that I'd grind the edges of the pad, that really helped cut down on noise.
The drums I hit with a scotchbrite and brake-kleen.

--
DougW