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Constant brake issues


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I have a 2001 ram 5.9 Cummins 24v, in 2016 I had both from calipers replaced along with rotors and pads,  I had a fluid flush,  I replaced my booster on my own,  the drums and shoes were replaced as well.  I noticed upon replacing pads due to grinding that on my passenger side the inner pad was worn based while the others were in decent shape. It feels as if the truck has a rough time stopping too. Upon replacement of the booster, the abs and brake light kept coming on for a week even though everything was working as it should.  Eventually those lights went away.  When I replaced pads the brakes were pumped hard then started and pumped again to ensure i had contact before test driving on the test drive they still feel like it's hard to stop the truck and the pedal return is fairly slow.  What could be causing this?  Shoes are great and adjusted properly,  the rotors and drums show very little wear even with the grinding caught when it was i did not gouge the rotor much,  the rotor was resurfaced and is well within spec on the thicker end. 

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I had 0 bubbles when bleeding. The second and third time.. Prior to that it was blurred by a shop with a vacuum bleeder. When I push my pedal I need to press it hard as well.. And even then it still doesn't stop on a dime

Is it possible the booster pushrod needs adjustment? Or something like that or maybe the spring is weak? I'd like to work with you guys to get a solid diagnosis before just swapping anything since most of this system has already been replaced minus the master cylinder

 

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49 minutes ago, digidoggie18 said:

Power steering?? 

 

The power steering pump supplies power steering fluid to operate the brake booster.  There is an accumulator on the brake booster that stores power steering fluid under pressure for power brake applications. 

 

If you haven't done so already, with the engine off press and hold the brake pedal briefly to drain all of the power steering fluid from the accumulator.  Do this several time to ensure the accumulator has discharged all of its fluid.  There is a possibility that air could be trapped in the accumulator from when you did the brake booster replacement.

 

- John

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2 minutes ago, 99_Cummins_4x4 said:

A vacuum leak could cause him to have a hard brake pedal as well and poor braking performance.

 

The power brake portion of the brake system is powered by the power steering pump with an accumulator, not a vacuum boost diaphragm.

 

- John

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Sounds like a combination of potentials...

 

First the hydroboost system is possibly in desperate need of attention.  Flushing the fluid, assuring the pump valve isnt plugged with debris, and that the accumulator is functioning properly.  There's a process to this so that you dont aerate the fluid either.

 

Then check the rear brakes because they are likely out of adjustment which will result in the shoes having to move too far before contact which skews the proportioning valves ability to offer equal power distribution between the front and rear brakes.

 

And no one probably bothered to match the new shoes to the new drum surface either which will prevent solid contact of those two components even further weakening the stopping power.

Its easy to unknowingly botch up drum brake jobs...and when that happens the front disc brakes are forced to increase their load and are nowhere near powerful enough to support the stopping power of a 4 ton truck with likely oversized tires.

Edited by KATOOM
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1 hour ago, KATOOM said:

Sounds like a combination of potentials...

 

First the hydroboost system is possibly in desperate need of attention.  Flushing the fluid, assuring the pump valve isnt plugged with debris, and that the accumulator is functioning properly.  There's a process to this so that you dont aerate the fluid either.

 

Then check the rear brakes because they are likely out of adjustment which will result in the shoes having to move too far before contact which skews the proportioning valves ability to offer equal power distribution between the front and rear brakes.

 

And no one probably bothered to match the new shoes to the new drum surface either which will prevent solid contact of those two components even further weakening the stopping power.

Its easy to unknowingly botch up drum brake jobs...and when that happens the front disc brakes are forced to increase their load and are nowhere near powerful enough to support the stopping power of a 4 ton truck with likely oversized tires.

Thank you for this, I did not adjust my drums but I do know it's easy to botch the job even though I don't botch from brake jobs. I will review this later when outta warm, I think you are correct though, my power steering gas been whining more especially when cold, I will do that and flush the system. One update though, the brakes are much much more stiff but still not horribly strong, the pedal now for some reason only travels about a half inch to engage which is nice but that still doesn't put me in the dash like mopar man stated. How easy should it be to stop the truck? Also what is the process I need to follow with the power steering?

 

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When you get the brakes working correctly you should have ample stopping power.  I have an '01 with rear drums too and it takes very little effort to slow this heavy hitter.  And if I happen to jump on the brakes in a panic situation, there is no lack of stopping power.

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19 hours ago, Dieselfuture said:

That's from seized up sliders on calipers

This is my thinking also.

5 minutes ago, digidoggie18 said:

 

 Where I thought I should be. With that being said when the shop did my drums they were in fact seized, it took them a day to get it all apart

I'm learning in recent years to trust shops less and less.

 

I usually call Mopar1973Man for his detailed instructions how to do it myself and then send him some money for his great help, because it always comes out great. Even in the middle of a busey day he will answer your questions if stumped. He is the coolest.

Edited by JAG1
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