2007-2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD Brake Job Guide: Symptoms, Costs and the Right Parts

By Core Brake Parts Tech Team — Circleville, OH warehouse

A full brake job on a 2007-2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD means front pads and rotors, plus whatever the rear axle carries. That rear setup is the catch: GM's own owner's manual for this generation says the truck has front disc brakes and "could have rear drum brakes or rear disc brakes." Confirm which one your truck has before you order anything, then replace parts in complete axle sets.

How the Brakes Work on This Generation of Silverado 1500

This is the GMT900 body style (the 2007 "new body" through 2013). Every one of these trucks uses disc brakes up front: a floating caliper squeezes two pads against a vented rotor. The front axle does most of the stopping, so the front pads and rotors are what wear out first on a 4WD half-ton, especially one that tows, plows or carries a loaded bed.

The rear is where trucks differ. Many 1500s left the factory with rear drum brakes, where a wheel cylinder pushes two curved shoes outward against the inside of a cast drum, and the same shoes double as the parking brake. Aftermarket drum makers list rear drums for the 2009 Silverado 1500 in Base, LS, LT, LTZ and WT trims, which lines up with how common the drum setup is. Other trucks from this generation have rear disc brakes, which use a caliper and pads like the front plus a small drum-in-hat parking brake built into the rear rotor.

The quickest way to tell: look through the wheel spokes at the rear hub. If you see a caliper clamped over a rotor, you have rear discs. If you see a solid round drum with no caliper, you have drums. Order by what you see, not by what a parts lookup assumes.

Symptoms Your Silverado Is Due for a Brake Job

• High-pitched squeal while driving that stops when you brake hard. GM's manual explains that the disc pads have built-in wear indicators that make this sound when new pads are needed, and warns that it means the brakes will soon not work well.
• Grinding or a rubbing noise from the rear. Rear drum shoes have no wear indicator. GM says that if you hear a rear brake rubbing noise, the rear linings should be inspected immediately.
• Steering wheel shake or pedal pulsation when stopping. Usually uneven rotor thickness or deposits on the front rotors. GM's manual specifically notes that improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to brake pulsation and rotor damage.
• Pedal sinking lower or a sudden increase in pedal travel. GM lists this as a sign brake service might be required. It can point to a leak, a failing master cylinder, or badly worn or misadjusted rear shoes.
• Dropping fluid level in the reservoir. The level falls slowly as pads wear, which is normal. A fast drop means a leak somewhere in the hydraulic system.
• Parking brake that will not hold on a grade. On drum trucks this usually means worn shoes or a self-adjuster that has stopped working.

Front Brake Job: Pads, Rotors and Calipers

The front job is the one almost every owner does first. The core parts are a set of brake pads for your Silverado and a pair of front brake rotors. Brake & Front End's GMT900 procedure says to replace pads when the friction material is worn to within 0.030 in (0.76 mm) of the backing plate. It also notes that 1500-series rotors can be machined twice before replacement, but on a truck that already shows pulsation, or where the rotor is near its minimum thickness, new rotors are usually the better value because a freshly cut rotor has less metal left to absorb heat.

Key points from that procedure worth knowing before you start:

• Remove the caliper guide pin bolts with hand tools, not an impact gun.
• The caliper bracket bolts get red thread-locker. Clean the old compound off the threads before you apply new.
• Brake & Front End lists 74 ft-lb for the front guide pin bolts and 148 ft-lb for the front bracket bolts. Confirm these against the factory service manual for your exact truck before torquing.

Clean and lubricate the pad slide points and replace the abutment clips; a brake hardware kit is inexpensive and keeps new pads from sticking or rattling. Inspect the caliper boots and slide pins while everything is apart. A caliper that has been dragging will show as one pad worn much thinner than the other, and in that case a replacement caliper belongs on the job.

Rear Brake Job: Drums and Shoes, or Rear Discs

For drum-equipped trucks, the rear job is new brake shoes, the return and hold-down springs, and usually new drums. GM recommends removing and inspecting the rear drums every time the tires come off for rotation, and says to have the rear brakes inspected whenever the front pads are replaced. Because drum shoes wear slowly, many trucks go well past their second set of front pads before the rears are done, but a seized self-adjuster or a weeping wheel cylinder can end that early. Replace a leaking wheel cylinder immediately; brake fluid on the shoes ruins them.

A rear drum job is more fiddly than a front pad job. The springs load up under tension, the self-adjuster has to go back on the correct side, and a rusted drum can be stubborn to pull off the hub. Take a photo of one side before disassembly and work one side at a time so you always have a reference.

For disc-equipped trucks, the rear job is pads and rotors like the front, with the added parking brake shoes inside the rotor hat. Brake & Front End's procedure lists a rear guide pin bolt torque of 28 ft-lb and rear bracket bolt torque of 122 ft-lb, and gives a parking brake shoe-to-drum clearance of 0.026 in. It also describes removing the self-adjuster lock-out pin and applying and releasing the parking brake fully three times before reinstalling the pin.

If you are replacing both axles at once, a matched Detroit Axle brake kit or Power Stop kit saves cross-referencing each part separately.

What to Replace at the Same Time

• Brake fluid. GM specifies DOT 3 brake fluid for this truck and says to use only new fluid from a sealed container. Old fluid absorbs moisture; a flush during a full brake job is cheap insurance.
• Hardware. Pad clips on the front, springs and adjuster hardware on rear drums.
• Brake lines and hoses. Trucks from road-salt states often have rusted steel lines along the frame. Check them with the truck on stands, and look at the rubber hoses at each wheel for cracks or bulging. Replace any that are suspect with new brake lines or brake hoses.
• Both sides of an axle. GM's manual says brake linings should always be replaced as complete axle sets. Never do one wheel.

How Hard Is the Job, and What Drives the Cost?

A front pad and rotor job on this truck is a reasonable driveway project for someone with a floor jack, jack stands, a torque wrench capable of the high bracket bolt values, and a way to deal with rusted fasteners. The rotors are heavy, and on a 4WD truck you are working around the front axle and CV shafts, but nothing about the front job is unusual. Rear drums take more patience because of the springs and adjuster. If the hydraulic system is opened, Brake & Front End gives a bleed order of right rear, left rear, right front, left front, and notes you should drive above 8 mph afterward so the ABS system can initialize.

Cost comes down to a few choices rather than a single number:

• Pads only vs pads and rotors. Adding rotors is the biggest parts jump, and it is often the right call if there is any pulsation.
• One axle vs both. The front is due far more often than the rear, so most visits are front-only.
• Drums and shoes vs rear discs. Parts for either are not unusual; labor on drums can take longer.
• Extras found during inspection. A sticking caliper, a leaking wheel cylinder or rusted lines add the most to the bill.
• Labor. Doing it yourself removes the largest single part of a shop invoice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my 2007-2013 Silverado 1500 4WD have rear drum or rear disc brakes?

It depends on the truck. GM's owner's manual for this generation says it has front discs and could have either rear drums or rear discs. Look through the rear wheel: a caliper means discs, a solid drum with no caliper means drums.

Why do my rear brakes never squeal like the front ones do?

Rear drum shoes do not have wear indicators. You have to pull the drums to check them, which GM recommends at every tire rotation. A rubbing or grinding noise from the rear means they need inspection right away.

Can I just replace the front pads and reuse the rotors?

If the rotors are smooth, above minimum thickness and not causing pulsation, yes. If you feel shaking when braking, replace or resurface the rotors, because new pads on a warped or thin rotor will not fix the vibration.

What brake fluid does a 2007-2013 Silverado 1500 use?

GM specifies DOT 3 brake fluid in the owner's manual. Use new fluid from a sealed container and keep the level between MIN and MAX.

Do I need to bleed the brakes after a pad change?

Not if you never opened the hydraulic system. If you replaced a caliper, hose, line or wheel cylinder, bleed the system and drive above 8 mph afterward so the ABS can initialize.

Why does my steering wheel shake after new brakes?

Uneven wheel nut torque is a common cause. GM warns that improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to brake pulsation and rotor damage, so tighten them in a crisscross pattern with a torque wrench.

Sources

1. 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual (GM) - front disc with rear drum or rear disc, wear indicators, rear drum inspection, axle sets, DOT 3 fluid, wheel nut torque and pulsation
2. Brake & Front End: 2007-2013 GM Full-Sized Truck (GMT900) Brake Job - pad wear limit, rotor machining, torque values, parking brake clearance, bleed sequence, ABS initialization
3. Detroit Axle: Rear Brake Drums for 2009 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 - rear drum fitment by trim