Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Topic: Meritor Pads Flange Broken (Read 1058 times) previous topic - next topic

Meritor Pads Flange Broken

July 27, 2014, 08:33:17 pm

After servicing all of my brakes, both of the front inside pads have one end of the flange broken off. Has anyone else had this issue because everything else on the pad seems to be in good condition and I'd rather not buy new pads($$) if I don't have to?

It can be kind of hard to see in the picture but the inner (top in the picture) pad flange on the right is missing. It looks like a clean break and not due to rust. I'm not quite sure what would even cause this to happen. On one side, I actually found the broken flange piece as it was caught in between the rotor and the pad. The other side apparently made a run for it and escaped.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #1 – July 27, 2014, 11:36:36 pm

Whatever you end up doing, I'd suggest letting Meritor know that you are having this issue.

In an effort to light a fire under Meritor, let them know you will be forwarding the problem to NTSA (if) you do not get a comment from them.

Your situation is a new one to me (I've repaired disc brakes for years btw) and have been witness to all sorts of failures.

The disc brake problems I've witnessed were related to bearing issues, broken, scored or cracked rotors and pad issues (not that one btw). Pad limiter (Flange) breaking (or whatever that portion of the backing is called).. is new to me.

I'd like a comment from someone if they have a history with this sort of thing please.

Would you know if the hardware was replaced with the last brake repair?

I'd like a picture when you take it apart please.

Glad you discovered you problem. pc

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #2 – July 28, 2014, 10:57:22 am

Looking through the manual, it appears that it is called an anti-rattle spring and there are mentions of replacing it if worn, broken, damaged.

I called Meritor and they said it is not entirely uncommon and that the metal could just fatigue over 16 years of time and with a little rust. It should be replaced which I guess I knew should happen.

The broken spring allows the pad to move around a bit unlike a correctly functioning unit that is held tightly in place. Looks like I'll be out a little more money on these brakes.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #3 – July 28, 2014, 11:03:19 am

Robert,

I'm still not clear on what you are looking at - I've studied your photo, but I can't tell where the broken piece is located? The reason I ask is that cleaning up and servicing my brakes is on my lengthy "To Do" list, and I want to check mine for the same condition. Can someone draw a "arrow" on the picture to clarify?

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #4 – July 28, 2014, 12:07:10 pm

It is probably hard to understand what you're looking at if you haven't taken a look at everything first hand. I would recommend that you go to Barry Beam's website and download the service manual which is 60 pages long. On page 39, there is a picture of the pad with a look at the rattle spring. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if the broken half spring hadn't been caught up between the pad and the rotor on the first front brake I did.

It is also very hard to see in the uploaded picture since it limits the resolution and the rusty sections all look the same compared to the original picture.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #5 – July 28, 2014, 12:13:33 pm

OK, I think I see what you are talking about. Thanks for the clarification. I'll go study the manual, then go peek at my brakes (after I scape off 20+ years accumulation of grease and dirt) and see what I can see.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #6 – July 28, 2014, 01:53:12 pm

Maybe running without an anti-raddle piece of spring steel is ok, if pads are not worn?

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #7 – July 28, 2014, 02:20:00 pm

They do move around more than they are supposed to. The rattle springs hold them fairly firmly in place due to the compression of the metal spring and without it the pad is allow to move up and down a bit. The design of the caliper and pad assembly will not let them fall out though. It isn't really ideal to run them without fully functional springs but truthfully, I have no idea how long they've been like that since this is the first time I've done the brake maintenance (and from the look of things, the first time the brakes have ever been touched).

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #8 – July 29, 2014, 05:47:20 pm

I'd probably just run it. Is it even feasible to replace it? I thought it was riveted on.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #9 – July 29, 2014, 05:50:42 pm

Nope, I'd have to replace the pads.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #10 – July 29, 2014, 06:27:52 pm

FYI: I got a set of pads (one wheel) off ebay for $135 " Meritor Brakes S2R7017173 Kit". I put up a post in the past with a listing of all the part numbers.

I don't see them doing that much...in fact, they may make the pads hang up. I remember it was a pain to get the new pads on because of those springs!

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #11 – August 06, 2014, 04:59:28 pm

Here are a couple of pictures showing the broken anti rattle spring.

The first photo is the inside pad that was visibly broken and noticed while doing maintenance but had not been removed at that point. The second photo is the outer pad, from the same brake assembly, which looked fine during maintenance but after removal, the noticeably weak AR spring broke off using very little force with my fingers.

I was hoping to leave the old (broken) pads in place since the actual pad material had a long life ahead of it but the weak springs were causing the pads to drag a bit since they wouldn't hold the pads in place and allowed them to slide on the caliper. New pads and adjustment of the slack adjuster cured that.

I would guess that there is just a limited lifespan of the metal regardless of how much pad material is still available.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #12 – August 07, 2014, 11:24:35 am

It is a shame to loose all that lining but it is better to only do it once.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #13 – August 07, 2014, 01:25:20 pm

The antisqueal spring on the front passenger side of my 1996 U320 broke and set up a terrible squeal. I stopped on the side of the road to investigate. After backing up the squeal stopped. I continued 5 miles to the destination campground. Removed front wheel and removed the broken piece of spring, which had ground small groves in edge of the rotor. It seems ironic to me that the squeal was caused by a broken antisqueal spring. I examined the driver side and noticed that half of the antisqueal spring was already gone. I have driven 10,000 miles with half antisqueal springs on the front with no apparent problems.

I am reluctant to replace those springs because of the damage that could be done when they break. Is there a danger of brakes malfunctioning without those springs? There is certainly a risk of damage when those antisqueal springs break. All the pads (front and rear) on my coach show little wear after 112,000 miles.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #14 – August 07, 2014, 08:34:34 pm

I don't think there is any way to replace just the springs, it has to be the whole pad (and Meritor says if you change the pads on one side, you are supposed to do the other at the same time or it will decrease the life of the pads). The springs are crimped onto a post on the pad and even if they did sell new springs, you would need some sort of specialized crimper.

I have noticed a slight difference in braking feel with the springs in place, mostly crisper braking action since the lack of functional springs allows the pad to move around a bit but they still can't fall out because of the way that the pads fit into the caliper.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #15 – August 07, 2014, 11:07:31 pm

Quote from: rsihnhold – August 07, 2014, 08:34:34 pm

I have noticed a slight difference in braking feel with the springs in place, mostly crisper braking action since the lack of functional springs allows the pad to move around a bit but they still can't fall out because of the way that the pads fit into the caliper.

Could this be because the pads are new?

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #16 – August 08, 2014, 01:37:50 pm

Or because the brake discs were glazed.

When my coach was inspected as one of the requirements for approval to import and register it in Canada (May 2010), the inspector asked me to join him in the pit (under the motorhome). He showed me how glazed the disk pads were and how little wear there was on the brake pads. He indicated that if I attempted a panic stop, these brakes would not work as they were designed to because of the glazing. I told him about the retarder and that perhaps the brakes had been used very little. He recommended that I turn off the retarder and do a little hard braking on each trip to remove the glaze and reestablish effective braking. After doing this, I noticed that it required less brake pedal pressure to come to a stop. Now I only use the retarder on down hills or when in heavy traffic.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #17 – August 08, 2014, 02:03:11 pm

Quote from: P. Wyatt Sabourin – August 08, 2014, 01:37:50 pm

Or because the brake discs were glazed.

I was going to say this as well, but it doesn't really make sense because new pads need to be bedded as well. Every once in a while I do some retarder off stops from highway speed. When I put new pads on, I made sure to bed them....they stunk after I heated them up.

A couple good long hard stops will usually get the glaze off. If possible, try to do it followed by driving to cool everything off before applying parking brake.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #18 – August 08, 2014, 03:19:29 pm

Quote from: P. Wyatt Sabourin – August 08, 2014, 01:37:50 pm

Or because the brake discs were glazed.

When my coach was inspected as one of the requirements for approval to import and register it in Canada (May 2010), the inspector asked me to join him in the pit (under the motorhome). He showed me how glazed the disk pads were and how little wear there was on the brake pads. He indicated that if I attempted a panic stop, these brakes would not work as they were designed to because of the glazing. I told him about the retarder and that perhaps the brakes had been used very little. He recommended that I turn off the retarder and do a little hard braking on each trip to remove the glaze and reestablish effective braking. After doing this, I noticed that it required less brake pedal pressure to come to a stop. Now I only use the retarder on down hills or when in heavy traffic.

Exactly what I have learned to do

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #19 – August 14, 2014, 11:27:29 am

If anyone is considering changing out their brake linings, finditparts has pretty good pricing on a full axle set of pads (which is how Meritor specifies that they should be done) right now at $198.01- apparently limited availability at that price-

KIT15625PM by MERITOR - SHOE & LINING KIT

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #20 – August 14, 2014, 03:36:06 pm

Quote from: Dave M – August 14, 2014, 02:11:57 pm

If I had all the hassel with the disk brakes, I would change over to the normal S Cam type brake system, it works great and with the retarder it would be like a dream come true. The parking brake with the S Cam is more effective than the current parking brake.
As long as the Meritor system acts OK, will stay with it, but I have a short tolorance with things that get expensive.

You would change the disks to drum brakes?

I overheated many sets of drum brakes on many rv's over the years. Smoke from the wheels visible in the mirrors in the Rockies.

Only the gillig bus chassis's drum brakes had enough reserve but moderate use glazed the pads and drums constantly.

The gillig 15x10 rear drum weighed 300 pounds and a chain hoist/ lifting arm was needed to remove it from the axle. 15x7 fronts almost as bad.

Oreds brakes were 15x7 and 15x4 if memory serves me. Easy to cook.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #21 – August 14, 2014, 10:50:14 pm

I have a very very steep driveway and my parking brake will hold on it. I don't understand how people have brakes that don't hold. I would guess they are glazed OR not adjusted properly. Auto slack-adjusters sometimes need a little help.

Re: Meritor Pads Flange Broken

Reply #22 – August 15, 2014, 10:46:02 am

Put me in the cue that for whatever reason, does not care for disc brakes on any piece of HEAVY equipment.

Must have something to do with too much time spent over the road making a living. Back in the late 70s, I had a new 50' trailer with disc's (one of the first) and after way too much time, finally discovered that the clamping force of disc's left a lot to be desired. Eventually went back to drum brakes and no problems since.

Disc brakes on most anything tend to glaze easily under normal conditions. Best to get up to speed and re-bed a few times to ensure they will do their job if you notice them not doing right. Don't come to a complete stop and drive long enough to allow them to cool before normal driving. pc

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