Archived Break pull

[sidk]

99 4x4, auto, short bed. 80k

I just had my upper and lower ball joints replaced. Also, both front calipers were replaced with new pads. I had the front end alinged and they put in a shim kit to adjust for caster.

The truck now pulls sharpely to the left when I apply the brakes and wanders somewhat. It also drifts slowly to the right on the freeway when I let go of the wheel.



Before this, the truck stopped straight as an arrow.

Have had it back numerious times to the dealer and I'm getting the run around.

Any idea's?

Thanks

Sid

 

[SummitRoofs]

Some dodges develop a brake pull problem and can be hard to correct. My brother had a dodge that did this for a long time and with many shop visits.



2 suggestions.



check of have the track bars checked.



and



Keep good records.



In the case of my brother he paid a fairly large amount of money to have his problem fixed and kept taking it back to the dealer as the problem never went a way.



Because he had good records the dealership finally took it back under a lemon law.



Probably will not come to that as i think this can usually be corrected.



Good luck

 

[paulen]

My truck had a brake pull from the beginning. Many trips to the dealer later it was better but on hard stops it still wanted to change lanes. Numerous times the dealer replaced the pads with new Mopar pads, along with other fixes. Wrote it off as part of the trucks "character". Finally at 75,000 miles I had to replace the brake pads myself (first non-warranty pad change). I used Bendix Titanium pads that were recommended by a friend and for the first time since its birth the truck stops straight as an arrow. The pads are not cheap, but, you get what you pay for. The pads were changed 5000 miles ago and still no pull. If I would have thought it would have caused that drastic a change I would've got rid of those cheap Mopar pads way earlier. Good Luck

 

[emjay]

The wandering and instability you describe sounds like the caster is not set correctly (and perhaps the toe-in). As far as the brakes go, get it aligned right first and let the brake pads seat before doing anything to them.



Pulling sharply to one side or the other may be caused by a number of things in addition to misalignment -- binding caliper or caliper piston, warped rotors, etc. If the caster is negative, that is the top ball joint in front of the axle centerline, the truck will be very unstable because the wheels want to go to one extreme (right or left) rather than return to center. The same thing can happen if the toe-in is mis-adjusted. You may want to go to a reputable alignment shop and have the caster, camber and toe-in measured, and if it is out of spec, get a printout and take it back to the dealer that did the work and explain that they screwed up your truck and they need to fix it because it is unsafe to drive.



I just replaced my front pads and rotors and it took a few hundred miles before the brakes were totally effective. It didn't pull sharply, though, it only drifted to the right on hard braking.



My truck is a 2000 3500 4x4, and the caster is adjustable using eccentric cams on the axle end of the front lower control arms, not shims. Is the '99 different? Does it have leaf springs in the front?



A lot of people make the mistake of shimming the front axle to align the pinion to the driveshaft (usually after a lift kit is installed), but rotating the front pinion up makes the caster go toward negative.

 

[sonorakitch]

If you just had your ball joints replaced, check for any leaks from the axle shaft. My truck has the identical problem right now, and the darn thing is leaking out of the axle and soaking the rotor. Best of luck to the both of us...



~Chris

 

[emjay]

Good point, Chris. If your ball joints are sufficiently worn, the excessive axle run-out could easily damage or destroy the axle seals.

 

[icarus33]

Sid,



Don't forget about the rear brake shoe adjustment. The rear auto adjusters do not work. The rear brakes have an enormous effect on pull when braking and is often over looked.

One way is lift both rear tires, transmission in neutral and spin the tires by hand, listening for the shoe to rub the drum, adjust the star wheel until rubbing is just heard.



I've also had good success just adjusting the starwheel till it will no longer turn, then use a second screwdriver to release the locking plate and reverse the starwheel back 10-12 clicks which loosens the shoes again. This can be done without lifting the vehicle.



Usually the direction the truck is pulling is the rear side that is applying more rear brake force. Either that drum is set tighter or the other drum is too loose.



ic

 

[sidk]

Originally posted by sidk

99 4x4, auto, short bed. 80k

I just had my upper and lower ball joints replaced. Also, both front calipers were replaced with new pads. I had the front end alinged and they put in a shim kit to adjust for caster.

The truck now pulls sharpely to the left when I apply the brakes and wanders somewhat. It also drifts slowly to the right on the freeway when I let go of the wheel.



Before this, the truck stopped straight as an arrow.

Have had it back numerious times to the dealer and I'm getting the run around.

Any idea's?

Thanks

Sid