98 Tahoe Brake Problems

My 98 Chevy Tahoe has the worst brakes of any vehicle I've ever owned. In the 6 years I've replaced the rotors 3 times, brake pads at least 5 times, both front calipers twice and both front brake lines. I've bled the hydraulic system multiple times. After each repair the brakes stop great for the first 3 to 6 months and then I get jerky stops with hard pulling to one side or the other (not consistent). Tires are new Michelins; front end has been aligned. Vehilce drives straight on the highway with no pulling, vibration, etc until the brakes are applied. I drive about 8 to 10K miles per year and the brakes generally get an annual replace due to poor performance. I use the better grade of replacement rotor (made in Canada rather than Asia) and either use OEM pads or Wagner premium grade pads. The brake fluid is usually merky the first few squirts when I bleed the sysem but then cleans up. I'm suspicious of the master cylinder or anti-lock system, but do not know how to test them. Also, I've replaced the rear brake shoes and one of the rear wheel cyliners due to leakage. Rear brakes seem to last and perform OK. Any ideas on what my problem is?

A new mechanic might be in order....

what u need to do is goto cross drilled rotors and severe duty pads stay away from wagner pads. when u take the caliper off take a wizzz wheel and whiz the spot where the caliper slides agains the mount and wiz it good and also wiz the mount on the spindle too! usually they dont have a good tolerance between them or some kinda build up and need to be cleaned up.ALSO make sure u use synthetic grease for calipers at these two points too. that should help u alot i worked at a meineke brake shop for 9 years and that has been a real problem aftermarket rotors suck go vented or cross drilled with severe duty pads

I must agree with points there...

1) cleaning and lubricating the sliding points very well is crucial. Do not rush or skip this part!

2) the cross drilled rotors do stop better, especially in real hot weather or when your rotors are getting soaked in heavy rain. I actually drilled my own set for my Cadillac Eldorado a couple years back. Check out this post where I documented it. It has some fairly good tips on replacing front rotor, lubricating pins and bushings, and checking for run-out. If you have the tools, and like to do this sort of thing it really dresses up a vehicle with rims that can make it shine! :)

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/suspension-brakes-tires/21338-custom-cross-drilling-rotors-painting-calipers.html

The main problem with your brakes (actually the warping of your rotor(s)) are three fold: 1) your stock and/or aftermarket "standard" rotors are inferior, 2) your pads are inferier and 3) your rotors are heating up and cooling down unevenly or inconsistenly. I, like you, whet through the same headaches. The solution that finally worked for me is: use premium brake rotors, use ceramic pads and make SURE the caliper slide pins are well lubed with good grease. Note that I have stock sized tires. If you start tinkering with larger tires, wheels, etc, you can through everything i just wrote right out the window.