2000 K1500 drum brake conversion??/Rusty brakes

['00Z71,5.3RcabLbed]

Does anyone know of a conversion kit or a way to possably make the rear brakes drums instead of discs. Yeah, I know discs are "cool," but I like the old drum brakes. No high dollar drum-in-disc rotors, for parking brakes that don't work worth a darn. Drums are fine for the rear.

Also is it just me, or are the retail store rotors excessively rusty these days. I keep having to replace my brakes due to rust, not wear. I emailed all the major competition brake manufacturers, and all any of them would tell me was, "you live in a humid climate, salt on roadways makes rust worse....." I don't remember having this problem untill the recent few years. Does anyone else have this problem, and if so have you found a solution?? I am willing to spend money for good parts, I'm just affraid that the high dollar parts will do the same thing. You know how it is these days, some products that are made in the same factory get different names put on them, then they are sold for more money, even though they are the same. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[silverado122775]

I replaced my Rotors with vented Rotors. I can tell they are starting to surface rust on the inside. To be honest I think it is just the nature of the beast. As long as your breaking performance does not suffer. A little rust won't hurt anything.

[jdmccright]

I have made it a policy to paint my rotors and drums. Rotors are replaced frequently enough that I don't have to scrub rust off of them often. New rotors can be degreased with brake cleaner (get the vents too!) and then shot with a coat or two of primer, then two to three coats of ColorPlace(?) Flat or Matte Black rust preventive paint. It gives a 2 year guarantee against rust and corrosion....look for it at Wal-Mart, good stuff.

I use this combo for my drum brakes as well, except because the drums aren't replaced as often, I have to remove the existing rust which can be laborious unless you apply paint to them while they are new. For the drums, I will chip away all the rust scale in between the ribs and wire brush everything thoroughly. The more you can remove the better. While you're at it buff the shoe surfaces, degrease, and blow dry clean. Then I will use Rust-Oleum's Rust Converter as the first coat. Then two to three coats of primer and finally two coats of the rust preventive paint. Do the inside too since the drums can sometimes rust to the axle flange...paint the flange, too! Spraying the shoe or pad contact surfaces won't hurt it but is a waste of paint. A razor blade run over these surfaces afterwards will remove most of the overspray and the rest is worn away from braking.

The drums with the matte or flat black look alot more pleasing to the eye behind your wheels rather than a big ugly rusty hunk of metal...but that's just due to my personal taste and profession. Rusty rotors are less noticeable, but if you have wheels with an open design then you'd likely benefit from painting them. The rust preventive spray comes in black and white, but I only use black for this. IMO, I see no reason to paint brake hardware any color other than black since it will become black from the brake dust.

Hope this helps!

[j cAT]

I GOT 9 years out of the OEM rotors/front/rear..just replaced with the advanced auto lifetime warrantee with pads..when they rust I will replace all for free..

I painted my rotors when I purchased my 2000 sil. the rotors stayed good until last year when they rusted from the inside out...it was rust blisters on the rear disc face..the rest of the rotor looked new..used high temp paint and antisieze on the metal contact points/hub/rim..all excellant condition..

the rear park brake is indeed defective on the 1500 models...I fixed this issue by grinding a V GROOVE INTO THE SHOE where the hold down clip touches..this prevents the shoe from floping around and wearing out as you drive..its been a few years now still park brake works and the shoes are not worn better than new NO THANKS TO THOSE AZZ HOLES AT GM.

there I go again getting political....

[iroc343]

I agree with the original poster that something has changed. I don't remember, In the old days, the braking surfaces blistering and rusting like they do now. When the "new" (99-up) Chevy trucks came out they even used the heavier brakes as a selling point. They touted "If you got 12,000 miles out of your brakes you could now expect 48,000 miles" in their print adds. I am throwing out brake pads with 3/8" braking material left because the rotors are blistering/rusting away. It's got to be something different in the castings.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by iroc343

I agree with the original poster that something has changed. I don't remember, In the old days, the braking surfaces blistering and rusting like they do now. When the "new" (99-up) Chevy trucks came out they even used the heavier brakes as a selling point. They touted "If you got 12,000 miles out of your brakes you could now expect 48,000 miles" in their print adds. I am throwing out brake pads with 3/8" braking material left because the rotors are blistering/rusting away. It's got to be something different in the castings.

all the steel is made in asia ....these are all most likely chinese crap..
my 1996 has the original brake rotors...also the brake lines are also made in china ,,,I'm surprised no recall repair on these truck brake lines, I guess not enough people got killed yet.