I found a leaking wheel cylinder by the fluid leaking down out of the back of the back plate. I Easily removed this drum on the rear Passenger side, but had problems with all of the supply Houses cuz' they kept giving me 3/4 ton parts. I ran the VIN # through the local Dodge dealership, & they told that my Van came from the Factory with a One Ton Rear end.

My Drums are 12 1/8" ID, & Drum shoes are 3". Passenger side Rear brakes completed with a lot of Stress, & Confusion, but I thought Cool! Driver's side "Should be easier!",..... Wrong!

The Rotor will not come off! I've beat on it with a sledge, pried on it with a crow bar, Used Rust Buster, & even a NSF Lubricant (From my HVAC Work), ... It Is The Brake Drum from Hell, & worse yet, the Drum appears to have been "Manufactured" to the extended Hub.

Before I go, My Sincere thanks to HeyYou!, & the rest of the Group for all of the help in getting the Emissions Controls problem straightened out,..... It was Indeed the Rear Bank O2 Sensor.

Do I Need a Priest & the local Fire Department Tanker filled with Holy Water to exorcize this Van?

The Dodge Dealership in Mt. Orab, Ohio says that they do not know how this is possible., & now, ....that they can not help me with anymore data. WTH!?!?

So, I called a Dodge Dealership in Cincinnati, Ohio & the parts department me that I have a DANA 60 Axle, & that both sides should be the same.

Is it possible, in this Universe, for the Drum to be Rusted to the Hub so perfectly, that it looks like it is One Piece?

Or, could I have a set up where the Driver's side Drum comes off differently than the Passenger side?

 

I had (just got rid of it) a 2001 2500 that had 3500 suspension parts... 8 lug wheels. Look for a tag posted underside of hood, probably driver side that will tell you what you have in van, like engine, tranny and rear end... vital info. Any thing that had to do with steering or brakes I asked for 3500 parts, even though van was badged and titled as 2500.

I had stubborn rear drum, rusted to rear axle keep beating on it to break that rust... squirt Rust Buster onto threads of lugs and try to get it behind the drum. It will break free.

When I did mine, a friend had a wheel puller, arms that extended and locked behind the edge of drum and a threaded bolt in the center that put lots of outward pressure on the drum... still had to beat on it a bunch to break it free with a heavy hammer. Good luck

If you need parts the fellow I sold it too might be parting it, and there are many new parts on that van. Got rid of it only because of computer malfunction that I could not fix. PM me if interested I live just below Cincinnati

 

Greetings rsdata!!!

It's been what, about 2 months since we've talked?

You are Absolutely correct.

As far the Brake shoes, Drums, Rear end & more, this Van is DYSFUNCTIONAL.

OReilly's, Autozone, Advanced Auto, Seip's, & Smythe's all Zealously Proclaimed that I had a 3/4 Ton Van, ........ Cuz' their Software said so. SMH

The Dodge Dealerships (Jake Sweeney & Mt. Orab) got that issue straightened out by running the VIN #, & Without Fail, or any Doubt, .... I Have a One Ton Rear-end, & Lol! No Sir, I'm not that Fat. :>)

Jake Sweeney just called me back, & they've verified that I have the same axles on both sides & that "The Drum from Hell" will have to be heated up, & beaten off.

And Brother, I am interested in that Van of yours for "Parts", cuz' if GOD Almighty is willing, I'll be able to get caught up on my work & hopefully keep the Van running for at least this Spring, & then be able to get a Newer one.

 

David, I think that it has been a little longer than two months, but who cares...

If you followed my posted story starting last February into July and later, I started having a problem with my 5.2 l 2500/3500 van that was interrupting my wintering in FL. I had pulled my TT all the way down to the Everglades and worked my way north every two weeks until all of a sudden the van would quit running intermittently OR would not start when I hit the FL panhandle. I had it towed to a Dodge dealership, then later to a private shop and tried myself to fix it with help from this forum, for a month while in FL. All the while I was helped out by FL residents or other campers either towing the van, towing the camper, or offering help to run me to the grocery store.

Eventually I returned home and drove back with a borrowed diesel dually and an implement trailer and towed the van home. The van (BWV I called her, big white van) cooperated by starting up where it had died in a church parking lot in Alabama, and then again it started on the deck of the trailer to drive it into my driveway. From that point in early April, it never left my driveway, as it was always intermittent if it started at all.

The van had always been garage kept it's first 12 years, body is pretty clean, had only about 40K on a rebuilt Jasper tranny, new RAD, new fuel pump, new alternator, air lift rear bags, tuned up regularly, all new brake parts, new E range tires, rebuilt computer, AND nearly every engine sensor replaced in a failed attempt to get it reliable again...

I put much $$$ and time and energy into trying to keep this van reliable during the 3-4 years I owned it... and somehow it still failed me, without warning, over 800 miles from home after nearly 75,000 miles of great operation... total odometer was about 198,000 miles. I bought it used with 126,000 on the odometer. The only thing that was failed was the AC, and I had planned to repair that this spring.

I just sold it to a mechanic, who now has it parked behind his shop. He said he would try to get it running, but at the very least he will part it out and get a good return on his investment. I got a couple of bucks out of it and a free spot in my driveway for a used '14 RAM crew cab 1500 with 36,000 on it. This new truck rides like a car, and has twice the Hp and torque that the old van had for effortless towing of my TT.

PM me and I will give you the name and phone number of the new owner if you should so desire to reap any parts off the old van. Good luck getting and keeping yours running

PS, if I remember correctly I used a floor jack to put pressure on the bottom of the rear brake drum, lifting the van while beating on it with a hand sledge, and it finally broke free... try this if you do not have a torch.

 

Greetings rsdata,

Jake Sweeney Dodge, after seeing my pics of the Drum, & referring to my VIN #, told me to "heat the Drum up Red Hot if necessary, & beat the Hell out of it!".

WE GOT ER' DONE!!

I dismounted the Old Hardware, & cleaned it up with Brake Cleaner & a Steel Brush before I got rained out yesterday. I'm going in to town to get a new Wheel Cylinder tomorrow even though the existing one isn't leaking, it is looking Pathetic, & I 'd rather it all be "New", instead of having to go through this again.

How do I "PM"?

I do know that when I log in to the group, the "System" refuses my Password, & then Warns me that I can only try 4 more times. For some reason, on the second try it recognizes me. SMH

I also tried to click a link for a "Service Manual" that was available & it wouldn't work.

As far as the "PM"? Yes! But how do I do it?

 

David

PM is private message... we can talk without bothering with the board.


You can get to PM me either by clicking Quick Links at the top of the Forum kind of at the right middle OR click on my NAME... RSDATA on a post I made and email or PM me from there.

I have sent you a PM and an email... hopefully we can get toether off forum...

Roger