2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Right Front Brake Pulls

[ogravy]

On my 95 the right front brake has been pulling to the right. After a couple of pumps both sides even out, so I thought I had some air in the line on the left side. Bled the left side and the truck still pulls to the right when the brakes are first applied. Looked in the manual and there was something about a special tool for bleeding the brakes. Not real excited about going to the dealer. This ABS deal is not really my cup of tea, but I'm eager to learn.



Any ideas on what the problem might be!!!

 

[dseabaugh]

Had same problem w/ my 97. found that the bracket the caliper slides on was in a taper and when the pads wore down one side or other would grab. didn't do it with new pads. when I put new pads on I always knocked off the rust. Rust would build up on the worn out brake side of the calipers while the pads were new and then make them grab once the pads wore down enough to put the rusty part of the caliper in the bracket. little machine work with a side grinder and grease the back side when i put new pads on to prevent rust and that doesn't happen any more. If you are sure that you have the air out, that may be the cause. usually if you have air your brake failure light will come on. been there too.

 

[ogravy]

Thanks for you help. My truck lives in Minn. (rust belt). I'll check out the calipers.

 

[dseabaugh]

put calipers on without any pads and see iff they slide back anf forth freely like they would applying brakes and with brake wear

 

[DPrew]

I've had problems with calipers sticking multiple times that caused my truck to pull to one side. I've been tempted to put expensive after market calipers on more than once.

 

[Mokerz]

clean everything up, the pins, where the caliper slides etc and then lube it with a good high temp never seize. My 97 pulled when I first got it. That fixed it.

 

[SRath]

The sticking caliper slides are probably the problem, but if you have a 4x4, these Dodges are somewhat notorious for kinky brake hose routing that the local brake shop says is often the cause of uneven brake caliper fluid pressures.

 

[Dave M]

I just replaced the front rotors and pads on my 97. I found the old caliper bolt sleeves( the sleeves that the 2 caliper hold down bolts go thru) and sleeve rubber boots were not able to move but were seized due to grease and dust gumming it up. I cleaned the sleeves/bolts up and put the silicone caliper grease on them and they seemed to slide better. Then I thought since the rotors and pads were new why not replace the rubbers and sleeves and bolts. Went to NAPA and got 2 kits with sleeves and rubbers and bolts and it didn't cost much. I put the caliper grease on all contact points/sleeves/rubbers/bolts and used some sandpaper to get the bracket and calipers smooth before a little caliper grease.



Take the calipers off and do a little maintenace on them. You might have a bad rotor or caliper or just a simple cleanup might fix it.



Dave

 

[dseabaugh]

only thing about changing them watch what you get. my sleeves and bolts are stainless and chrome. last a long time some aftermarket are cadmium plated and rust in 6 months. been there done that.

 

[PRattenbury]

I would try stepping on the left side of the pedal. Actually, I hate the crappy brakes on the 2nd gens. I spent stoopid money trying to make mine decent, and still have crappy brakes.

 

[fox]

I have seen some pads wear unevenly. If the caliper drags it can cause the pad to wear on the leading edge.

A quick check with dial calipers ( pads off) will show you. Only buy the best pads you can afford. Cheaper pads are bad.

I had a set of brakes dragging and when I got the pads off I could see the difference in wear on each end of the pad. It was late at night, in a hotel parking lot, no parts stores open. So I simply put the pads on opposite sides of the truck.

Made it home with another occurance!! Of course new pads went right on.

 

[BSMcCauley]

When mine starts pulling to one side, it is usually the first sign of the REAR brake shoes running out of lining on one side. Brakes have not been noisy when this has happened to me. Again on my truck, if ignored long enough, the metal-on-metal braking generate a bunch of metal flakes that eventually take out the oil seal on that end of the axle. You can tell this happened from your perch behind the wheel when the brake pull abruptly switches to the other direction as gear oil now lubes the brakes on that side. I've never had any trouble with uneven front brake pad wear -- lucky, I guess, based on other responses to this discussion thread.

 

[San Felipe Bob]

Pins and Slides

Check for stickyness.



Here's a good test.



Check out this link

YouTube - Dodge caliper test



Those of you in the "Rust belt" should lube your caliper slides often.



Also check out my pics in the readers rigs section (the old one)



I have some handy tips and tricks in there.

Such as cleaning the rust out of the caliper slide bores. (Where the rubber boot goes. )



Send me a "PM" (personal message) for more tips additional one on one help.



Stop



SFB

 

[cojhl2]

The way I fixed this prob on my 90 after a lot of horsing around, was to replace both calipers and hoses. Then I had the front realigned to make sure the center of rotation was in front of the vehicle.



I could not believe the difference!!!

 

[surfbeetle]

I have had several sets of pads on the front of my 95, never a problem with pulling. I still have the original calipers. Each time I change the pads, I lube the slide pins and clean the area where the pad seats on the calipers. Also you can manually adjust the rear brakes to make sure that they are even. This will rule out he possibility of the rear causing the pull. Also I use a power bleeder to bleed the brakes. Other than the power bleeder, there are no other special tools required.

 

[95REDRAM]

What BSMcCauley said. I fought what I thought was front brake pull for a long time and them figured out it was the rear all alongl.