Sticky rear brake ideas.

[dodge man]

I own a 2004 Dodge Ram 4x4 with the Cummins. Its a 3/4 ton so single rear wheel. About 14 months ago I redid the rear brakes with all new parts. Dodge uses a rear drum brake inside the disc brake hub for emergency brakes. I replaced everything, new rotors, calipers, e-brake parts and new pads. About a week after I did this work the drivers side caliper was sticking. I replaced it again with another rebuilt one and everything has been fine until last week.

Last Firday I got home and could smell the drivers side brake was hot. I pulled the wheel the next day and cracked the bleeder on the caliper and there was no pressure. I pulled the caliper and the wheel would still not spin easy. After much work and getting a different drum brake tool I was able to spin the star wheel adjuster enough to loosen the e-brake. I thought everything was fine but when I drove it for a test drive the brake was still getting hot. The next day I pull the wheel and the caliper is sticking this time. I got the caliper at Autozone, it was a rebuilt, but it had a lifetime warranty and got another one free. Everything seems fine now.

My question is was it just a coincidence the e-brake and disc brake caliper were sticking at the same time? As far as I know the systems are in no way tied together. Did one problem cause the other? My opinion is that the calipers I'm getting are crappy rebuilds.

 

[HHR]

Had same issue on an 03 2500. One of the pistons seized on the rear caliper and toasted the rotor. Was intermittent for a while and finally stuck for good. Reman caliper fixed it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think the e brake sticking was a coincidence. 99 times out of 100 if I find a caliper sticking and it's not a obvious calipers issue it's a bad rubber hose. They break down internally and act as a check valve. There is no way to test it or visually see a bad hose. With the age of your truck and the miles I would replace all 4 flex hoses and flush all the fluid and go from there.

I bet I have seen a dozen bad hoses in my life making a caliper stick.

Chris

 

[mfreund]

I think the e brake sticking was a coincidence. 99 times out of 100 if I find a caliper sticking and it's not a obvious calipers issue it's a bad rubber hose. They break down internally and act as a check valve. There is no way to test it or visually see a bad hose. With the age of your truck and the miles I would replace all 4 flex hoses and flush all the fluid and go from there.

I bet I have seen a dozen bad hoses in my life making a caliper stick.

Chris

I have seen GM products do this and is what I first thought of as I read the posts.

 

[dodge man]

I kind of ruled out the hose issue by cracking open the bleeder. I figured when I opened the bleeder if the hose was the problem it would have squirted out fluid and released the brake caliper, which it didn't. Of course I'm not sure of any of this.

 

[mikegt4]

I got the caliper at Autozone, it was a rebuilt, but it had a lifetime warranty and got another one free.

This could be your problem. I had a rebuilt caliper that would occasionally stick. It slid on the bracket fine but the puck would hang up in the caliper's bore. I guess that for a cheap re-man they bore out the caliper to clean it up then put in a new (?) puck of normal diameter. Sometimes it would cock slightly when the brakes were applied then jam in that position. I too opened the bleeder and found no pressure which told me that the hose was not collapsed internally. I couldn't get the puck to retract even with using a prybar until I heard a "pop" and then it retracted easily. It happened a couple of times until I replaced the caliper.

 

[xring100]

Try this if the piston won't push with bleeder I closed but it will with the bleeder open then you probably have a hose issue. If it won't go in either case it probably rolled the seal over. I think they hone the cylinder bores out too much or something and have to much clearance between piston and cylinder wall. I've had a couple of rebuilt calipers do this same thing. I couldn't push the piston in with a c - clamp and no hose connected. I've had one hose that separated internally and acted like a check valve

I've also had guide pins bind check to make sure they slide freely

 

[dodge man]

On the bench one of the pucks moved much harder with a c clamp then the other.

 

[powerstroke444e]

I had same problem on a 02 dodge and it ended up being a rubber hose. Went though 2 calipers before I figured it out. Within a month had to replace hoses on my town car and buddies corvette and have not seen it happen again in 10 years?

 

[94BULLITT]

I kind of ruled out the hose issue by cracking open the bleeder. I figured when I opened the bleeder if the hose was the problem it would have squirted out fluid and released the brake caliper, which it didn't. Of course I'm not sure of any of this.

You did.

Are you using a quality lube when you put pads on? Who rebuilds Autozones calipers?