New Brake Pads and shoes

[Wicked_Sludge]

the abs will only kick on if a tire is about to skid. if you cant lock the tires up, either your abs is working, or your brakes arent stopping hard enough to skid the tire.

chances are if your ABS light isnt on, your abs is working fine.

how does the pedal feel? is it hard right away or does it drop to the floor? i sometimes find it necessary to pump the pedal a few times after compressing the pistons back into the calipers to get them to take up the slack. did you lube the caliper slide rails before you installed them?

 

[Robin Hood]

The brakes feel fine. Its just that past a certain point it feels like they slowly get weaker...

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

if you hold the brakes down (truck stationary), does the pedal slowly bleed down?

it almost sounds like brake fade (the pads floating on the rotors due to heat), but ive never had or heard of united parts pads fading.

 

[Robin Hood]

No... They don't bleed down like they're losing pressure but its like a certain point to where the pedal doesnt want to give more braking pwer.

 

[Jspafford]

Does the pedal still have travel room? Or is it hitting the floor before the brakes lock up. Did you check the brake fluid?

 

[MAKG]

Does the pedal feel firm?

It sounds like it MIGHT be air in the line, or perhaps fading.

Fading might be due to defective pads/rotors but it can also be due to sticky hydraulics. Especially if the truck seems a bit sluggish or there are hints of heat damage (cracking on the pad surfaces and/or a blue tinge on the rotors right outside the friction surface). If you see heat damage signs, you MAY need calipers. As well as new pads (and perhaps resurfacing the rotors again -- measure TIR), since dragging them is quite likely to ruin them.

 

[Robin Hood]

Nah its not air because then you would feel the pedal sag as/ after braking.

I'll have to drive a few other cars. Maybe I'm just weird? Its not air the the lines...

Its like you push the pedal to a certain point (which is pretty hard) and anywhere after that theres no extra braking power...

 

[MAKG]

If you're certain of that, I'd look into fading. When your brakes drag or overheat from overuse, the fluid boils and the pedal gets soft. The condition you describe is when the heat generation is highest.

I'd pull the pads off and look for surface cracking and a blue tinge on the rotors.