Ram 2500 Diesel Brake Repair in Kirkland, WA: Metal-on-Metal Fronts and a Blown-Out Caliper

This 2018 Ram 2500 Tradesman, a crew cab 4x4 with the 6.7-liter diesel and 102,899 miles on it, left our Kirkland shop on September 25 with new front brakes, both fuel filters, fresh fluid in both differentials and the transfer case, and a diesel oil service. The front brakes were the urgent part. When our technician inspected them, they were metal on metal.

What we found at the front brakes

From the technician’s notes on the repair order:

Inspected front brakes and found front brakes metal on metal. Found left front caliper to be blown out and pad missing due to overwear.

That’s three separate problems stacked on each other. The pads had worn through their friction material, so steel backing plate was riding on the rotor. On the left front, the pad was worn so far that it was missing entirely. And the left front caliper, the hydraulic clamp that squeezes the pads against the rotor, had blown out.

The failed front parts weren’t photographed. The rears were, and they tell the other half of the story.

The rears measured 11 mm

The rear left pads measured 11 mm through the caliper window. The rear right measured the same.

We did a rear brake service on this truck in July 2025, at 80,462 miles. About 22,400 miles later, both rear corners measured 11 mm, marked green, and they were left alone. On a heavy diesel pickup, the front brakes do most of the stopping, and on this truck that’s where all the wear was.

The work performed

Front brake service with fluid flush: $1,250–$1,750. Removed the wheels, calipers, pads and rotors. Cleaned the rotor mounting surfaces. Installed new front rotors, Akebono Severe Duty ultra-premium pads, and remanufactured calipers with new installation hardware on both sides, all torqued to spec. Then the brake fluid was flushed from the master cylinder, calipers and lines with new DOT 3 and the system was bled. Road test OK. More on how we handle brake repair and brake fluid flushes.

Both fuel filters: $550–$750. Replaced the under-hood fuel filter, then raised the truck, drained the rear fuel/water separator and replaced that filter too. Both were genuine Mopar. Primed the fuel system and road tested. The last time these filters were changed was here, in July 2025. Diesel fuel system service.

Differential and transfer case service: $625–$900. Removed the front and rear differential covers, cleaned both mounting surfaces, installed new Mopar cover gaskets, torqued the bolts to spec, and filled both differentials with 75W-90 full synthetic gear oil. Drained the transfer case and refilled it with genuine Mopar transfer case fluid for the BorgWarner 44-45 case. Drivetrain service.

Diesel oil service with multi-point inspection: $250–$340. Twelve quarts of 15W-40 diesel oil and a Mopar filter, lights inspected, fluids topped off including the DEF tank, tires rotated and pressures reset. Oil change and filter replacement.

Cabin air filter, no charge. The inspection marked it red. It came out full of pine needles and went back in as a Bosch HEPA filter. Cabin filter replacement.

The old cabin filter. Everything caught in those pleats is what the cabin air was passing through.

Recorded labor across the visit: 6.5 hours.

The leak we didn’t fix

The inspection flagged one more red item: the front timing gear cover was leaking oil, in the technician’s words, “pretty badly.”

Looking up at the front of the engine. The crossmember and frame below the timing cover are wet with oil.

A closer look at the timing cover area, with oil built up around the cover and its bolts.

We didn’t quote it. The recommendation on the invoice was to schedule that repair with Pacific Diesel Service in Monroe. We’re comfortable with maintenance, brakes, fuel filters and drivetrain service on a 6.7L diesel, and that’s what this visit was. When a job belongs with a specialist, we’d rather tell you so than take it on.

What it cost

The visit landed in the $2,800–$3,700 range, completed September 2026. The front brake job was the largest single line by a wide margin, driven by two remanufactured calipers and heavy-duty rotors on top of the pads. The differential and transfer case service came next, then the two fuel filters, then the oil service.

That range reflects a completed historical project, not a current quote. A different truck with different findings will price differently.

Questions about this job

Why replace both front calipers when only the left one failed?

The repair order records that both front calipers were replaced with remanufactured units. We didn’t record a separate failure on the right side, so we’re not going to invent one here.

Is metal-on-metal braking safe to drive on?

It shouldn’t be driven. Steel on steel stops poorly, heats the rotor, and in this truck’s case had already progressed to a missing pad and a failed caliper. If your brakes are grinding, book a brake inspection before the next long drive.

Why were the rear pads fine when the fronts were gone?

The rears had been replaced about 22,400 miles earlier, and the front axle does most of the braking on a heavy pickup. Different ages, different jobs.

Do you work on diesel trucks?

Yes, for maintenance and repairs like the ones on this invoice. For some engine work, like the timing cover leak on this truck, we’ll point you to a diesel specialist. More on our Ram service in Kirkland.

Another brake job from our Kirkland shop: the Ford F-150 we flagged as not safe to drive until its leaking caliper was fixed.

Prepared from our job records for this truck: the repair order and technician notes, the multi-point inspection with photos, the parts list, the final invoice, and the truck’s earlier service history with us. The failed front brake parts were not photographed.