??brakes??

tigman250 · 07-23-2006, 07:59 PM

hello everyone, nice forum you have here. i have a 1997 Dodge Ram 4X4 that seems to have a braking problem. i just recently bought the truck used and the brakes pulsated when stopping, so i got the rotors turned and put new ceramic pads on the front and adjusted the rear drums. none of my efforts seemed to help any

you can actually bottom out the brake pedal! it has good pedal pressure just dosen't seem like it stops like it should.

i have 2 questions,
1 when i had the front calipers off the calipers didn't move back and forth very freely, could this be some of the problem. it would make sence if it was only pushing on one side of the rotor. how would i free it up so it would move better? does the sleeve tap out so i can lube it up?

2 according to the door the truck is supposed to have 225/75's on it and somewhere along the line it got 265/75's put on, are the brakes too small for the larger tire size? i don't think Dodge put larger brakes on trucks with bigger tires but i don't know for sure.

any help is appreciated
Thanks

bradrhale · 07-24-2006, 06:54 AM

bigger tires arent going to make a differance like that. pedal bottoming out, not stopping good, calipers not moving much, sounds like air in the system or lack of fluid.

tigman250 · 07-24-2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradrhale

bigger tires arent going to make a differance like that. pedal bottoming out, not stopping good, calipers not moving much, sounds like air in the system or lack of fluid.

bled the fronts when i changed the pads, guess i'll go do the rears to see if it helps.

when i said the calipers weren't moving well i meant sliding back and forth to keep them centered on the rotor.

thanks for your help!

anyone else?

desert ram · 07-24-2006, 07:35 PM

are you sure the rotors are/nt warp? i had that problem once.

Larry O'Daniel · 07-25-2006, 05:33 PM

Pulsating brakes usually mean that the rotors are warped or the rear drums are warped. You got the rotors turned, check the drums on back. Pedal bottoming? I agree--bleed the brakes starting with the furtherest from the master cylinder. If the rear brakes are not adjusted it will cause a low pedal. Air in the system will cause a soft pedal with a lot of travel. The sleeves in the caliper mounts will come out to be lubed, but follow directions of your dealer with what to lube them with, don't want hot grease running down on your rotor, you will not like it! The caliper should float to keep equal pressure on both sides, if it doesn't than you will not have good firm brakes. How many miles are on the vehicle? If many and the dust boots have torn or ruptured than the caliper piston may not be moving freely and straight causing unequal pressure, check the pistons: how easy do they travel in the caliper? do they seem to move straight in and straight out? If they are original black bakelite pistons it may be time for new calipers. Any air at all in the system will give a soft pedal, and it is not easy to get out if you don't have an auto bleeder or a pressure bleeder. Because you have pistons on only one side the calipers will not stay centered but will float across the rotor so don't worry about keeping the thing centered. As for the tires, well sounds like someone didn't like the "small" tires and put on bigger tires. Dodge fit the brakes to the truck, not the tires, so don't worry about the "bigger tires thus bigger brakes". Hope this helps.

tigman250 · 07-25-2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desert ram

are you sure the rotors are/nt warp? i had that problem once.

as stated in the first post i just had them turned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry O'Daniel

Pulsating brakes usually mean that the rotors are warped or the rear drums are warped. You got the rotors turned, check the drums on back. Pedal bottoming? I agree--bleed the brakes starting with the furtherest from the master cylinder. If the rear brakes are not adjusted it will cause a low pedal. Air in the system will cause a soft pedal with a lot of travel. The sleeves in the caliper mounts will come out to be lubed, but follow directions of your dealer with what to lube them with, don't want hot grease running down on your rotor, you will not like it! The caliper should float to keep equal pressure on both sides, if it doesn't than you will not have good firm brakes. How many miles are on the vehicle? If many and the dust boots have torn or ruptured than the caliper piston may not be moving freely and straight causing unequal pressure, check the pistons: how easy do they travel in the caliper? do they seem to move straight in and straight out? If they are original black bakelite pistons it may be time for new calipers. Any air at all in the system will give a soft pedal, and it is not easy to get out if you don't have an auto bleeder or a pressure bleeder. Because you have pistons on only one side the calipers will not stay centered but will float across the rotor so don't worry about keeping the thing centered. As for the tires, well sounds like someone didn't like the "small" tires and put on bigger tires. Dodge fit the brakes to the truck, not the tires, so don't worry about the "bigger tires thus bigger brakes". Hope this helps.

thanks for all the heplfull info Larry! the truck has 160,000 mi and the pass. side caliper was a bit stiff when i pushed it back when replacing the pads so it may be time for new calipers.

02F2504x4 · 07-25-2006, 10:45 PM

Did you do a brake flush? Because it sounds like you have air in your brake lines or your master cyclinder is going out I would check those out... Hopefully no one has posted this becuase I didn't read all the post lol...

Fortyfied · 07-26-2006, 09:19 AM

I have a 97 Dodge Caravan with the pedal-bottoms-out problem. The brakes work for normal operation but when it comes time to bring the vehicle to an emergency stop the braking system is not up to the task. It does not have the braking power to cause wheel lock-up or to engage the ABS. I had the dealer service the system including pads, fluid and master cylinder replacement and no improvement.

75K30 · 07-26-2006, 11:52 AM

Tigman250: Once in a while, the master cylinder will leak internally, (between the two reservoirs). If this happens the pedal will not have enough stroke to displace enough fluid volume to fill the calipers, or the wheel cylinders.
However, the pulsating pedal is interesting. Is the ABS system working properly? Does the light in the dash function properly? A bad magnetic sensor used to detect wheel rotation / speed, may be bad,(or a dirty tone ring) making the truck think it is in a low traction situation, and giving you less stoppping power, and pumping the brakes for you. This would explain the pulsation you mentioned.If your vehicle is equiped with such a system, it is worth a look.
Good luck.

tigman250 · 07-26-2006, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fortyfied

I have a 97 Dodge Caravan with the pedal-bottoms-out problem. The brakes work for normal operation but when it comes time to bring the vehicle to an emergency stop the braking system is not up to the task. It does not have the braking power to cause wheel lock-up or to engage the ABS. I had the dealer service the system including pads, fluid and master cylinder replacement and no improvement.

that's exactly what i tried to describe LOL. brakes are fine in everyday braking but when you really clamp down they aren't even close to what they should be. with what you just said Fortyfied i think i'll try calipers first before i try the master. from an above post i was thinking of trying that anayway but you helped me to think this is the right decision.

75K30, the pulsation was from warped rotors, i got them turned and that corrected that problem, as i just stated i plan to try calipers if that dosen't help i will move to the master.

thanks a million for all of your help!!

07-23-2006, 07:59 PM	#1
tigman250 Full Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 17	??brakes?? hello everyone, nice forum you have here. i have a 1997 Dodge Ram 4X4 that seems to have a braking problem. i just recently bought the truck used and the brakes pulsated when stopping, so i got the rotors turned and put new ceramic pads on the front and adjusted the rear drums. none of my efforts seemed to help any you can actually bottom out the brake pedal! it has good pedal pressure just dosen't seem like it stops like it should. i have 2 questions, 1 when i had the front calipers off the calipers didn't move back and forth very freely, could this be some of the problem. it would make sence if it was only pushing on one side of the rotor. how would i free it up so it would move better? does the sleeve tap out so i can lube it up? 2 according to the door the truck is supposed to have 225/75's on it and somewhere along the line it got 265/75's put on, are the brakes too small for the larger tire size? i don't think Dodge put larger brakes on trucks with bigger tires but i don't know for sure. any help is appreciated Thanks

07-25-2006, 10:45 PM	#7
02F2504x4 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cali Posts: 88	Did you do a brake flush? Because it sounds like you have air in your brake lines or your master cyclinder is going out I would check those out... Hopefully no one has posted this becuase I didn't read all the post lol... __________________ 2002 F-250 4x4 CC 7.3L DIESEL Mods Edge Evo Edge Juice W/ Attitude 4 Inch Turbo Back Exhaust Straight Pipe DIY Tymar Intake Foil Delete Recon Light Strip

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07-24-2006, 06:54 AM	#2
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,025	bigger tires arent going to make a differance like that. pedal bottoming out, not stopping good, calipers not moving much, sounds like air in the system or lack of fluid.

07-24-2006, 07:35 PM	#4
desert ram Full Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 23	are you sure the rotors are/nt warp? i had that problem once.

07-25-2006, 05:33 PM	#5
Larry O'Daniel Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Tulsa, stationed at Ft. Sill, OK Posts: 90	Pulsating brakes usually mean that the rotors are warped or the rear drums are warped. You got the rotors turned, check the drums on back. Pedal bottoming? I agree--bleed the brakes starting with the furtherest from the master cylinder. If the rear brakes are not adjusted it will cause a low pedal. Air in the system will cause a soft pedal with a lot of travel. The sleeves in the caliper mounts will come out to be lubed, but follow directions of your dealer with what to lube them with, don't want hot grease running down on your rotor, you will not like it! The caliper should float to keep equal pressure on both sides, if it doesn't than you will not have good firm brakes. How many miles are on the vehicle? If many and the dust boots have torn or ruptured than the caliper piston may not be moving freely and straight causing unequal pressure, check the pistons: how easy do they travel in the caliper? do they seem to move straight in and straight out? If they are original black bakelite pistons it may be time for new calipers. Any air at all in the system will give a soft pedal, and it is not easy to get out if you don't have an auto bleeder or a pressure bleeder. Because you have pistons on only one side the calipers will not stay centered but will float across the rotor so don't worry about keeping the thing centered. As for the tires, well sounds like someone didn't like the "small" tires and put on bigger tires. Dodge fit the brakes to the truck, not the tires, so don't worry about the "bigger tires thus bigger brakes". Hope this helps.

07-26-2006, 09:19 AM	#8
Fortyfied Full Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Davis, PRK Posts: 26	I have a 97 Dodge Caravan with the pedal-bottoms-out problem. The brakes work for normal operation but when it comes time to bring the vehicle to an emergency stop the braking system is not up to the task. It does not have the braking power to cause wheel lock-up or to engage the ABS. I had the dealer service the system including pads, fluid and master cylinder replacement and no improvement.

07-26-2006, 11:52 AM	#9
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	Tigman250: Once in a while, the master cylinder will leak internally, (between the two reservoirs). If this happens the pedal will not have enough stroke to displace enough fluid volume to fill the calipers, or the wheel cylinders. However, the pulsating pedal is interesting. Is the ABS system working properly? Does the light in the dash function properly? A bad magnetic sensor used to detect wheel rotation / speed, may be bad,(or a dirty tone ring) making the truck think it is in a low traction situation, and giving you less stoppping power, and pumping the brakes for you. This would explain the pulsation you mentioned.If your vehicle is equiped with such a system, it is worth a look. Good luck.