JPOR: Isusu disk brakes LONG

[Jeff <jayers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was searching for inf. on these brakes and came up with this comment
from itog (isusu troopers owners guild).  It is referring to a '97 Rodeo
whose rear brake pads were toast after 28,000 miles.

Kevin: 
                          No, this isn't something we've run into, and
the small amount of towing you report
                          shouldn't be the culprit...The parking brake
on your model is not in the loop either,
                          since it's a separate set of shoes inside the
inner drum area of the rear rotor (that is, if
                          you have the V6 model, not the 4-cylinder).
                          Since you're still in basic warranty, you
might have the pushrod adjustment between
                          the brake pedal and the master cylinder; it's
a stretch, but it's slightly possible you
                          could have the rear brake circuit's
compensating port closed off while the front
                          circuit's port is still open. About the only
other thing I could think of would be if the
                          rear slide pins were rusted pretty bad and the
calipers were binding on the pins; but
                          you're towing a horse trailer, not a boat, so
I dunno. 
                          - Jake 
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Interesting that he mentions a drum brake on v6 models and not the 4
cylinder.  Still learning.  
________________________________________________________________________
Here's another: Hi Jake,

                                   Although there are many brake
questions in the
                                   general discussion, I believe this
one to be unique.

                                   I have a 1989 TrooperLS with the 2.8
V6 5-speed.

                                   Since the summer, The Trooper has
been having problems 
                                   with the brakes dragging and getting
so hot
                                   that they steam (when wet) and make
the rims hot
                                   to the touch!


                                   I have:
                                   * New Calipers
                                   * Cleaned, Polished and lubed
slider-pins
                                   * New Pads
                                   * Changed the brake fluid and blead
the system
                                   * Adjusted parking brake cable


                                   Mechanics I talked to said Troopers
                                   (and other vehicles) with disk brakes
                                   are prone to slight dragging and
overheating...
                                   But yet, I have never had a problem
with the front
                                   disk-brakes?!

                                   I dont't see any way to lube the
insides of the
                                   parking brake cables... should they
be replaced?

                                   Why are only the rear brakes dragging
and not the front?
                                   The gas millage is now at 11mpg.

                                   Any help would be greatly
appreciated!

                                   Best Regards,
                                   Rich.
Rich: 
                          Actually dragging rear brakes are not that
uncommon, particularly when/if the
                          parking brake cables have gotten so rusty that
the return springs on the caliper are
                          not able to pull the arm back all the way. You
might start by loosening the adjustment
                          and checking that the cables are fully
returned, that is, the arms are All the way back
                          against their stops. If rust cables are the
cause, replacement is bettery than cleaning
                          and lubing, since it becomes a yearly
procedure. 
                          A second reason for dragging rear brakes are
the inner pads cocked at an angle
                          because the small raised boss on the back of
the pad is not lined up with one of the
                          v-shaped recesses in the caliper piston. Look
here if the cables don't seem to be the
                          problem. 
                          - Jake
________________________________________________________________________
And here's one concerning noisey rear brakes.  He said they were
vibrating and here is Jakes response: Dan: 
                          We've found most of the Midas brake jobs make
this noise constantly, and we've
                          further found that their pads last about 25%
as long as the Isuzu original pads. The
                          noise is common with original rear pads also,
but only when backing up cold. Check
                          a couple of posts further down the page;
there's a part number there for the updated
                          quiet rear pads. If you can talk Midas into
installing OEM pads that you supply to
                          them, the truck should be quiet and stay
quiet. 
                          - Jake
________________________________________________________________________
Here's another response to squeeling/groaning on a '88 Trooper 5sp 161K
mi:
Danny:
                          Read posts 378 and follow-ups, and 184/196 and
related - this covers the frozen
                          pins to some degree, but there are two other
things that can cause noise - 1) if the
                          bump on the pad back is not lined up with the
v-shaped notch in the caliper piston,
                          the pad will be jammed at an angle and
dragging, pretty much the same result as from
                          a frozen pin. 2) if the e-brake cables are
rusted and frozen, the pads/caliper will not
                          properly relax when you let off the e-brake. 
                          The caliper pins must be free enough to allow
you to "jiggle" the caliper assembly by
                          hand with the brakes off. Additionally, if the
part # for the pads given on this page is
                          used, the brake "groan" when backing up will
be 90% gone, but of the same original
                          pad part # was used, the groan will return.
The quiet ones retail for about $80, the
                          noiseier ones for about $45. 
                          As far as the new page, it's in the works....
                          - Jake
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One more for a '90 2.6L: Jeff: 
                          I must have been in house-cleaning mode to
erase that post, I think it was the first
                          one. P/N is 8-97049-430-0, 88 thru 91 only.
Just put em in, don't bother turning the
                          rear rotors unless you find deep grooves of
other damage. You'll need to follow the
                          procedure to rotate the pistons to compress
them, then line up one of the notches on
                          the piston face to match the little bump on
the brake pad. Info on turning the piston
                          should be available from and service manual,
or you can post in general discussion -
                          a whole bunch of ITOGer's will be glad to walk
you thru. 
                          I won't post any other suggestions about this
complaint regarding silencing goop, etc,
                          because this is the only thing we've found
that works. 
                          - Jake 

Jeff