Brake pads, rotors, calipers and shocks

OTR Mike · October 7, 2019

I have a 2006 Silverado K2500HD with the 6.0 motor. Bought it when it had just a few miles on it. It's just reaching 90,000 miles now. Almost all of the driving has been to a lake in the Ozarks, several steep and long hills, sometimes towing a ski boat or 12 ft enclosed double axle trailer (brakes on both axles for safety reasons not hauling max loads). Everything, brake pads, rotors, calipers and shocks are original OEM equipment. I want to replace all of those items.

Don't plan on ever trading my favorite truck, so, could I ask for recommended replacement parts you-all have experience with. Since I plan on doing my own work, cost of the replacement items is secondary to performance and longevity. THANKS !

riverbanks · October 7, 2019

I use Napa premium for rotors and pads,very good paint,where it's needed to keep rust down

CamGTP · October 7, 2019

Always had good results with napa products. I'd upgrade to the ultra premium coated rotors though, better warranty and overall a higher end rotor.

Those or sourcing OEM rotors would be good too. Not sure on the cost difference though.

For calipers, nearly everything you will find is going to a new reman unit but they come with pretty good warranties still, some lifetime.

Replace the front brake hoses too and flush the brake system with new fluid. Get that old fluid out of there for sure.

Ralph Ciardullo · October 8, 2019

www.rockauto.com

I have used PowerStop brand with great results. Rotors are coated and you can buy the complete front/rear kit for under $400 Rotors/Pads and Calipers Front and Rear. The only downside is the core $$$ added that you need to send back for refund.

muddkatt · October 8, 2019

Don't push the pistons back into the calipers without opening the bleeder valves. The old fluid and rust crap will mess up the ABS. I have ran PowerStop pads and rotors as mentioned above. Best braking you can dream of, but the pads are squealing and need replacing after about 25K miles. Not impressed with the life of the pads at all. AC Delco pads and rotors don't have the stopping power that the PowerStops do, but I get about 100K miles out of a set of their pads.

I have ran Napa pads before, I wont do that again.

As for shocks, I replaced the factory ones for Bilsteins. Love em.

davester · October 8, 2019

I also get my parts from rockauto, and usually also remember to enter the code to get 5% off when checking out (there's a code you can easily google for, changes every couple of months). I find they generally will have cheap/good/hd sections for the common wear parts, and generally pick something from the hd section. One thing to note, sometimes they will stock parts, but don't link them with the truck (for example, a National rear hub inner seal wasn't listed for my truck, but they stock it and I know it's for my truck).

If a part has a core charge, or is particularly heavy to really build up the shipping price, I'll buy it locally.

Finally, I have a parts truck in my back yard, that I score parts off as necessary (like the alternator, various actuators, PS cooler). I bought it to get the 4wd system from it to install in my truck, and the extra parts are a bonus...