For a few weeks now my 99 Durango has been only braking by the front two brakes which as some of you may know is very scary because stopping this tank is next to impossible without all 4 brakes working properly.

I 'assume' the rear isn't working because when I brake, the front wheels just lock up while the rear is still rolling.

The weird thing is that the front brakes lock up even when the slightest pressure is applied to the pedal no matter what speed I am traveling.

Can there be a problem with both the front and the rear brakes??? Or could something be not operating correctly causing the front brakes to lock and nothing to the rear brakes?

I was just going to buy some rear shoes and open up the rear brake drums but if any of you have different suggestions, please help. Thanks

 

I would say take those drums off and look at it before jumping to conclusions on anything else. I imagine without any pads left in the back it could cause the D to lunge forward moreso in a braking situation and cause it to lock up like you are saying. How many miles are on the rears?

 

sounds like a proportioning valve you have one from the factory,take it to a good brake shop its worth your life

 

^ What he said LOL!

 

I already did a right up and corrective action on this problem so I did a search under (rear brakes) and this will fix your proplem:


I tried everything and finally found the most stupidest thing. The rear automatic adjusters were bad causing the front to do all the work. The rear shoes where not adjusting out to cover the wear of the shoes. Replaced the auto adjusters and problem solved. The problem is the dowel on the shoe were the adjusters pivot is too big and allows for side to side movement which causes the tooth on the auto adjusters to wear off and not grab the adjustment screw. Looked like a manufactures flaw. Bought the full set from NAPA for $15 bucks a side. Remember to change out the dowel. You will see the difference in the openings.

You have to grind the back of the dowel off and drill the hole a small bit bigger and hammer the new dowel in. Make sure you look at the touching surface between the adjusters and the adjusting screw very carefully. The adjuster is not supposed to come out towards you that far. The new ones pivot perfectly.

 

or for a kid like me that may not have the time to do all that at lest you know what your up against if taking it to the break shop so they don't sqrew you over.. ps DAMN Hydrashocker you really do know your stuff.....

 

I have a 2002 Durango, and it has always had issues with the brakes... The ABS locks at strange times, and for no reason and it was usually only using the front brakes. I took it to the dealer, they didnt find anything wrong. I took it to a private mechanic and they didnt find anything wrong.

After reading this I went and got a complete spring replacement kit and auto-adjusters figuring I was just going to replace everything dealing with the rear brakes.

I wasnt quite sure which "Dowel" was being refered to, but as soon as I got the Drum off and looked it was obvious. I checked the auto-adjuster and sure enough the lever that usually spins the adjuster wheel wasnt making contact the with wheel at all...

I opened the new adjuster kit and sure enough, there is a new Dowel in the kit. I had some new shoes and I checked it against the dowel that came in the new shoes and it was a little different (Tighter gap)

I drilled out the old dowel and put in the new dowel, replaced all of the springs and auto-adjuster, and it has totally resolved the problem. Real shame that the entire issue is caused by a small dowel that can't cost more than 5 cents.

If you are having braking issues on a 1999-2003 durango I highly suggest getting the auto-adjuster replacement kit and putting that new dowel in... the kit was less than 10$... but the break assembly is a PITA to work on.

 

Nice to see you got it. Here is that thread:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...37-brakes.html

 

I have only had my 99 durango since August, new engine and new brakes all the way around.

My problem seems to be the opposite of everything I have been reading. I have rear brakes almost all the time, its almost like pulling a trailer, i took it in and the guy moved the adjustment screws and for 3 days it was perfect then they apparently tightened back up. So will this rear brake adjustment screw kit fix my problem as well ?

 

I would replace the adjusters (including the dowel). You can find the adjusters at NAPA. And replace the brake shoes if worn.