So I know Dakotas don't have good brakes, but I think mine might be worse than others. What are some things I can check out? It feels like they have no initial bite in, and then once they grab the truck just don't really slow down like I think it should.

 

First pull both back drums off and inspect the cylinders for leaks and that they are actually moving in and out they tend to get frozen up all new hardware is a good idea and a full hardware kit is cheap if the shoes are ok just turn the drums or rough them up and install for a better bite.

Flush out the old DOT 3 is a good start also

This is a good start

 

yep. A chunk of it is the back brakes. Once you get them working, you should get a good bit of pedal back.

 

What about for disks?

 

The front are very easy to do just remember one thing compress the piston in all the way before you reassemble the calipers and pads the new assemble should slip back in with ease

Not the greatest vid and he dosent look like he has done this before but it gives you an idea on how its done

 

Just remember how the pad clips are placed

Also a rotor can be slightly scratched or streaked and not need turning as long as they look flat across the surface and the old pads were not metal to metal turning is not needed I usually just clean them up and install.

Most people like to get them trued up turned nice and shiny new looking

 

and be careful of the slide-pins. They are NOT bull-nosed. DO NOT use an AIR RATCHET. Put them in by hand.

 

Yes be careful installing those slide pins they can strip easy install by hand snug only maybe 10 to 15 Lb. of torque at most the key I found out is be sure the piston is pushed in all the way if not the caliper binds and angles the caliper to the slider pins holes


SNUG ONLY

And lube the slider pins and inside the slider pin holes good I used the white molly grease

 

If you do strip out a caliper slide pin bolt hole you can buy a new slide pin with oversized threads. I got one at Advance Auto Parts not long ago, it was in the "Help" parts section, part #13894. It worked great and kept me from having to replace the steering knuckle.

Jimmy

 

A word of caution after you finish the breaks on a Dakota they have a very odd problem that can pop up you may experience front brakes binding on you. How you know this is you can feel the car is sluggish like you are hauling a load and you can smell the hot rotors as you exit out the car so after you do any brake work keep an eye on the front rotors for signs of excessive heat to the rotors.

It’s not clear why this happens I think it has something to do with the ABS system it’s somehow out of whack.

What stops this from happening by my experience is do the back first wait a week then do the front brakes

If you do get the binding problem try bleeding the system back first then the front but first try and push the caliper piston in as much as you can before bleeding the front or break the bleeder open then push the caliper piston in then bleed

Hopefully this will fix it just keep an eye on the front brakes for a day or two

One other explanation I think is if your caliper pistons were out quite a bit because of very worn pads now that they are pushed back in there is a bit of wear material in the piston bore very fine metal Dust and this causes the binding so re bleeding gets the Dust out and frees them up and pushing the piston all the way back in does the same thing it helps clean out the caliper piston bore.