How many miles on your rear brakes?

[DGFoster]

I was just curious how many miles everybody has on there rear brake shoes,I got 83000 miles on mine and they are still like new,I never did like the stopping power of my truck,I guess the front pads are all that is stopping this truck,anybody eles having the same problem,and is there a fix for this.

The rear brakes must not be adjusting them selves,any sugestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[CPH]

Got 160,000 and they are going to be replaced next week.



Charlie

 

[mikel]

I've got about 800 so far. They seem to be holding up quite nicely.





Seriously though, I assume that your truck has drums in the back. I had a '99 with rear drums and about every other oil change (Depending on how much city driving I did) I would have to manually adjust them. They are supposed to automatically adjust, but that didn't work on my other truck. I used to adjust them by this method:



I'd tighten the adjusters until they were tight and the shoes were out against the drums all the way. Then I'd loosen the adjusters out 4 to 6 clicks. It took about 15 minutes and I needed two screwdrivers (One to adjust and the other to hold the ratchet away from the adjusting wheel so that I could loosen it) and about 15 minutes to do both wheels. The first few times you do this you will need to feel the drums after a short drive to verify that you have backed off the adjusters enough and one brake is not dragging.



Good luck,

Mike

 

[TowPro]

83K mine failed state inspection. they looked brand new, except for all these little cracks in them! So I replaced them. I also replaced the drums (also had heat cracks). Plus the drums were warped so bad the truck would just about jump off the ground on hard braking!



Now 3K miles latter, my rear vibration while braking came back, just like the truck has had since about 2 months after it was new.



And these are the good raybestos drums! I can't win.



About the adjusters not working, your correct, they don't work. In fact I thought the owners manual sugusted manual adjustment every oil change?

Originally posted by Dodgeboyz

I was just curious how many miles everybody has on there rear brake shoes,I got 83000 miles on mine and they are still like new,I never did like the stopping power of my truck,I guess the front pads are all that is stopping this truck,anybody eles having the same problem,and is there a fix for this.

The rear brakes must not be adjusting them selves,any sugestions would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Joe Mc]

TowPro is correct the manual does recommend a manual adjustment every oil change. However, does anyone really pay attention to the manual as far as the oil change interval? I'd suggest every 5k jack up the back, trans in nutral, spin the wheel - if no drag keep spinning the wheel the as you adjust the star. When you hear the shoes hit the drum stop and repeat other side. Before you drop it down give the pedal a firm push and re-check the drag. Don't set em too tight or you'll be replacing them real soon ($75) and maybe the drums too ($100 ea)!

 

[DGFoster]

Thanks guys,I did just that,I adjusted them,the drums are like new,but this explains the front pads wearing out very quickly,I should have noticed the problem right off,what brand of brakes are out there for the Dodge other than the oem replacements?

 

[FourBarR]

rear brake wear

my truck has 160000km or 100000mi. just turned original drums looks like linings have another 30or 40000mi left.

 

[DGFoster]

Thanks all for the comments,found that my adjusters were all froze up,had to replace them,oh well

 

[MikeR]

I was always crawling under once a month to adjust my rear brakes. About a year ago I finally took out the adjusters and they were coated with rust. I took them to wire wheel and cleaned them up,then I coated them with anti-sieze. They now have been working just fine because the year since I cleaned and lubed them I have never had to re-adjust the rears again and my brake pedal always has that 'proper adjustment' feel.

I have 52k on the truck and the original pads have 10mm of thickness left.



I also tried this in the used '95 we bought. The adjusters were pretty corroded,but now they seem to also be working since I cleaned and lubed them with anti-sieze.



-Mike

 

[David_VT]

great at 49k but the parking brake isn't

I don't understand why the rear brakes are just fine (watched and felt the drag when adjusted last).



However the parking brake cable has no adjustment left in it and thus barely locks the brakes when applied to the floor.



Ideas??

 

[groundpounder]

Excellent advice!!!

 

[DHawthorne]

The two 96's have 176k on one and 135k on the other. Never changed them yet. One of the 96's has a constant problem on the right front it seems. Never pulls just makes a little noise when driving a low speeds. Have not looked at the 2000 yet. Will do that when I get home next week. I do need to adjust the parking break cable on the 2000 DEE.



Dave

 

[ramcam6]

My first post on TDR.



I was told by a DC dealer that the Emergency Brake adjusts the rear brakes on drum type brakes. The co I retired from had a large fleet of Dodge PUs and we were contantly wearing out the front brakes and running them into the rotors. I also heard this same thing when I took my Buick into a Big O because the brakes were squealing terrible. I was out of town and they had to put new brakes on, one rotor had to be replaced -- too deeply grooved to turn.



At any rate I have finally trained myself to always set the parking/emergency brake. Both front disks and rear drums wearing evenly although not very much. Use the Pac brake a lot.



Great info with this club.



Thanks, CharlieMy first post on TDR

 

[DGFoster]

Good deal,I had heard that some were,Im going give that a try

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

To adjust the rear brakes, back up and stop pretty hard, several times. At 70,000 miles mine had a lot of material left but they had been oiled down (left side) by a leaky seal. It seems Dana is not too careful about adjusting the hub bearing end play (spec is about 0. 010" or 1/8 turn loose after torquing the nut). The race eats into the soft nut and as clearance increases, the hub can wobble enough that the seal cannot work well. Pep Boys sells Raybestos at a good price but get the ones with red backing plate, not the slightly cheaper gold PR part. The latter are not good, but the red ones (PG+ or part 451PG) seem as good as OEM. They carry Chicago Rawhide 28746 seals too (the part for 3/4 ton).

 

[Bob Cochran]

I have almost 20,000 on my truck now and have checked rear brakes twice and they seem to be fine on adjustment. I always use the emergency brake. Does this help, I have no clue. But so far have not had to adjust them to date. But I will check every other oil change when I rotate tires.

 

[ramcam6]

Reply to Joseph Donnelly re: Brake Mileage

I just got my tires rotated a few days ago. Mileage was approximately 30,750. The brakes were all good. However, I do try to use the Pac Brake instead of the petal brakes whenever I can. Charlie

 

[rod77zilla]

Well, for once I have the opposite problem: if 'ol beast has been sitting a couple of hours, the first few times i hit the brakes, the rears lock up. Especially on gravel. next oil change, I bethinking of taking a gander at my height sensing proportioning valve and maybe experimenting on dialing it in. anybody else have any other ideas? anybody else have same thing happen? I really don't feel like pulling the axles and taking a peek just to find I'm worrying about something stupid like the breaks working real good.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by Rodzilla

Well, for once I have the opposite problem: if 'ol beast has been sitting a couple of hours, the first few times i hit the brakes, the rears lock up. ...

The prop. valve (at least on my '98) appears to be non-adjustable.



If you don't see anything obvious, I would suggest taking the drums off and checking for leaks. Brake fluid and axle lube both make the brakes grab *real* well.



Fest3er

 

[Gary C]

29000



But I brake very easy.