Sticking brake calipers

[hemihead]

I have a 1995 3/4 ton 4x4 am having brake pull to the left and right. Has anyone experienced sticking brake caliper. The left caliper was hot since it was pulling to the right while using brakes. The right side caliper was cool to the touch. I had the brake calipers replaced last year and it still pulls, DC says it needs a front end alignment. Had that done and it was not out of alignment. Now dealer says its chassis dynamics which I doubt that it is. Anybody have some advice. Should I get brand new calipers instead of rebuilt ones and see how that works?

 

[Joe G.]

Search the old posts to get more information about this than you really want.

The caliper slides on pins on the attachment screws. Pull them out. If they are in good shape clean and polish them. Use fine sand paper if needed and then finish with crocus cloth. If they are rough, replace them. Get some SilGlide from NAPA to lube them before reinstalling. I also filed the places in the casting that the caliper slides in and lubed that too. When I service my truck I check this stuff and lube if it needs it. I had 100K miles on my pads the last brake job and my truck has always stopped straight.

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Joe George
Eureka, CA

'95 2500 CC auto 4X4,3. 54,Combo EGT/boost guage,custom switch panel,PacBrake,TST #5,DTT TC/VB,Automatic motorhome steps on both sides,Foldacover hard bed cover,Cummins chrome kit,Black steel grill guard,Front hitch receiver

 

[sam peterson]

It always amazes me how the dealerships can come up with those B/S answers. Chassis dynamics and alignment may cause problems but won't cause caliper sticking problems or overheating. Lots of things can cause your problem but the most common is dry slider pins & bushings. Joe G is right on how to lube the sliders but sil/glide is a little bit light bodied. Silicone grease is heavier and more water proof if you can find it. If you have a little time I can send you some in the mail. There is no advantage in buying a new caliper over the reman one if you get a good quality one. There are good and bad products on the market. You may also have a bad brake hose. If the pads are worn in a taper it is qoing to be hard to correct the problem without a flat surface. ----Sam

 

[JEmmons]

I had a problem where when I applied the brakes, the truck would go right. Solution: the rear brakes were out of adjustment, too much pressure on the right rear. Sounds crazy, but a good friend of mine has been in mechanics for 12 years now and works on the big rigs. He checked and sure enough, the right rear pads were tighter than the left rear.

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1998 RAM Cummins Diesel 2500 4x4 club cab/long bed, auto with 3. 54 rears. Horton electric fan clutch, fuel pump up 15%, K&N air filter, Kitty and muffler MIA. Rhino liner, Centerline comet III,s (16x8), Kelly 285/75/r16, Smittybuilt nerf bars, Lund bug shield, auxillary back up lights, Combo Pyro/egt gauge on a-pillar, Pioneer system w/ 12-disc changer, two amps and a pair of Rockford 10" under seat. Factory OEM fog lights.

 

[mikepvg]

Hemihead
I understand Front brake problems are pretty common on these units but these units are very easy to fix. Everything you need can be had at CarQuest for excellent prices. Just follow the DC manual & proceed. A lot of good advice can be found on this site if you get stuck.
Check out my saga: https://www.turbodieselregister.com/ubb//Forum1/HTML/003282.html

Good Luck
Mike
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94 2500HD 5sp 4. 10LSD 4X4 RWAL w/GearVendor OD, K&N Oval w/ Pre-Filter, Straight Exhaust, Geno's Fumotovalve, AW-Direct Idle Controller, DiPricol Boost/Pyro/Fuel, Mag-Hytec Rear, 124K miles. Halon Protected, NRA Member. V1.

[This message has been edited by mikepvg (edited 05-04-2001). ]

 

[LSMITH]

I have also had the right caliper stick. I got two new calipers and the rubber section of the lines under warranty. If anything it was worse. I polished and lubed the pins and guides, it helped a ton, just not perfect. Road grime seems to build up and make the problem worse, a good long drive in the rain cures it completely for a while until more rain or I clean and lube them.

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99 2500 QC 4X4 AUTO SB 24V LARAMIE SLT 3. 5 LSD 285-75-16'S SPA Boost/EGT Rancho 9000's Everything but leather NRA Member Great Lakes TDR Member

 

[Joe G.]

I know that Sam disagrees with me about Sil Glide because it's kind of light weight, but I have NEVER experienced brake pull. Even slam the pedal and grit my teeth type stops to avoid deer on US101 are still straight. So I think I'll keep using the stuff. I also keep on top of the rear wheel adjustment. Every oil change I rotate the tires. While I have the wheels off I check all the brakes for any funny business and adjust the rears. This is a good time to check for leaking wheel cylinders or rear axle seals.

 

[sam peterson]

JoeG---I don't disagree about the use of sil/glide. I used it for years. Since silicone grease came packaged in smaller size pkgs I can now include it with the pads. It is actually DOW111.

 

[Eric_77]

Guys look at his problem left brake is hot right cool (not working) and it pulls right this is either rear brake problem or alignment. Something is really wacked to pull opposite of the front brake actuation. DC is not all stupid people and have probably found the problem in his suspension/alignment.
How many miles on this truck has it been wrecked?

 

[illflem]

Eric, what happens is the overheated brake loses efficiency and causes the other one to do the all the work, pulling as it does so, until it overheats, then the pull will change to the opposite side. This tug of war can go back and forth causing pull in both directions. I think the problem is sticking calipers, the pins should be replaced. Rears should also be adjusted.

 

[JohnE]

Dow 111 Silicone grease is actually labeled as a valve lubricant & sealant. It is the thickest bodied of the various silicone products from Dow. I'm lucky enough to have a 150 g (5. 3 oz. ) tube for everthing from plumbing repairs to brake jobs. You can also get heavy bodied silicone grease at the local hardware store in the plumbing department. It is sold in a small container as valve & o-ring lubricant.

I still have my tube of SilGlide and use it for many jobs. I also found the heavy bodied silcones work better for valves & brake pins.

My 2¢s

JohnE

 

[sam peterson]

John E---I knew someone would know what Dow 111 was when I posted that. Every body should have a tube of it laying around. . Great stuff. ---Sam

 

[hemihead]

Originally posted by Eric_77:
Guys look at his problem left brake is hot right cool (not working) and it pulls right this is either rear brake problem or alignment. Something is really wacked to pull opposite of the front brake actuation. DC is not all stupid people and have probably found the problem in his suspension/alignment.
How many miles on this truck has it been wrecked?

Eric, I am the original owner and the truck has never been wrecked. Do I have to take off the calipers in order to get to the guide pins?

 

[Missouri Mule]

hemihead,
illflem is correct on his symptom description.
Yes I think the caliper would have to come off to get to guide pins(to get them out).

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Bill Thomas
Missouri Mule - 96 Wht 4X4 ST CC,5 spd, 3. 54, 8 ft bed, 1 ft high cheater boards.
99 Freightliner bl/wht FL60 ISB-5. 9 24v,215 hp,520 tq,6 spd, 3. 59 nsr,16 ft box, 19. 5 tires,Wt/gvw 11,000/23000

 

[illflem]

You can lube the caliper pins one at a time without removing caliper, tire or even jacking the front. I do this way as maintainence. If you are having a pull or heating problem I would remove the caliper in order to clean the pin bushing area and slide surfaces thoroughly.

Does anyone know where silicone dielectric grease, the type used on electrical connections, fits in the equation? It says 100% silicone on the label, but says little else. It is thicker than Sil-Glide, looks almost like Vasoline.

 

[edgar2]

I had a '93 2500 that had the right front caliper sticking just now and then; dealer couldn't duplicate the problem. Finally after 80k. I took the rotors to be turned. The right rotor surface was cattywampus and my man had togrind and grind to get it level. Caliper never stuck again.

 

[sam peterson]

Illflem---That dielectric grease should fill the bill if it is somewhat waterproof. It will not hurt rubber but I think it is a bit pricy

 

[illflem]

Sam, when the PUD (electric company) was doing some work here last year they left a qt container of the stuff, along with 2 shovels and a pair of cable cutters, I put the stuff in my shop waiting for them to come back but...

 

[sam peterson]

Bill---Yeh right... . I too found a set of cable cutters and a real nice wheel chock. Been 15 years and they have never come back---????. The chock works great to spot my trailer in the barn and the cutters are top quality.

 

[bd450]

Hemihead,

If you haven't put the 1ton rear slave cyls in yet do it. I did all kinds of repair & polishing of the front calipers and still had a left pull after the brakes warmed up.

Went to autozone and got some rebuit 1ton cylinders ($10) and some valvoline synthetic fluid. Presto, no more pull. & better braking to boot. No problems with the anitloks (got rears only anti)





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96 RAM 2500 4x4 Ext Cab Auto, TFOD kit, A-pillar gauges, TST #8, 1Ton slv cyls , frnt rcvr.