Brakes - Complete Overhaul

[AlekG]

I was taking some pictures of the Trailblazer at my storage facility for some other projects I am working on and thought - I never did write up the specifics of my brake overhaul back in 2018. Which got me thinking if I had pictures of all the parts before they were installed. I thought I did but 2 computers later, and a search through some older hard drives, and unfortunately I came up with nothing. So I grabbed pictures from the individual manufacturers to include along with what I could take of the brakes as they are installed now.

My original plan was to replace everything in the braking system including the calipers, pads, rotors, and brake lines. Only the pads were replaced at some point from original back in 2006. And for those, I decided to go with an economy set as I knew I was going to be upgrading sometime in the future.

I thought about doing the EXT/SS front upgrade and going to 13" rotors up front but decided to stay with the stock set up as I was replacing many items, with some core charges for the calipers, and didn't want to take a chance that I would source the wrong part numbers. Plus in all my expeditions I didn't notice any issues with stopping distances, although it would be nice to have the better performance available if needed ... so maybe phase 2 sometime in the future.

I decided not to go with upgraded calipers as the cost was prohibitive to me. I have had aftermarket 4 piston calipers previously on a different vehicle and they were excellent, but I just could not justify the cost for the Trailblazer and what my driving would mostly be. So I went with ACDelco Remanufactured - Uncoated Gold / Professional with no pads from RockAuto:
Front Right - 18FR2513
Front Left - 18FR2512
Rear Right - 18FR2080
Rear Left - 18FR2079

These had a core charge so when done, I sent the old ones back for the refund. By doing it this way, I was able to paint them black with high-temp caliper paint off the vehicle ... much easier to do than when on the vehicle. I also decided to use brush-on paint rather than spray for greater control.

For the brake pads I decided to stay with an old favorite of mine: EBC Brakes. They have different formulations for different types of applications and in the last few years, have produced their Orange Stuff Extra Duty Light Truck/SUV pads for our vehicles.


Front Pads - ED91761
Rear Pads - ED91672

The rotors are StopTech (Centric) Sport Slotted Cryo Disc. I like how these discs are painted for rust protection on the "hat" part and on the interior vanes.


Front Right - 126-66063CSR
Front Left - 126-66063CSL


Rear Right - 125-66052CSR
Rear Left - 126-66052CSL

And finally I decided to upgrade to Stainless Steel brake lines, also from StopTech.


Front - 950-62013
Rear - 950-62508

Here's the front set up about 3 years later on the vehicle.

[Trail X]

Glad to see youre still rocking the Trailblazer Alek! Its been a while! Thanks for the update on the brakes. I've got a sticky front right caliper that I'll need to replace here soon. I replaced the other last year. I did the EXT brake upgrade, but I'm not certain that I notice a totally different feel, but the bigger the tires the more important that is for sure.

[AlekG]

Glad to see youre still rocking the Trailblazer Alek! Its been a while! Thanks for the update on the brakes. I've got a sticky front right caliper that I'll need to replace here soon. I replaced the other last year. I did the EXT brake upgrade, but I'm not certain that I notice a totally different feel, but the bigger the tires the more important that is for sure.

Hey James,

good to hear from you, hope you and the family are doing well through all this craziness. I have had the Trailblazer in storage for all these years, taking it out rarely and dealing with broken coilover spring issues. I did manage some upgrades/overhauls but decided to get back into it seriously last year ... mostly with planning ... and have started now to source and purchase items for overhauls that will get me back on the road/trails permanently, once things open up for good and particularly when the border opens.

I don't know if you would be interested but here is my post on what was going on for so many years ... its a bit personal but it felt good writing it up.

Hope to keep in touch going forward.

[hilljb]

How is it working out?

I've never been happy with the brakes (especially the back ones, when reversing on a steep hill, yikes!) on my Trailblazer. They've always been mushy and with some amount of effort I can push the brake pedal to the floor. I've replaced calipers, bled the lines, etc. My brakes are still mushy. This looks like potentially something to consider, so I'm wondering how it's going.

[AlekG]

How is it working out?

I've never been happy with the brakes (especially the back ones, when reversing on a steep hill, yikes!) on my Trailblazer. They've always been mushy and with some amount of effort I can push the brake pedal to the floor. I've replaced calipers, bled the lines, etc. My brakes are still mushy. This looks like potentially something to consider, so I'm wondering how it's going.

Hey, sorry for the delay, haven't logged on in a little while.

I have never had that experience, particularly being able to push the pedal to the floor. But I haven't gone offroad lately either so have not had a reason to push to the limit.

Other than making sure the brake fluid level is proper (as you have), I guess the pads may be something to look into. I had EBC Green Stuff pads on a previous Trailblazer (as the Orange Stuff was not available then) and was always happy. The Orange Stuff is designed for even heavier duty use on trucks and SUVs.

But maybe someone with more brake system knowledge could better diagnose your problem.