I recently bought a used Isuzu Trooper to pull my boat with (my TL couldn't quite pull my 4000+ lb. boat up the ramp). After about a week of driving the Trooper sparingly, I noticed that the brake rotors are always really hot when I finish driving. This does not seem normal to me. The guy I bought the Trooper from told me the brake pads were replaced recently by one of his friends. I would normally assume the guy just didn't push the caliper pistons all the way back in but it's doing it on all 4 wheels which leads me to think it may be the master cylinder. I think I'm going to take one of the calipers off and push the piston all the way back in and see if that fixes the problem on that brake. If it's not, I'll probably take it to a shop unless I get some good advice from somebody on this forum. Any input??

 

yeah take it to a shop since you think the pistons fully retract after each use-

may be a problem with not greasing the slider pins for the caliper- or the pad end tabs where they move in and out- about 1mm is pad travel. just enough so they are off the surface but right there when you need them, or the calipers could be rusted inside and be sticking in their travel

Make sure to use synthetic caliper grease on those parts and the backside of the pads where they meet metal parts- use synthetic wheel bearing grease on the tow vehicle

Unplug the trailer light connector before putting trailer in the water, keeps the bulbs protected in case of leaks -

 

I don't think the think the pistons fully retract after each use. One of the steps when changing brake pads is to push the pistons inside the calipers all the way back in so that the pads will fit under the calipers. The brakes will then automatically readjust themselves. I think that when the guy changed the brake pads, he didn't push the pistons in at all (or simply not enough). Since the new pads are thicker than the old, and the pistons werent pushed in to let the Trooper's brakes readjust themselves, the brakes are constantly in very firm contact with the rotors.

Thanks for the tips about the tow vehicle and trailer. I plan on repacking my trailer bearings this spring and already knew to use marine grease.

I'll have to pass on disconnecting the trailer light connector because I have a reversing solenoid that is actuated by the brake lights which are wired through the light connector. If I disconnect that connector, my trailer brakes will try to kick in when i back down the ramp. The lights I use on my trailer aren't that expensive and are sealed pretty well.

 

If he didnt push them it they probably wouldnt have fit over the rotors. Also if they were in very firm contact the car wouldnt roll well. Put the car on a slight slant and put it in neutral, see if it rolls. If it does thats not your problem. Also pushing them in wont solve the problem if in fact they are hanging up, that may be from the pads not floating like they should, or stuck slider pins in the calipers.