dodge ram weak brakes.

[ram_man]

My 95 half tons brakes are iffy. Regular driving not to bad but stomp on them and the fronts will not lock up. I would say they are working at 80% . Theyve been this way since I got it a couple months ago.
I replaced front pads the rears are good no leaky wheel cylinders. No pulling. Just not as strong as you would want. You notice it most getting off an off ramp that's down hill. I replaced the old fluid. The truck sat for about 3 years. But the lines are good calipers arent froze up. What do you guys think? Pedal feels ok not squishy or anything. If anything they are kind of stiff...maybe just a touch. Like it takes slight more effort than it should to push the pedal. But I normally drive a civic so that harder feeling could be just the nature of the beast.

 

[AandPDan]

What pads did you put in? They can make a big difference in stopping power.

Are the back brakes adjusted properly? It's not uncommon for the hardware to freeze up on the adjusters.

 

[ram_man]

Just house brand semi metallic. But ive used the brand several times with adequate results.

I didn't check the adjusters......I was in a hurry at the time. They didn't look rusty though. Surprisingly. Maybe reverse brake a bit and see if I can hear them working?

 

[eljefino]

Is there a load levelling rear gizmo? Open a rear brake bleeder then stomp on the pedal and make sure it's passing fluid to the rear. Same if you have rear only ABS. If you can get the pushrod off the levelling thing manipulate it through its range and see if you bleed.

Up front feel if both your rotors are the same warmth after a spirited drive. Maybe a caliper pin hanging up.

 

[ram_man]

Slide pins are good. I cleaned them and lubed everything believe me it needed it!!!

it does have the rear abs to. So open bleeder and hit brakes and see if it sprays?

 

[eljefino]

Yup!!!

I would throw new rear linings on for S&Gs, my dakota had an e-brake that barely worked and while there was some hardware hanging up the shoes were also hopelessly glazed. I threw on some "wearever silver" shoes from advance auto, $12!!! and parking, and driving, were better.

 

[Donald]

The brakes on my Dodge Ram are 2X or 3X better than the brakes on my Jeep.

 

[jorton]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
You notice it most getting off an off ramp that's down hill.


This bugs me sometimes. I noticed on the tachometer when I start braking, the engine is slow to spool down. It's most noticeable when coasting down off ramps at high speeds. It seems like the computer is controlling engine speed. This may just be an undesirable feature of EFI.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: jorton
Originally Posted By: ram_man
You notice it most getting off an off ramp that's down hill.


This bugs me sometimes. I noticed on the tachometer when I start braking, the engine is slow to spool down. It's most noticeable when coasting down off ramps at high speeds. It seems like the computer is controlling engine speed. This may just be an undesirable feature of EFI.


Actually just a programming issue, and easily adjusted with an aftermarket tuner, a laptop, and a few emails back and forth.

Certainly not a problem on all EFI cars...

 

[italian68]

loosen metal tabs that hold front brake lines. there are 3 on each side. when they become rusty they pinch the brake lines. I have 99 2500 that had same problem and pulling to one side. could not lock up front brakes even in snow. common issue on this model.

 

[partspro]

Brake lines corrode from the INSIDE as the fluid absorbs moisture, they are not easily seen from a visual inspection. I would absolutely replace the fluid. All pads are not created equal, house brand pads tend to get the same friction material, what stops a honda civic may not be that good for your ram.

 

[ram_man]

Who ever replaced the rear brakes left them adjusted all
The way in.mi adjusted them properly and all is good now.