Howdy:

I'm looking for a 2002 because of the 4 wheel discs. BUT, I got curious why rear discs are an advantage, did a web search, and was surprised to learn that other than in race cars, drums are consider better for braking in the rear than disc, the downside being the abs stuff doesn't work so well on 'em. I read that heavy trucks all use rear drums.
Since I can buy an 01 for several grand less than an o2, it seems to me the 01 is the way to go. Oh, 02 is the newest I want because after than the engine isn't like my old '93. Nothing wrong with my '93 but i want to tow a 5th wheel around the US. My 93 has been to Mexico and all over but I think a newer one will be more comfortable for this long trip.
Any thoughts on why I shouldn't buy the 01 with drum rears would be appreciated!

 

Drums aren't as cool, or as easy to fix. With the upgraded cylinders though, they work without much fuss.

I do like working on the disc rears, easy as pie.......

Not a big fan of the 24 valve though. 97-98.4 would be the newest one I would run.

 

Drums don't shed heat as well as discs do, so brake fade becomes more of a concern with them when ridden hard.

 

Drums don't clean out well either, get mud or sand in them and they will squeal.

Rear discs downfall is the parking break, not near as good as a drum.

 

Its pretty much not that big of a deal since the rear brakes only do about 25% of the total braking.

Discs on an 01.5 can pull rotors w/o pulling axles.

Parking brake is a drum in hat design, so not really any better than drums.

Pads are easier/faster to change out.

Easier to inspect for wear by just pulling tire.

Bads: Cheap pads dust up wheels and squeel.

Able to warp rotors if driving thru deep puddle with hot discs/probably same on drums but not so severe.

Apparently trucks wiht rear discs cost more than those w/o.

I'd make an offer lowballing on the disc brake trucks and see what you can get.

 

Four wheel disc brakes make for better brake feel when driving on the edge of adhesion, so they work better in performance cars.

Disc's also resist fade much better than drums, but the rear rarely does more than 25% of the braking, so drums on the rear are OK. It's also why there were disc front/drum rear cars and trucks for decades.

I have an 01 with rear drums and have run all over Baja with no problems. I would not worry about it.

 

About a decade and a half ago, I worked for a company who supplied parts for large trucks to a local fuel filling depot (where the big trucks go to load up their tankers) who had their own fleet of peterbuilts.

All of the peterbuilt trucks that started their life off there, came with front disc brakes on the tractor, and rear drums. Every single truck was converted over to front drums.

According to the head mechanic there, the drums stopped the trucks better than the discs, as the discs on the peterbuilts were easily heated up and created brake fade.... I guess due to all of that 80,000 lbs of fuel moving around. This was counter intuitive to what I thought was the best braking system. I guess it all depends., huh ?

 

All of the buses I drive have front and rear drums, the one I'm in now is rated at 33,000GVWR and it will outstop my wife's A6. I don't have to work on them so I like the drums. As long as you know how to drive in the mountians I think shear stoping power goes to drums. If you don't know how to use engine power to slow down you don't belong in the mountians with a trailer because I see/smell people burning down disk brakes all the time down the pass.

 

Dodge put rear discs back there to vastly improve stopping power. The brakes on my '98.5 2500 auto were pitiful. My friend's 2500 w/manual has the Dana 80 with larger shoes which helps quite a bit. Rear discs were the logical solution. Go for the '02.

I drove a '92 Hino cabover for 17 yrs until I retired. It had very effective,mammoth drums. Maybe if Dodge would have put larger rear drums it would have helped. My '86 F-250 had lousy brakes also.

 

Thanks to all of you. I will be looking at an 01 probably. I understand discs are easier to service but the dealer where I live is great and I am better at saws than wrenches so go there. Besides, rears last a long time and I understand the newer trucks don't require the axle pulled to inspect. There's a "sight hole" in the wheel?
I was surprised at the comment about not liking newer than 98.5. I've heard up to 02 is essentially the same low maintenance engine.
By the way, if you're looking for a truck, http://craigslist.com is good but if you want to see a selection (at least in the NW area) look at http://autotrader.com They sure have a lot of 'em.

George

 

I drove part time longer ago than that for an outfit that bought a number of '87 Mack tractors with discs all around. They all were changed to drums over time and the company still run drums on everything. I don't work for them anymore but my brother has been there almost 40 years so I know what goes on.


My '01 has drums and work fine. I had the early AM brake lock up and they did not seem to stop well. I finally got around to checking the rear adjustment and they were way loose. Stops much better and no early morning lock up now. I back into our fairly long driveway and stop it several times with the parking brake and the adjustment seems to stay tight doing that.

 

When talking about the big trucks, discs have greater stopping power but drums have greater thermal mass. Drums can dissipate heat better and longer due to the mass, this is much more important in big trucks than stopping power as they usually have plenty of brakes for that.

 

Don't forget there is the hydroboost vs. vacuum booster detail. 2nd gens came with vacuum/drum first (94-98?); then to hydroboost/drum (98-01?); and finally hydroboost/disc (01-02).

Hydroboost on its own is a major improvement in brakes.

Many trucks in the 1.5ton to 5-ton range have rear disc. Even my '88 Winnebago does - drums would fade waaaaay too quick on that ride.

 

Was your friends truck 2k or newer? I've got a D70 from a 2001 kicking around, it has wider drums than my '98 D80.

 

Not even close, 98.5 brought electronic controls to the Cummins. Not that they are junk by ANY means, but they will not run without the computer talking to the engine, really doesn't matter if the Computer can't talk or the Engine can't listen it isn't going to run.

If I needed more than a 12 valve would do, I would go to 03/04 Common rail. 05-up seems to have more issues.