99 Tahoe Brake suck

[Motown 454]

Hi I have a 2 door 4wd Tahoe The brakes sucked from new. I had dealer do front brakes 1 year ago only 3 thousand miles the rotors were junk. I went back they did labor for nothing I paid for two new rotors . Now the truck has about 5 thousand miles on brakes 90% highway and the rotors are junk again. I just checked and caliper was hanging up very, slightly should they have picked this up or just bad luck for me?
I was wondering if there are any calipers from a suberban or larger SUV that would bolt on to my truck withy same rotors or from the doner vehicle with minamal work? I have to pick up my Car from South Carolina at end of July so I need to get on this.
Thanks for the help Wayne

[Ralph LoGrasso]

I'm not sure what will bolt up, but I do feel your pain. The brakes on 95-99 Tahoes (and whatever else they came on Suburban, yukon, etc.) have to be some of the most inadequate braking systems GM ever out-fitted on a vehicle. Every one I've driven is the same--they're all terrible.

I would maybe look into some Hawk HPS pads and stainless steel brake lines. That should show you some improvement.

[Gordz32]

I another person that suffers. Spewaking of which I need to bleed mine today as my lr cylinder was leaking. Its scary sometimes especially when ur hauling a trailer in in SO CAL.

[EFI69Cam]

My 99 2500 burb ate brake pads. I don't thing the 3/4 ton brakes would help.

[Motown 454]

Thanks for the bad news. I was thinking of sloted rotors and better pads,I'll add the steel lines. The dealer shafted me on the 30,000 mile service they said they checked air pressure after 300 miles I checked none were up to pressure they changed the oil when I got to Florida it was over full 1 quart. Truck never leaked or used oil now it leaks I think they just checked everthing off on the list. Thanks for the info Wayne

[ZZ4Blazer]

I myself have a 98 2 dr 4wd tahoe, and was suprised by the braking performance. My dads always had fullsize vehicles, and I've driven most all of them. For its size, I thought it braked pretty good. Far better than any of the fords my dads had.

[Skip Fix]

Not sure when they changed systems on the Tahoe, but my 97 truck NEVER used the rear brakes as the self adjustors never engaged from lack of pressure, so it would always need rear shoes adjusted.. Once you engaged the ABS it would have good pedal for a day or so then no pedal.

Finally swapped a SSBC master on it stil kept the rear drums and it made a big difference in pedal. It looks siilar to the MC on my wife's 02 Avalanche. It replaced the 96 Suburban that had the same crappy feel.

[Rick Dorion]

I too have a 97 gmc with the crappy brakes. Was told by the dealer they 'worked as designed'. Mushy pedal and forget it when the abs kicked in. Felt like someone banging on the pedal with a hammer. I read about the SSBC master but never heard how well it worked.

[HILROD]

I installed a set of slotted rotors and Hawks pads on a 2001 Tahoe. The brakes are better than they ever were but, they still suck.:drive2:

[hotrdblder]

gotta do at least gm rotors, i had a 98 and it would warp rotors in 5k miles, napas are 35 each, gms are 100 each but they are very well worth it, but i too would look at drilled and slotted with hawk pads to get all you can out of it

[marty69212]

i work at a chevrolet dealer and yes , they do suck !!! the best fix for this is a rear disc conversion and an adjustable valve ... they rear brakes do not stay adjusted and the fronts do most of the work ... unless you have time to adjust your rear brakes once a week this is the best fix i know of !!!

[Skip Fix]

My rears still need some adjusting but pedal is always good and stops better. I always liked having the car and trailer behind me and someone pulling in front of me and stopping in my stopping distance and hoping there was enough brake to stop,even with teh trailer brakes set pretty good. Not near the problems now with the new MC.

[Motown 454]

Thanks guys Wayne

[PT Goat]

Swapping in Earl's (or similar) stainless brake lines will make a big difference, especially in pedal feel. Best brake upgrade for the $, about $120. Baer eradispeed +1s with hawk pads is a nice upgrade too.

[gearheads78]

i work at a chevrolet dealer and yes , they do suck !!! the best fix for this is a rear disc conversion and an adjustable valve ... they rear brakes do not stay adjusted and the fronts do most of the work ... unless you have time to adjust your rear brakes once a week this is the best fix i know of !!!

I used to have the same problem with my old 96 until GM tech asked me if I evey use the E-brake which I didn't. He told me the brakes are self adjusting only when you use the E-brake. I started using it and it seemed to make a diference. The next time I needed front brakes the rears had wear. The time before it looked like the rears hardly ever touched the drums.

[PhillipM]

If you look in the manual it states to reverse and apply "firm" brake pressure to adjust the brakes. I cut slots in my rear drums to manually adjust them on my 97 tahoe and when I adjust the rear brakes up manually the thing stops amazingly! The problem with these trucks is definetly the rear brakes.

[ponjohn]

I had a 4 door 98, loved the truck. The brakes we so inadequate they were dangerous. I would not let my wife drive it, they required SO much effort to stop it was rediculous. It took two hands on the wheel to panic stop with any sort of confidence.

I ended up selling it but I was told to convert it to hydroboost. Several people told me this cures all of the issues with them.

[BBShark]

If you look in the manual it states to reverse and apply "firm" brake pressure to adjust the brakes. I cut slots in my rear drums to manually adjust them on my 97 tahoe and when I adjust the rear brakes up manually the thing stops amazingly! The problem with these trucks is definetly the rear brakes.

I have a 97 Tahoe 4WD also and sounds like I need to adjust may rear brakes. Isn't the slot to adjust the star wheel in the back plate?

[Motown 454]

OK guys Finally put my brakes in, Kryo rotors Hawke pads ss braided lines for the front. The back was a horror. I replaced everything shoes drums adjusters and everything else. When I took it apart the seal was gone on the rear. I had most the work done 8 hours labor. The bill was twice as much as I paid for my first car!
And worth every penny truck stops very well now . No more hopping from warped rotors and drums. The only thing I notice is the pedal is stil alittle ssoft . I will drive for a while and re bleed , but soooo much better.
Thanks everyone for all your help WAyne "Merry Christmas"

[megaladon6]

i've found that GM truck brakes are always soft. i know a guy who found the cure when he worked at the dealership though. when you bleed the system you have to use a computer to activate the abs unit to build pressure, then crack the line. (after doing a normal bleed procedure). it takes forever but it works.

[Skip Fix]

The different MC helps the feel ALOT. Seems like it adds some pressure to the rears too.

[1FstChevy]

WOW this sounds like an on-going nightmare for a number of people. I have heard my boss at work saying how frightening the brakes on his Suburban are, especially when hes towing stuff.

Obviously the best street use pads on the market you can get which I run on all of mine are the HAWK HPS.

I'd question drilled-slotted rotors since the somewhat affordable sets are usually crap and the drilling and slotting doesn't do much anyway, but the bear rotors might be worth it if they hold up to the high-weight abuse a Tahoe or Suburban can put on them.

I'd expect someone would have come out with a semi-affordable kit to help this situation since they even have kits to retrofit the 4th Gen Camaro 2Pot Calipers to W-Bodies like Grand Prix and Impala, and our OEM brakes aren't bad at all with the right pads.