Hi everyone - I have a '99 Dakota, w/ about 84,000 miles on it, and I'm very concerned b/c just within the past week or so, I've noticed that when I brake and come to a complete stop, there is a grinding noise, and what appears to be a 'light shuddering' as I come to a stop....I say 'light' because sometimes i don't feel it, and at other times it feels heavy or awkward...just today the grinding now occurs when I'm driving (and not braking)....I just had my truck at the dealership a week or so prior to all of this, and they had power flushed the brake system, and replaced fluid for the front and rear differential, among other things, but they did say I'd need my upper ball joints replaced.....I've scanned the forums on this sight, and one thing I'm concerned about is taking it to the dealership, having them 'fix' the probelam only to find out the the problem still occurs. Do you think it's a good idea to take it somewhere else for a second opinion (as in a fee front-end check), and what can I do myself to check/test for what the problem may be? Thanks for any input!

 

Yes, get a second opinion if it would give you peace of mind, good idea. If i was you, i would take it back and replace your ball joints. If you don't and it IS in fact your ball joints and they fail, ultimately they could cause wheel seperation. Dont drive it any more than you have to, or the results could be disasterous.

 

Thanks for the response - that's what I'll do.....and what do you think of this --->>> I find it very odd that I had no problems w/ my truck until taking it to the dealer.....plus, they also told me that my water pump was leaking and that it needed to be replaced - well, 3 weeks since it was in, I've had cardboard placed under my truck every day and to date, no evidence of any type of leakage....so I'm really suspicious in regards to all of this.....is it also possible that this noise could be the result of improper servicing of the transfer case and/or differential, b/c since they worked on that, I've had this issue?

 

if its grinding when you stop its your brakes.. the pads are worn all the way down and the metal is grinding into the rotor.. just take your wheels off and check your rotor for scratches or anything.. but i know for a fact its your brakes

 

Thanks - I'll check that out as well - I'm a novice to all this stuff, but I'll go out right now and jack it up, try to see if the tires have any play (shake top to bottom and left to right), and then I'll take the tires off and check the rotors.....

 

...oh yeah, I'll let you guys know what I find out after doing this!

 

....well, upon jacking up my truck, I gripped the front tires at top and bottom (12 and 6 o'clock), and really couldn't get the tires to move, but they did give a little when I grabbed them to left and right (9 and 3 o'clock).....not sure if this is normal (isn't left/right movement more indicitive of a rod issue?).....and, should there be a little give, or none at all top and bottom, as well as left and right?

As far as the rotors, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for (is there a good example on the web somewhere?)......I was expecting to see obvious scratches, but I didn't see any......there were circular scratches uniformly all over the rotor, but kind of faint - to me that would seem ok/normal due to the normal functioning of the brakes?

 

you only want to grab the tire at 12 and 6. and for the rotors they should be smooth just rub your finger across them to see if they are rough or not, at times it can be hard just looking at them

 

If the pads are in fact worn down to the metal, it wouldn't take lone for the brakes to chew up the rotor enough so they feel like a metal file when you run your finger across them. I'm talking metal slivers in your fingers. But just make sure you check both inside and outside surfaces of both wheels, they don't necessarily wear down excactly even. But your right about small circular scratches, normal.

 

You guys are all great - thanks for the advice......a buddy of mine at work also checked the rotors for me today, and he verified that my rotors are worn - I ran my finger/fingernail across them and there are a whole bunch of small ridges.....I'm gonna take my truck to his place tomorrow to put on new pads......now, any advice on what type of break pads to get.....I heard going to NAPA and getting Moog?