I have a 98 Ram 1500 4x4. 16 inch tires. The brakes feel like they are having problems stopping my truck.
I was told of upgrades that can improve stopping. What does Dodge recomend and what is my cheapest way out?
Does just changing pads help? Do 2500 or 3500 brakes and rotors fit my 1500? Sorry for all the questions but I am desperate.

 

I just replaced my brake booster : truck stopped normally but if you had to stop quick for some reason (say some a**hole pulled over in front of you) and you pushed extra hard, the pedal was hard and no matter how hard you pushed it would not stop faster. After a couple of weeks of this I also noticed a slight hissing noise when pushing extra hard on the pedal. Now it stops perfectly. Can't really tell from your description if this is what yours is doing but just FYI.

 

It feels like you discribed. I was told it was a common problem with the dodge trucks and that there was an upgrade to fis the problem.

 

Ya the factory brakes aren't great. you can try different front pads and see what better for you.
The best ones I've found are the cheap Jasper ones for stopping power. OEM, Mopar V-line,
Wagner ceramic, were all about the same. I think one of the biggest problems are that the rear brakes do all most nothing. Mine are still original at 100,000km.
2500 rotors won't fit but I've heard 2500 wheel cylinders will fit and due to their larger pistons theywill apply rear brakes more.

Of course there are lots of aftermarket kits that can improve braking performance.

 

Thanks for your advise. I will try new pads first... I bought them today and will install them by week end.

 

Unless you machine the rotors it will take quite a while for your new pads to wear in so don't expect fantastic brake performance out of the box. Most likely stopping power will be reduced for a bit. Don't stomp on the brakes hard if you can avoid it for awhile, other wise you'll just overheat the pads and warp therotors and have lots of nice squealing and pulsations