daysel

My truck pulls extremely hard to the left when I apply the brakes. I haven't even pulled a wheel off yet but, I have heard the brakes on these trucks are crap....but they're probably expensive right.
Is there like a proportioning valve or something other than the obvious I should check?
Thanks,

Mcmopar

I would bet the "pins" that hold the caliper on are crudded up or you have a caliper that is hanging up. Actually the parts are pretty cheap.

infidel

Even though it feels like it's coming from the front most of the time pull is caused by the rear brakes being out of adjustment. Dodge truck self adjusters are notorious for not self adjusting. Adjust them manually and continue to do so on a regular basis.

ccmckee

I just went through this problem a couple of weeks ago, I believe it was my flex lines to the calipers.I had replaced my rotors and pads this summer and then another set of pads in September. Then this severe pull issue came up, put a new set of calipers and flex lines on problem has been gone ever since. The reason i believe it was the flex lines is that i only replaced one side the first night and the pull was still there a bit until i did the other side.

daysel

Cool, thanks.
I just assumed they were expensive because most of the parts are. I'm new to diesel and they seem easier to work on but more expensive......oh and im pricing tranny parts right now too. Amazing how much you can spend.
I can buy a decent short block and rebuilt tranny for my 5.0 mustang for less than 1000. Torque converter alone cost that.
Anywho, I'll replace the flex lines and see what happens.
-D

Mcmopar

Yea, ....but that is for a FURD!!!


Sorry, I had to!!

FastSS

last time I did brakes, I just replaced my calipers for the heck of it... one had a cracked dust boot and when I found out they were a whole whopping $38 each, I replaced the other just for good measure.

Danderson

Had the same problem and cured it with Raybestos rebuilt calipers. Came out great.

daysel

It ended up being a broken brake pad on the right side. It was preventing the caliper from pressing.
...oh and my mustang will run 12s all day with the a/c on, gets 23mpg (driving easy of course) and those parts have lasted 4 years.
Not bad for a Furd.

daysel

I couldn't believe the calipers were only 30-40 bucks. I was asking for a caliper kit to rebuild it and the parts guy said they just sell the whole thing rebuilt now. huh...I thought they'd be like 100 bucks a piece or something. Thats great to know.
Hopefully I won't have to buy them soon.

torquefan

I find the most common reason for brake pull on these trucks to be a pad that has overheated. Most often you can't tell by looking at the pads, but if you switch the pads from side to side, it will pull the opposite direction.

96_12V

And...yes to answer the original question the brakes are one thing I would readily change on my truck. D-C went to 4-wheel disks in '02, really no excuse for such a large (and expensive) truck not to have 4-wheel disks. The brakes and the headlights are my two biggest "wish they were different" areas, not too bad overall as a truck!

daysel

Well, brakes and headlights are cheap and easy to replace.
The transmission and front ends are pretty lousy. The steering feels like and old rack and pinion with too much play and I've seen plenty of post on here about trucks hard to keep on the road.
I like the looks and the power but not the rest of the performance.
...It's like a hot chick that sux in bed. What do ya do??
...oh and what original question were you answering?

DL1221

I agree 100%.
I love both my 12-valve and 24-valve motors, for different reasons.

But I have to say, the brakes on my 96 are royal pieces of crap!
I think the only part I haven't replaced on that truck are the steel brake lines, and that's only because they don't rust out here in so cal.

If this keeps up, I'm taking my 12-valve and I'm sticking it in a Ford chassis.

torquefan

Many people have the perception that 4 wheel discs are far better than drums, but it's just not the case. The drum brakes do their job well, they're just not set up from the factory to do as much work as they should be. That's easy to remedy with some larger wheel cylinders. The reason our trucks started to stop better after 2000 is that they upgraded the FRONT brakes. The pads are much larger, with dual-piston calipers, and I believe the rotor diameter is greater. The drum brakes still work seamlessly in the background.

Then in 01.5 they went to rear discs. The trucks still stop well, but now you've got gravel and dust attacking the rear caliper slides and bushings, and slush, salt, and mud entering. Soon you've got a seized caliper, one pad has worn to metal, and you need a rotor. Additionally, the dirt loves to get inside the rear rotors and chew up those little shoes for the emergency brake. These reasons are why Ford and GM are discussing a return to rear drum brakes on pickups.