2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission brakes sqeak, pull

[GaryMoore]

new brakes sqeak, grab

I just had $477 (dealer pads, rotors)in new fronts and $120 (shadetree mech) in new rears. I did what the manual said to do to adjust the brakes and now all are squealing and grab when I apply pressure.

Is it the oem pads and shoes that are the problem?

Are there better replacements out there?

Thanks... gary moore

 

[GaryMoore]

Anyone have any ideas on this?

Thanks... . gary

 

[BK]

Most will tell you that there are better pads, but by nature most will squel and make noise... eventually or for some time. Friends of mine that are dealer mechanics say they've seen more problems with after market and tend to stick with OEM on all of the cars/trucks they own. So that's another whole subject.



I've never seen a dealer do a brake job correctly.

They slap on the pads and call it done.

The rams front floating calipers need to be cleaned and correctly greased and even if you don't need pads each year, each year they should be cleaned and greased correctly and the rear brakes adjusted about every 5K or so, so they contribute correctly.



The front rotors needed to be cleaned before installed, to remove any grease from prepping for storage and handling.

The front calipers horns needed to be cleand and contact surfaces lightly greased with a hi temp brake grease. The mounting/floating bolts and boots needed to be cleaned and re greased with the hi temp brake grease, or replaced if too boogered up, and they are cheap to buy. I don't know if your a 2x4 or 4x4, but the rotors on a 4x4 are a bear todo. . I never looked at doing the rotors on a 2x4 before.



When doing the rears, the backing plate needs to be cleaned and the contact points very lightly greased.



I think the System needs to be bleed each year, more so flushed. I do, to swap out the fluid and remove moisture that causes rust in the cylinders and calipers.

But I doubt this is your problem. .

more so I would think the pulling is from the lack of proper maintenence on the front and possible lack of cleaning the rotors well.

The rears don't contribute to pulling unless they aren't working at all and the fronts are over heating and things went south quickly.



The rears contribute a lot to the feel and height of the pedal on intial braking.

If the pedal feels low and all else is fine, the rear maynot be adjusted up correctly.

 

[GAdams4570]

HI Gary, If I understand you correctly, the dealer did the front brakes and you did the rear. These repairs were done at different times. i. e. You had the pads and rotors changed and then drove home to do the drum brakes. If this is the case, when did the problem occur? Did you notice it coming home from the dealer, or did you notice it after the drum brakes were done? Rear brakes have a primary and a secondary shoe. One per side, the primary at the front and the seconday at the rear. I have seen "professional" brake jobs where the primary shoes were on one side and the seconday were on the other side. I hope this is helpful to you. Good luck. Greg Adams

 

[GAdams4570]

Last thought. There is a difference between brakes that pull and brakes that grab. You used both terms in the post. It might be helpful to clarify what the problem is. Again - Good luck Greg

 

[GaryMoore]

Sorry and thanks much for the replies,



The problem (besides the squeak, how annoying) is grabbing. It is especially bad when the brakes are cold. If I have any speed at all, the first use in the morning will just about launch you into the windshield with the slightest pressure. It is better, but not great after warming up.



I feel like a real doofus for not thinking about this before the original post, but the problem happened after the rear install. I got the truck back and drove to detroit. After a 5 hour drive I was moving into the hotel room and noticed a hot smell. The rear brake drums were very hot. So I followed the instructions in factory service manual for back up brake adjustment. After that, the heat problem went away, but the grabbing, squealing was really much worse.

At the moment I am commuting 700 miles a week to Detroit and cannot maintain my vehicle myself. I took the truck to a local mechanic to do the rear brakes (I drove the wifes' Mary Kay car while it was down, very humiliating!), The fronts were done by a Daimler Chrysler dealer in Rockford Illinois. Oem pads, rotors on front. Autozone shoes on back.

I am pretty sure it is the front causing the grab and the rear is the squealing.

I also had problems before and after both brake jobs, but normally only in wet weather. Before the pads were changed, I had soaked the brakes pretty good and had grabbing problems that did not go away once the pads dried.

Now it does not matter,wet or dry.

So, Have I glazed the rear shoes? Is that what is causing the squeak? I really cannot figure out why the new front pads would be grabbing.

Any easy solution to all of this?

Thanks ... . gary

 

[GaryMoore]

Primary and Secondary

I just caught the comment about the primary and secondary. Could this attribute to the tightness in the rear brake adjustment? It seems to be worse on left rear. I also have what appears to be an on and off drag while moving slowly. Could this be a symptom of the shoes being improperly installed?

Thanks... gary

 

[BK]

It does sound as if you glazed the rear.

If you pull the E brake, does the drag while your slowly moving even out?

IF yes, than besides glazing the rear, may have wrapped a drum.



The grabbing, but not pulling to one side or the other?



Most of the brake pedal feel and level comes from the rear. If they're stuck in some position, you may have other problems from the overheating, like one shoe stuck in a position close to the drum. One time I had adjusted my rears a bit higher than I should have I would describe the brakes as being grabby.



The backing up procedure only works soo much. The periodic adjustment is done by lifting the rear wheels off the ground, transmission in neutral and adjusting the adjusting star in the drum through the access slot. . while spinning the wheel light continuous contact is listened for.

The automatic rear adjusters on most vehicles are known for not working well.

And to keep from overheating the fronts, the manual adjustment is needed.

 

[GAdams4570]

shoe replacement

I just caught the comment about the primary and secondary. Could this attribute to the tightness in the rear brake adjustment? It seems to be worse on left rear. I also have what appears to be an on and off drag while moving slowly. Could this be a symptom of the shoes being improperly installed?

Thanks... gary

The brake shoes for each rear wheel consists of two components: a primary (or front) shoe and a seconday (or rear) shoe. The two can be distinguished because the primary shoe has a shorter friction surface. If the secondary shoes are both on the same side you will have more friction (and heat) on one side. Pull off the drums and inspect the work that has been done. Then you will know for sure. Good luck! Greg

 

[Nate]

When I did my truck, the pads were all the same length, as were the ones that were on there too.

 

[GAdams4570]

When I did my truck, the pads were all the same length, as were the ones that were on there too.

Pads or shoes? Pads will be the same but shoes can be different. Greg

 

[GAdams4570]

Perhaps I should have said that they can be different but not always. Thanks for the input Nate. . Greg

 

[Nate]

Sorry, yes I meant the shoes. The reason I posted that mine where the same length is I'm a bit curious now. My brother and I did the brakes this June, and all was well. At the end of July, I pulled my Jeep up to Fairbanks (850 miles round trip) and on the way there, the driver's side rear brake was running hot. Hot enough that I got the burning brake smell. On the way back though, it was ok.

It's been fine after that, but a few nights ago, I went out to Eagle River (just ~15 miles) and the smell came back.



Also sometimes when I brake it pulls to the right, but not always.



I was thinking perhaps I did something wrong with the brakes, though I can't imagine what it'd be. I'm going to pull it apart this week and look for anything obvious.

 

[jtwcummins]

Did you change the hardware on the rears when you did the shoes? This should be done every time the rears are replaced.

 

[Nate]

Yup. We did have to reuse 1 of the old springs one both as the hardware kit didn't have the correct one, but the spring was in good shape, not rusty or anything.