Dakota Durango Forum banner

Front brakes dragging

48K views 44 replies 20 participants last post by  andyvh1959 
#1 ·
2001 Dak 4.7 4x4 SLT: I smoked my front driver's side brake with short city driving. It heated up to the point that I could smell it and pulled very hard to the left. This happened to me a year ago, but that time both fronts smoked! I let them cool, and they were fine since.

The previous owner also had brake issues and the dealer replaced rotors, calipers, and pads...seems to be another issue to be happening. Obviously the calipers are not releasing. Would the booster cause this problem?

MAS
 
#2 ·
i had that prob also on my 98 RT. I just decided to get the 04 dak brakes and hopfully that gremlin doesnt come back. I also replaced the booster before i did the swap and it made it worse,driverside never fully released, also replaced rubber brake lines
 
#4 ·
This seems to be fairly common with these trucks.
Ya ain't shittin man....this exact same shit happened to me....front drivers brakes were smoking. I spent over $700 and replaced both calipers, pads, brake lines, and upgraded to Brembo cross drilled rotors and they still have fucking problems! Don't get me wrong, the brembos help out a lot along with the pads...they bite hard, but they just don't feel right to me...it feels loose and lazy sometimes when I come to a stop...like the brakes catch late, then it all of a sudden jerks to a stop. Not to mention every set of rotors I've had on this truck have glazed over within fucking weeks of me having them...then along with the glazing comes the screeching of the brakes. I've had this truck in the shop for diagnosis over 12 times within the past 6 months...and that's not exagerating.

We should all get a petition going to chrysler about these crap brakes on our trucks......LOL....like they're going to do anything!!!! :banana2: :jester:
 
#6 ·
i think u mean flex lines only right... no need to replace steel lines right?
i had the same issue tho just recently. its been almost a month now since i swapped out the calipers, pads, rotors and flex lines on both front. bled fronts out. havn't had any issues as of yet. actually they felt wierd at first like it was late braking and whatnot but now the pads seem to have settled. smooth now.
i agree with boomfist tho... they don't feel the same as other trucks/cars still tho. there's always been some kind of loosness alittle. we'll see. my 01 club cab i had was great tho after the brakes were done. hard to say.
 
#7 ·
There are also common problems with the master cylinder not releasing the pressure after releasing the brake pedal allowing the brakes to drag. Usually it's only one side or the other dragging. If replacing the calipers doesn't fix the issue, then you need to try the master cylinder, and then possibly the booster after that.
 
#8 ·
I've had the same issue with my 2001 R/T, I replaced everything from the Brake hoses, Calipers, Pads and Rotors with all top of the line NAPA brake products......

You'll get a little bit of smell and smoke while the pads "BED" themselves in at first....

I'm tempted to swap the Master Cylinder out as well just so I know I have everything taken care of.......
 
#10 ·
Is the factory caliper spring still in place?

Q: is the factory spring still in place on the calipers?

Looks kinda like a spring steel bridge, supports the outside of the caliper against the rails the pads slide on.

I had the same issue on my Dad's 02 Dak, bought all new lines, calipers & pads and as we were reassembling everything I ran across the new springs which came with the pads & was like "what are these for?"

Looked it up in the FSM & sure enough somebody had done the brakes on the truck previously and left out the springs. More than likely without the spring to support it, the caliper/pad assembly got out of alignment and didn't retract/release properly.
 
#12 ·
Q: is the factory spring still in place on the calipers?
Not to say it shouldn't be on there, but that won't help the dragging brake issue. It's simply an anti-rattle clip that helps keep the caliper from rattling around and wearing on the guide pins. As soon as you step on the brakes, they straighten themselves out.

How would the flex lines contribute to the calipers not releasing?

I'm leading to think that the vacuum produced by the booster contributes to the release of the caliper when the pedal is released...and therefore, the booster is insufficient in volume for repeated brakings. Is this possible?
#1 - The factory rubber lines break down over time and small bits of rubber work their way into the caliper. The pressure of applying the brakes is more than sufficient to force past these small obstructions. However, these little rubber bits cause the piston to hang up and drag the brakes. Only way to solve the issue is to flush the lines out completely, replace the lines and calipers.

#2 - No, that's not possible. The hydraulic portion of the brake system works with no vacuum input from the booster.
 
#11 ·
Like I said before, I do not think the original problem was pads, rotors, or calipers..since they were already replaced and did not solve the problem. The original owner had brakes problems within he first 10K miles. Obviously, bad engineering with many others with the same problem. Kinda had to have a class action suit against a company that just went bankrupt!!

How would the flex lines contribute to the calipers not releasing?

I'm leading to think that the vacuum produced by the booster contributes to the release of the caliper when the pedal is released...and therefore, the booster is insufficient in volume for repeated brakings. Is this possible?

MAS
 
#13 ·
Im having a similar problem on my 99 Durango. I just replaced balljoints, tie-rods, CV half shafts, wheel bearings, rotors, pads, and calipers in preparation for a cross country trip. The brakes were not giving me trouble until I started fu%#& with them! Now they are dragging, not bad though. When I get out after a local trip around town I can tell one side is deff giving off more heat then normal and has the typical heated brake smell, the other side just fine. Also, noticed a lot of brake dust on the left front wheel, none on the right. Next time I take it out it might be the opposite side that drags, its hit or miss! It seems like its never both sides doing it at once though, ether left or right. I have a Master Cylinder on order hopping thats the problem. Am I missing anything here? Any Advice?
 
#17 ·
100-200 miles. no more.

I felt like mine were taking a little too long, so I flushed out all the brake fluid, pulled the calipers back off, pulled the slider pins out and sanded them down some to clean them up, knock off the crud, put fresh axle grease on the pins, and a light coat of grease where the pads slide back and forth on the bracket, and reassembled everything. no more dragging or hot brake smell after a short drive.

I tried to be lazy, knowing that I probably SHOULD have done all that when I swapped out the pads. I ended up having to tear it all apart and spend another 2 hours re-doing my work!:jester:
 
#18 ·
Well to follow up my original post. I replaced rotors, calipers, pads, flex lines, bled the system, and used the little tube of goo for the pads/calipers over a year ago. I wanted to start fresh so I replaced most everything. To date, I have not had any problems with my brakes...except maybe once when I was towing a trailer & braking downhill. I smelled brakes & let up....no further issues.

I basically believed the brakes are engineered poorly and a re insufficient in size for the truck...add a trailer and a hot summer day and you've got trouble.

I did replace the pads with a "heavy duty" fleet service pad with a lot of metal in the pads to dissipate heat. The downfall is a lot of brake dust on my wheels. Maybe that is the trade-off??

Mas
 
#21 ·
My passenger side did the same thing after installing my Hotchkis springs last summer. I was so proud of myself after installing my drop:D and went to drive for the 1st time and after 10 - 15 min. I started smelling something burning and then my brakes started going to shit and all the sudden I had smoke! I carefully drove home and took the wheel off and decided to bleed that caliper and all has been fine since. Old brake lines make since, I had been manhandling the calipers.
 
#23 ·
That might be true, so why do we have 6 lugs!:D It seems to me that the brake issues may all be due to the rear brakes and possibly the anti lock brake system? I seem to have no problems locking up the front brakes but the rear just never seem to do a good enough job. I know that if I take the time to keep the rear brakes adjusted they work pretty good. I know I use to have an old 69 Road Runner that had killer manual drum brakes. I could just about put myself through the windshield if I slammed on the brakes. Probably the best brakes I ever had.
 
#24 ·
yes, every one of these trucks has RWAL because the light ass end of a truck makes it very easy to lock up. if they made the brakes so small that it wouldn't lock up when you're empty, then you wouldn't have enough brake power when you have cargo.

6 lugs? don't know why they did that to these trucks. it definitely is NOT because they are a heavy duty work truck!! the Dakota is a medium duty truck, it has 6 lug axles. the Ram is a full size heavy duty truck, and it has 5 lug rims.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I have a 2005 dakota with bad front left brake drag,I have replaced the entire system, the booster,the master 2 times,rubber lines,calipers 2 times along with the mounts for the calipers they came in a complete kit., switched to slotted rotors,and every pad from cheap 10 pads to pads that were 75.00 flushed the system with 2 quarts ,adjusted the rod behind master,even replaced wheel bearings,and i cant drive 10 miles without brakes getting hot,even ran ducting to blow cool air to the wheels, I can remove wheels and squeeze calipers in with no problem, I am at a loss.
any ideas??????
 
#29 ·
The problem seems to be divots worn into the slide rails by the pads which catch on the pads and won't let the caliper release. Slide rails are intrinsic to the steering knuckle and cannot be replaced. I have been told the 03 Durango steering knuckle has serviceable slide rails and will fit the 1999 GEN III, do you guysknow if that is accurate?
 
#30 ·
'03 Dakota and Durango the the 4 wheel disc brake option have upgraded dual piston front calipers that mount using a normal caliper bracket bolted to spindle, not the caliper bolting to spindle like older single piston set up. And yes, the spindles are a direct bolt on, but you need the whole set up, spindles, calipers/pads, caliper brackets, and the larger rotors. You can also swap in the rear axle with the rear discs as a direct bolt in, but you need to swap the entire axle housing.
 
#32 ·
This is what Turbojeep says in the General Parts Inquiries forum:

"I swapped the 03 Durango knuckles, calipers, etc onto my 01 Dakota. Pretty straight forward and everything bolder right up, just a matter to popping the ball joints and slapping the new ones in.

I did it mainly for the beefier brakes and 2 piston calipers. I got tired of having to get new rotors every 8 months. So far so good, I put them on in Dec."



I'd ask him any specifics. If I'm replacing the knuckle I figure "in for a penny, in for a pound" as the British say. "While you're in there" may as well replace the ball joints.
 
#33 ·
Ball joints are the same. But would be a good idea to replace them while you are at it if you haven't replaced them recently. If you do a simple search on this forum, there is an entire thread dedicated to this swap and you will see pics from when I did my swap.
 
#35 ·
Mr. Corn Husker, your private messages are at capacity and will not accept new ones.

Do you know where I can get 2003 or 2004 steering knuckles? I do not know of a parts source. Also, since Gen III runs 1999 – 2004, will 2004 tie rod ends bolt to my 1999 center link? The inners look different at Rock Auto.
Thank you,
Dennis
 
#37 ·
Junkyard or you will be paying out the ass for a new one. I got lucky and found a 2003 R/T that had just been put out on the lot and hadn't been touched, plus they were doing 50% off all brake components that weekend. I walked out pick-a-part with the complete front brake set up and the entire rear axle assembly with rear disc brakes for $250 total.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top