Good job on all this. You can check the rotors for runout if you have a dial caliper. Mount the rotor in place with a few lug nuts, then rig up the dial caliper to contact the rotor surface and rotate rotor by hand. Ideally there would be no more than .003" of runout.

I would definitely not get rotors turned. In the old days, I had all the machines to do that. We turned rotors and drums, and heck, we even machined the new brake shoes surfaces to match the newly turned drums. It was a nice setup. But I sold all that equipment many years ago, when rotors and drums started to get cheap. It's much easier to buy new, and old rotors/drums that have been turned will not last nearly as long as new ones, and the turned parts often start shaking on you. Just buy new rotors... I like the kind that have some sort of protective coating on them, so they don't rust out right away.

Install all the parts carefully and properly. Maybe watch a few YouTube vids. At first glance, doing a brake job seems soooo easy, but there's lots of little details that make all the difference between a so-so job and an excellent job. Strive for excellence..........

sitting here looking at our rusted out brake lathe that we don't use any more for all the reasons posted above.

Edit: on top of those reasons, there's always that someone new may turn the rotors and mess them up. It's pretty easy to make a mistake if you aren't experienced with a lathe. And using lathes is dying off so finding someone to do it right may be a little difficult depending on the area you're in.

I would just buy new ones. High heat causes hot spots and cracking, and also warping. All good reasons to just get new ones.

I cut my personal rotors still, but never for a customer, the more material you remove the more prone they are to warping.

 

I finally managed to get hands on an ir gun drivers side was significantly hotter than the passenger ...... I'll install the caliper first to try and confirm it was the problem. With the rotors getting as hot as they've gotten would you recommend getting new rotors or just having them turned?

Good job on all this. You can check the rotors for runout if you have a dial caliper. Mount the rotor in place with a few lug nuts, then rig up the dial caliper to contact the rotor surface and rotate rotor by hand. Ideally there would be no more than .003" of runout.

I would definitely not get rotors turned. In the old days, I had all the machines to do that. We turned rotors and drums, and heck, we even machined the new brake shoes surfaces to match the newly turned drums. It was a nice setup. But I sold all that equipment many years ago, when rotors and drums started to get cheap. It's much easier to buy new, and old rotors/drums that have been turned will not last nearly as long as new ones, and the turned parts often start shaking on you. Just buy new rotors... I like the kind that have some sort of protective coating on them, so they don't rust out right away.

Install all the parts carefully and properly. Maybe watch a few YouTube vids. At first glance, doing a brake job seems soooo easy, but there's lots of little details that make all the difference between a so-so job and an excellent job. Strive for excellence..........

 

Are your rotors warped? If so I would just replace them.

 

I finally managed to get hands on an ir gun drivers side was significantly hotter than the passenger I can't remember the temps off of the top of my head, I got distracted shortly after checking temps and forgot to write them down. I have another caliper on the way as well as a new master, I figured being as old as it is and the truck sitting for a year (it's driven fine the last year) it wouldn't hurt to replace regardless if it fixes the problem or not. I'll install the caliper first to try and confirm it was the problem. With the rotors getting as hot as they've gotten would you recommend getting new rotors or just having them turned?

 

Wheel bearings on both sides were replaced 6 months ago I've checked for play and there is none.

 

Is the wheel hub getting hot? You could have wheel bearings going bad. Jack up that wheel and grab the wheel and check for side to side movement top and bottom and left and right. Failed wheel bearings will certainly heat up...and certainly cause you to lose a wheel if you let them go too long. Just a thought...if you find it's not the brakes.

 

When the brakes are operating correctly you don't really feel it get on the brakes until 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the pedal travel.

 

Make sure nothing is obstructing the brake pedal from FULLY returning to the stop. If the pedal doesn't release all the way it wont let the master cylinder let the fluid back in and it will start pressure jacking.

Based on your description it sounds like it may be pressure jacking now (you said pedal gets stiff when the brakes drag) That's an indicator that fluid pressure is building in the system and not releasing. Rubber brake hoses are notorious for causing this. And usually a master cylinder only does it if it has been replaced and isn't made correctly/or needs brake rod length adjustment to allow it to release fully.

Usually a master fails in the low pedal fashion where the internal seals fail and the pedal starts getting close to the floor. This is usually also intermittent when the problem begins and worsens as under hood temps build.

All the above is "USUALLY"

With automotive I would never say ALWAYS. Weird things happen.

 

I'll grab an ir gun on my next day off, luckily I live in a small town and am able to putt around most places I go. Wheel bearing/ hub assembly were both replaced around a year ago they spin freely and there is no play in them either. My thoughts have leaned towards master cylinder but I've been told by a few people that if your master is going out you just simply won't have brakes anymore which I haven't fully believed as that seems like it would only happen when the master completely fails.

Bad M/C symptoms are typically felt when you hold pressure on the pedal and it slowly goes down to floor. That's an indicator that one (or more) of the internal seals have failed. I've been doing brake jobs for almost 50 years and have never seen a M/C fail completely and abruptly. Most common issue for loss of (most) braking is brake line popping through. Most common issue for brakes overheating is a sticking caliper.

You will love an IR gun. I have a bunch of them, they come in handy for all kinds of things in the car-fixing world. Let's say your engine is running odd and you're curious if it's firing on all 8 cylinders, well, go for a ride, then hop out with IR gun and shoot temps at each exhaust manifold port. If you've got one that's cooler, then you know you got an issue.

IR gun also works great in kitchen. Did you know that the best frying pan temp for scrambling eggs is 300 degrees? haha , just thought I'd toss that out there. I love scrambled eggs.

 

.... Come to find out it was the front brake hose......

Good suggestion, but in first post, he said he replaced those.

 

Had a F*rd pickup that did almost the same thing. Just did a brake job using all new parts everything went together just fine. On test drive smelt something burning. Stopped and saw the front rotor/brake was glowing. Come to find out it was the front brake hose. It had become defective on the inside and would not let the pressure release. Not saying that is YOUR problem but could be another item to take a look at. Good luck..

 

I'll grab an ir gun on my next day off, luckily I live in a small town and am able to putt around most places I go. Wheel bearing/ hub assembly were both replaced around a year ago they spin freely and there is no play in them either. My thoughts have leaned towards master cylinder but I've been told by a few people that if your master is going out you just simply won't have brakes anymore which I haven't fully believed as that seems like it would only happen when the master completely fails.

 

Get an IR (infra-red) temp gun, and then go for a drive. Maybe get it up to speed to produce that symptom, then quickly pull over and measure rotor temps with the IR gun. If the left front temp is 350* and the right front temp is also 350* (or close), then the issue could be as suggested above - master cylinder.

However, if the IR gun shows 350* on one side and 140* on the other side, then you know you have troubles on the hot side. There's most always only two things that are gonna cause one side brake to heat up; a sticking caliper, or a bad flex line.

At this point, since you have replaced both of those items, I will not make a guess until you post IR test results. Drive around, test temps at all 4 wheels under various conditions, and post back here please.

Another possibility might be hub bearing going out, that could cause heat and shake.

Either way, be careful driving this thing 'til you get her fixed. Sounds a bit dangerous.

 

If the brakes are sticking try replacing the master cylinder.

Sounds like it's going bad and holding pressure on the brakes and heating them up really hot which will lead to warped rotors and shaking.

If the pedal is harder when it's doing all this, and the brakes are getting really hot then something isn't releasing. Good chance it's the master cylinder.