Time for a semi-stupid question, apologies in advance.

I've got rear disc brakes on my truck. The pads are good, the rotor is good, but by the seat of the pants they don't seem to be giving the vehicle as much stopping power as they used to. (Braking feels much heavier on the front.) Backing up and applying the brakes firmly hasn't made a difference. Am I right in assuming there's no other "external" adjustment for rear disc brakes, and my only option is to tear them down?

Thanks!

 

If the calipers move freely then your problum might be with the load adjuster/senor on the r. axial I've read a few posts on both sites about making some adjustments or mods. there , with a unloaded bed it does little braking to avoid lockup , a little playing around there will give you more braking to the rear. Or keep a load in the truck.

 

I'll check the FSM later when I get home, but I don't think there's any sort of adjustment on the rear discs at all. The back up and stop trick works for drums, but discs are supposed to be self-adjusting as far as I know, which is why you have to press the pistons back in when you change pads. You might check the brake fluid, make sure it's up to the mark.

 

They did away with that when they put disc brakes on the rear.


phox

 

The only adjustment mentioned in the FSM for rear discs is for the parking brake shoes. One other thing comes to mind; how are your shocks? If they're worn out, a lot of dive might give more weight transfer to the front.

 

quad KYB Monomax's front, and a pair in the rear. D25 springs, Airlift bags rear. Lots of other things - I took care of the suspension and steering issues with the genII Dodge awhile back.

But I appreciate the effort. Thanks!

It's brake teardown time, I think. I'd swear the back calipers aren't engaging at all by the feel of it.

 

Just thouhgt of a couple of other parts , I did'nt notice if someone else mentioned these or not but I think you should have a perportionig valve under the master cyl. that if you loose hyd. presure to either side of it then a piston shuts flow off to the leaking side to limp home. then the the other is a rair one that can be hard to find until you've had your first one and that is sometimes the hose comes apart on the inside first and a flap of rubber acks like a valve, I've seen 2-3 of these in 25yrs. , this may or maynot apply to yours but its such a fluke that the idea may help someone .

 

If I recall, someone mentioned they bled the brakes to cure this problem -- flush out the old fluid and make sure you don't have any air in the line.