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Why Do I Have Drum Brakes?

uchi

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uchi Enthusiast

uchi

Posted
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i was compairing trucks with a buddy the other day, i eblieve his is an 02 2wd long box extended cab, and he has discs in the back and i have drums. why did gm take a step backwards? i know that my 06 has the big front brakes and stopping it isnt an issue at all, but why did they go back to drums? his is a half ton aswell

jro909 Senior Enthusiast

jro909

Posted
Posted

depends on the HD towing package i believe(z82) i have z85/z82 and have disc all the way around...nothen wrong with drums really they are just a pain in the ass to swap but also cheap to make

Matt_ Senior Enthusiast

Matt_

Posted
Posted

There were some issues with the early rear discs used in the GMT800 trucks. Primarily soft brake pedals and seizing E-brakes on the rear calipers.

 

Drums are a tried and true design. GM put more emphasis on the front brakes to improve the overall performance (hence the larger rotors/calipers in front) and went back to drums for the rear for a quick "interim" fix.

 

None of the above has been proven as fact. Just my observations and research.

gleno97 Enthusiast

gleno97

Posted
Posted
There were some issues with the early rear discs used in the GMT800 trucks. Primarily soft brake pedals and seizing E-brakes on the rear calipers.

 

Drums are a tried and true design. GM put more emphasis on the front brakes to improve the overall performance (hence the larger rotors/calipers in front) and went back to drums for the rear for a quick "interim" fix.

 

None of the above has been proven as fact. Just my observations and research.

 

 

I agree. Nothin wrong with drums. Rear discs can be a bit quirky.

mc7719 Enthusiast

mc7719

Posted
Posted
depends on the HD towing package i believe(z82) i have z85/z82 and have disc all the way around...nothen wrong with drums really they are just a pain in the ass to swap but also cheap to make

 

I have the Z82 "HD Towing" package and rear drums

KMGZ400 Senior Enthusiast

KMGZ400

Posted
Posted
There were some issues with the early rear discs used in the GMT800 trucks. Primarily soft brake pedals and seizing E-brakes on the rear calipers.

 

Drums are a tried and true design. GM put more emphasis on the front brakes to improve the overall performance (hence the larger rotors/calipers in front) and went back to drums for the rear for a quick "interim" fix.

 

None of the above has been proven as fact. Just my observations and research.

 

 

i agree with that, my 01 has a soft pedal... my other trucks dont have a soft pedal though

L76PWRD Enthusiast

L76PWRD

Posted
Posted

This has been discussed many times, the 1999 to 2004 trucks come with disc brakes all around. The 2005 to present trucks come with front disc/rear drum setup. GMT-900 Sierra Denalis, trucks equipped with the 6.2l come with front disc/rear disc brakes. V-Max trucks with the NHT Trailering Package come with rear disc brakes. There are certain 6.0 trucks that still come with rear drum brakes. I've owned an 2006 with front disc & rear drums. And my present truck with front disc/rear disc and both break great. I like rear disc brakes because they are easier to change, but just because the truck comes with rear drum brakes for me it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

uchi Enthusiast

uchi

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its far from a deal breaker and my truck stops great. i just thought by now gm would have gotten things sorted out and would have done discs in the rear and had them working properly. i personally hate doing drum brake jobs and adjusting them and prefer the ease of discs for that reason. oh and the noise. i had a squeel coming from my brakes, dropped the truck off to gm 3 times before they finally pulled the drum and cleaned the dust out. youd think they would have done both sides. youd think wrong, now the other side is doing it. ill just do that side myself as i cant be bothered to leave my truck with them for another day and have them tell me they cant find the noise.

 

also my 06 stops great, no complaints about its stopping power what so ever. my dad has an 07 crew cab long box f150 and he drove my truck and is blown away by how much better mine stops than his. hell i had 3 passangers and at 30 mph i tapped the brakes as a joke and glued all 3 to their seatbelts, lol

revrnd Senior Enthusiast

revrnd

Posted
Posted

The beancounters probably figured out that the drum brake setup is 3 cents cheaper than the discs.

music Senior Enthusiast

music

Posted
Posted

The last time this came up was a bit fun. Maybe more tame this time? After that long exchange, I have looked at other rear disc setups. I really looked close at the new Tundra discs, and was surprised. Their rear discs are *thin*. My take is that GM opted for good drums vs cheap discs on the 1500 trucks. The HD's get high quality rear discs w/ the heavier axle and higher payload ratings, and I suspect the NHT/Denali trucks have good rear discs with the 9.5" axle (haven't looked, so maybe someone can comment?). The newer 8.5" axle has very good drum brakes. All of that just to reiterate: disc vs drum is too simplistic. Details matter...

kdixer Enthusiast

kdixer

Posted
Posted

I make it a habit to blow the brake dust out of my drum brakes at every tire rotation. I have no complaints with drums. Alot less likely to get annoying brake vibrations with drum brakes. The rear disks still involve an inner drum style e-brake. Both systems stop great so it really does not matter to me.

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