spacer disc on right side rotor??!!

[rraulston]

i was doing a brake job and noticed a 3. 5 MM thick spacer on the right side. Not on the left. Is this normal???? or am i missing one??? RRR

 

[SEmerson]

I heard it was a alingment fix dodge did on some trucks. Only on one side is normal.

 

[LSMITH]

The spacers are a half-___ed attempt at fixing alignment issues or more commonly brake pull complaints. It is a bandaid fix at best. It merely masks a problem, they should make the truck right rather than put in a spacer IMO. I took mine in for right brake pull under warranty and it was marginally better. I found a 3. 5MM marked right side only on the left and a 5. 5MM on the right!!! Since then I have identified the cause of the pull and fixed it on my own. It really makes me mad that they will not take the time to fix the problem when you have paid big bucks for the truck

 

[Groover]

I found the same spacer first time I pulled the right wheel. I assumed that they come on all right front wheels. I took mine off and hung it up on a nail in the barn (just in case) but can't tell the difference in how it drives. Never had brake pull but am in need of a trackbar at 44,000 miles.

 

[Dmundell]

LSMITH : what was the pulling problem you had. I have the same problem on my 99 24v 4x4,Took it back to the dealer a few times they also put in the spacer but still pulls. Believe this they told me don't worry it's normal. I have had the brakes done twice. Only 40,000 miles what do you think?

 

[LSMITH]

Dmundell, I got a right brake pull on my truck out of the clear blue at about 50K miles, I had never had it to any degree before that. Long story short it went in a couple of times having all of the brake lines, hoses, calipers and both knucles replaced. It would yank you off the road if you hit the brakes hard and were not ready for the pull about half the time, the other half it would stop straight. It went back in and was a lot better when I got it back that time. It always pulled but it was not bad, if you let go of the wheel it would wreck you, but was not a huge fight to keep on the road. Shortly after that I found the spacers, I pulled them out and it was better, but pulled hard once in a while again. I had been religously lubing the caliper pins all along with no apparent effect.



I finally pulled the calipers out and polished the slide surfaces of the calipers and knuckles with a fine file, I got about 60% of the surface smooth as can be. There are some deep machining marks on them, and if you file them out you will likely remove enough material to get a torsional bind. Just knock them down where the surface is smooth overall and the high spots are gone. Then reassemble with some good brake lube on the slide surfaces. You will want to polish any burrs off the pins as well when you have it apart. My brake pull is now history, I clean and put new lube on about every 10K miles to keep the grit from letting it bind.



All of the "repairs" were done to mine under warranty, so I gave them a shot at getting it right. The dealers (2 of them) failed miserably, I fixed it in an hour in my driveway after looking at it long enough to see what the problem was. I bought the warranty so I try to use it, but lately it isn't worth a lot.



Give this a shot, I think it will work for you too. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Dmundell]

LSMITH : thanks I will take the calipers off today and file them. If this works I greatly appreciate it. It gets old holding that steering wheel so hard every time you brake. I will let you know how it turns out. Any reccomendation on what type of brake pad to use as I might as well replace the ones that are there now while I am doing this?

 

[CBenn]

I redid my brakes too, cleaned/filed smooth guide pins and brackets, junked the spacer (3. 5mm on rside). Installed new pads and rotors, fixed 'er right up. It's 6K miles later and it's pulling/pulsing again. I plan to pull it apart this weekend for a redo Gotta be a better way to build an oxcart.