pred

I have an 89 1 ton, with the correct shoes, and pads, All are new, The rear wheel cylinders are good, and the auto adjusters are working properly.
Yet while on the highway, after a few miles, The brakes are poor, I have to heat them up before they stop well,
The truck never pulls tp one side, and try as i might, I cannot get one wheel to lock up, She will stop well, But with alot of pedal pressure.
I am a bit confused about this, My other two trucks are 4 wheel discs, and have never had this issue, I had a suburban many many years ago, and still no issues like this.
In the dry, No matter how cold, brakes are great!
Any suggestions???
Also i have no leaks as far as brake fluid goes, all the brakes are dry!
Peter.

wannadiesel

Mine does the same thing. I think the rotors get wet.

P.J

I would say that and much cooler since you are off of them for longer periods and they are getting splashed with cool water.

Mine used to get stupid on me when I hadn't applied them in a while (in the rain), once I feathered them a few times it usually grabbed a little better.

Scary though.

pred

I dont like the feeling, Dave you were in my MB, front discs and rear drums, I have better braking in that thing after 1/4 mile through 2-3' of water, than in the dodge in the rain, Is there a better dust guard for the front brakes mabey? Seems like the one on there covers alot!
Peter.

wannadiesel

I don't like it much either. Maybe a residual pressure valve in the line would be the way to go. That would make the pads drag just a little to keep the brakes warm.

pred

4 piston in the MB, Mabey that is the difference,
I will just be really cautious in the rain ! ! ! ! !

Totallyrad

Just hunt'n here, but I had a leaky booster once, not bad but made the peddle hard to push and the brakes acted the same way as yours.

Begle1

That's what happened when I had a bad booster.

My temporary fix was to push the seat forward three clicks to get enough leverage to use the brake pedal...


Actually, that's how I picked up the habit of driving with both feet.

redwake9112

Begle..... ...that is hilarious. Ummm...as for my brakes...when wet...when I first drive the truck I will lock them up if I do not feather them EXTREMELY lightly. I have locked them up going less than 5 mph...believe it or not...kind of embarrassing....got plenty of looks for that one.

Micaiahfied

what pads are you guys running? ceramic aren't as good cold...

Jethrro

I second that I live in Oregon where they are wet 10 months out of the year. Jethrro

cleatusj

Shift to nutral before applying brakes to see if it makes a differance, it helps alot with auto to keep fronts from locking.

whereswaldo250

I hate having hard brakes . I have them all the time when I'm coming to a stop in neutral. But if I down shift my braks are fine. Any solutions??

Boatnik

Have you adjusted the rears.
Mine were hard until I did a complete brake system overhaul, one piece at time. I wound up replacing stuff from the master cylinder to the rear shoes including all the hardware, except the brake lines, rotors, drums, calipers and RWAL brake modulator. My old adjusters were froze with dirt and rust and the adjuster wheel was worn down in just one area.

DBF

I can't speak to an 89, but I hated the rear brakes on my 92. Stupid adjusters don't, and so forth. Front disks are ok.

I finally went to rear disk brakes. That's been a whole 'nuther story (footnote 1) regarding maintenance, but rear disks are the answer, with normal front disk inspection and change.

Regards, DBF

1. They lasted 60,000 miles without problem. But finding the correct replacement rotors and pads took sessions in Anchorage AK and Holland MI. I think I have it under control now - it's a matter of selecting the right components in the first place. O