12 Valve Engine and Drivetrain Talk about the 12V engine and drivetrain here. This is for 1994-1998.5 engine and drivetrain discussion only.

i must be missing something

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Old Apr 24, 2012 | 07:42 PM
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cj360trider's Avatar
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From: Seymour Tn
i must be missing something

94 Ram.. rebuilt calipers and new front hoses. under 50% braking force it pulls hard right and if you stay on the pedal it corrects itself back to the left. Rear abs only. rear brakes adjusted 2 weeks ago. it didnt have any effect on the problem. system was flushed when calipers were rebuilt and hoses replaced. what am i overlooking???
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Old Apr 24, 2012 | 07:54 PM
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From: Redding,Ca
I have to guess there's still air in the lines, but I work on small planes for a living.... They have simple systems but air is air. Good Luck
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Old Apr 24, 2012 | 10:40 PM
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The 94s had lots of that type of issue. If you have the access to Dodge service bulletins, there's a big one called "chassis dynamics" that helps to diagnose this type of situation.

One big aid in diagnosing it is to determine whether it yanks the steering wheel when it veers off to one side, or does it veer off while the steering wheel stays straight ahead. If it does yank the wheel, I would first try swapping the front brake pads from side to side to see if that changes the direction of the pull. Pads that have been overheated or abused is a leading cause of erratic braking on these trucks. There is also a spec for clearance between the caliper and knuckle, at the top or bottom, on each side. I've found this to be fairly critical too.

Anyway, if you locate and read through that bulletin, there's lots of checks to be made, and it's surprising the things that can actually contribute to this condition. I went through this on dozens of 94s when they were still new and under warranty. Hope this helps.
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 08:15 AM
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From: Seymour Tn
Its strange to me that its only 94s for the most part...did they change that much in the 95 to take care of these issues?
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 10:01 AM
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there's a big one called "chassis dynamics"
Here you go, all 27 pages> http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1997/05-03-97/page1.html
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 10:57 AM
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Id guess a sticky caliper. Sometimes I have success with removing the pads, pumping the piston out a couple times and using paraffin or WD40 to clean / lube the seal. push it back in, pump it out and re-lube, etc.
Is there a ridge of rust on the piston?
I usually get new calipers rather than put in new seals. Theyre cheap and I dont have to mess with those $!@#$ bleed screws that rot out.
Put some anti-seize on the bleed screw threads if you do
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 11:25 AM
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From: Seymour Tn
when i rebuilt my calipers the seals were replaced calipers honed, pistons cleaned WELL. slides were also gone thru and moved quite freely. and the f****** rounded off bleeders were replaced w new ones. i was originally thinking it was the hoses but after i replaced them and no change it left me scratching my head. its in my plans to delete the R ABS valve but im very skeptical that wud make any difference here and TorqueFan it pulls the wheel both ways. after reading thru the TSB i thin im gonna get another set of eyes and powerbrake the truck while someone is looking at my front control arms and bushings. my steering is new between spindles and gear box i have a properly adj lukes link on the track bar. Brand new tires brand new wheels adjusted rear brakes 2 weeks ago. according to TSB i DONT have a Prop valve in my truck just a combo valve. i wonder what the chances are of that being bad
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 10:17 PM
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Originally Posted by cj360trider
Its strange to me that its only 94s for the most part...did they change that much in the 95 to take care of these issues?
As I recall, 95s still had some issues, but not as bad, same with 96. By 97, they were coming equipped from the factory with a spacer behind the RF wheel, the addition of which was spelled out in the bulletin. Every year the problems got less, although those front ends were still very sensitive to anything that wasn't just right.

They are still very sensitive to any difference in the friction of the pads from side to side, and I have seen pads cause problems right from new, especially if they got worked too hard during the break-in test drive. That's why I suggested swapping the pads from side to side to see if it makes a difference. After trying several types of lining, I found Raybestos Quiet Stop to be by far the best for consistent braking and handling overheating without causing problems. I put a set of those in mine about 30k miles ago, they still work well and have over 70% remaining.

Another thing you can do, just to rule out the rears, is to pinch off the rear brake hose with a pinch-off clamp and go for a drive with only the fronts working and see if it's any different.
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Old May 24, 2012 | 04:12 PM
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From: Seymour Tn
well i finally got around to swapping the inner pad on my front brakes. jury is in and torquefan is right the pull is from the other direction and exactly the same strength and characteristics so when i get some change ill put pads and rotors on it to start fresh.
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Old May 27, 2013 | 10:16 AM
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From: Seymour Tn
I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!!!!!!! It was my wheel bearings causing the opposite pulls when braking. i have had to replace both front wheel bearings in the last year and depending on which one was bad wud dictate which way it wud pull first then correct itself and go back. essentially what was happening is the bad wheel bearing was collapsing that caliper more than other so when brake pedal was applied the other side grabbed and the bad wheel bearing side had to catch up hence a pull one way then the other
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