xxwildbillxx

Just replaced truck's rear rotors/pads and noticed one of the passenger side pads was worn prematurely right down to the pad plate (don't recall if it was outside or inside pad?). Didn't think much of it since I was doing a complete brake job on both sides... however, while driving to work a few days later I noticed the tell tale scent of overheated brakes and light white smoke coming from the passenger side tire which I found odd since I completely sanded/cleaned/anti-siezed and installed new stainless steel retainer clips! I've done quite a few brake jobs over the last 30 years and never experienced anything this extreme. Equaly as strange, the brake problem seemed to resolve itself while it sat and cooled down during my work shift. Unfortunately, a few days later, the same exact hot brake/white smoke condition returned out of the blue. I've checked the more obvious possibilities... (1) Brake fluid level checks out fine. (2) Emergency Brakes check out. (3) All the other pads/rotors and lines check out fine. I'm guessing (and I hate "guessing" as much I hate "shotguning" unnecessary parts) that something is up with the caliper and its time to swap the OEM for an aftermarket(?) Incidentally, a friend suggested a few other "possibilities" (1) Air trapped in/near psngr side brake line? (2) Damaged Caliper Piston/Cups? (3) Residual Valve issue(?) Incidentally, I've never had the lines open, nor noticed any leaks.

Any thoughts regarding what would cause such an intermittent overheat condition would sure be appreciated!

jforce

Mine's hung twice. The right rear caliper. Its cooled each time and been Ok since. We have the same truck. Mine was Assembled in Mexico. Might have too close a tolerance on the piston in the calipers,not sure.

GregC

Had the same problem on my 04. I'll be replacing the caliper, pads, and the brake hose as well this weekend. Sometimes those hoses fail internally and won't let the pressure release from the caliper. $140 for the caliper pads and hose.

Guardrail

It's a common problem with Dodge trucks. The caliper sticks and brakes drag. It's best to just replace them.

Guardrail

Steve-l

The pistons in the caliper have a plastic coating on them and it appears they swell over time and bind. I have replaced both rear calipers for this reason.

Kowalski

Just had similar thing happen to mine on the rear. Pull the caliper off and check that the steel sleeve slides easily inside the rubber boot. Mine would slide but took a lot of force. Found rust and scale on the outside of the boot in the hole of the caliper cleaned out the rust and put a little lube in the boot and works good and no brake stink.

xxwildbillxx

Checked local auto parts store and found a right rear caliper for $50 (after core return) not thrilled about cracking the line open & replacing the caliper but considering the relatively low cost it seems well worth putting an end to the aggravation and the unknown possibility of prematurely wearing out another pad & rotor. Appreciate all the replies!

rockcrawler304

This would also be the perfect time to flush the fluid if you haven't done that yet! Old brake fluid can cause lots of problems.

It's also recommended to change calipers in pairs. Just throwing that one out there.

Spooler

Yeap, change both fronts or both rears in pairs. It's been like this for a while on Dodge brake calipers. I fully expect to have to replace my rears when the time comes to do the brakes.