Torquing lug nuts cause rotor warpage? I rate that clear up with the Throttle Body Spacer. And watch out........ the sky is falling

 

Let me tell you the REAL reason that Dodge Ram brakes SUCK. Not even the dealer understands what the problem is. The calipers that Chrysler uses are actually a very good caliper. The problem, believe it or not is rust/corrosion. Have you ever taken your caliper slider pins out and they are bone dry, with three little rings of rust around them? Here's the problem no one addresses. The pins go dry because the grease is being scraped right off during brake application. You have to remove the 2 bushings that the pins slide back and forth through. Now, take the caliper and look into the casting. You will see that the hole in which the bushings slide into, is out of round due to corrosion. I have to take a hone to mine once a year to keep them from binding up. It's a sh*t design, but a large single piston caliper has MEGA stopping power.


My hand to God that is your problem. When the bushing hole is distorted, the pins loose their grease immediately, then the caliper cannot release properly. That in tun, keeps the pad against the rotor, creating heat, thus warping the rotor.


Easy fix. Hone the hole, BUT DO NOT COAT IT with any kind of antisieze. The bushings will work themselves out, and eventually tear. Trust me, it gets that bad. Anyone who's vehicle turns to the right or left when they brake, has the corrosion problem mentioned above.

The second thing you want to do is slotted rotors. Rotors can take heat from normal braking all day long. What they can't handle is the extreme temps that occur when you apply the brakes and there is no where for the gases to escape. The gases are what happens when pad meets rotor. That is the exchange for braking. Friction causes the pad to vaporize. That gas gets caught between the pad and rotor. And it QUICKLY superheats. With slotted rotors, the heat travels thru each slot and aleviates the high temps. No need for cross drilled either. It weakens the rotor after a while and having all that metal missing takes away from the total braking surface area.

Do what I did. I put an EGR rear disk conversion on the back, EGR calipers and slotted rotors all the way around. A Vanco Brake hydroboost unit
with a GM style cast master cylinder with a 1-5/16 bore. The fronts are live-lined from the master cylinder, and so are the rears. The rear brakes have a Wildwood adjustable proprtioning valve in-line, that I mounted right in the cab. It's the CATS ***. When I have a load in the back, or am towing, I simply increase the pressure to the rears by turning the valve. When I'm empty, or it's raining, I dial the rears down. I don't get wet, I don't get dirty, and I never leave the vehicle....lol.

I also use a Jamar manual line loc as my emergency brakes. Why Dodge didn't make hydroboost standard equipment is beyond me. Good luck.

 

i agree oem rotors always seem to suck i work at a shop and see a lot of rams with warped rotors. i alwyas recomend replacing them i never turn them because they warp so easliy. why the do i dunno but i would always recomend keeping your rear drum brakes in adjustment just so they help slow the truck down. if there way out of adjustment the front brakes do more work thus heating them up more and causing to wear faster. makes sense, so i check my rear brake adjustment often, usually every oil change. just a thought to help

 

Sorry 140 is for the Chevy, have one of them also and just did the brakes on that.

 

The truck does have over 115,000 miles on it. I do sometimes experience a pull to either direction under braking but only when on a rough or uneven road surface. Usually a road that is paved but rutted is the worst. On a flat smooth road the truck does seem to stop straight.

I always thought that the wider tires made the truck a handful under braking on a rough road but this idea about the calipers requiring service does make sense with this kind of mileage. Also the truck is 2WD and has 275/60R17 on it just for reference. The truck is also lowered with 2 inch drop spindles in the front but the alignment is spot on. My parents actually own a repair shop and the alignment was recently done and all the front end part checked out as being tight. I’m starting to believe that the calipers may need to be rebuilt or replaced and I should also invest in some slotted rotors. I just also had the rear drums apart and they were in great shape but I did adjust them properly upon putting them back together.

Thanks for helping me think of a few things I should have been able to figure out on my own.