I need to do a front brake job on the truck. It's a 96 1500 4x4. I own a lawn care and landscaping business, so I pull a trailer just about everyday. I need some stopping power. My rotors are warped a little and are quite thin. I guess whoever owned it before me had them turned quite a bit. I've thought about the cross-drilled and slotted but have heard that these can crack under extreme stress, and I'm going to put some stress on them. I don't really want to go with the factory stuff because it sucks when pulling a trailer. Any advice?

 

the cracking is a thing of the past. under heavy load like an r/v maybe but now aday's the mfgrs are taking steps to prevent it from happening.

I had the power stop pads & cross-drilled rotors on my truck and they out performed stock by leaps & bounds. my wife was jealous that her smaller dak couldnt stop as good as my bigger ram. I switched her as well and now she's happy.

i got them thru summit racing.com when I compared them against Napa's the added cost came to $20~40 bux more IIRC.

 

I am all for slotted rotors, but not cross drilled. Every hole drilled is less braking surface area. If your trailer is not braked, I would spend the money for a hydroboost system. Vacuum boosters are not effective if you need "holy sh*t" type braking, or the braking of every day trailer towing. I have a 95 Ram, diesel 2500. I yanked every inch of factory brake line and appliances there were....lol.


Pressure differential/ metering/ proportioning valve....GONE!
Antilock solenoids......GONE!
Factory lines....GONE!!


I redid the entire truck with 3/16 ss line. A Vanco hydroboost with a 1" bore master cylinder. I also installed the AGR-822257 Rock Ram Super PS pump.
4 - 4.5 gpm @ 1500 psi. The steering gear loves it as does the hydroboost unit...lol. Most people don't realize but the pushrod in a brake vacuum booster does NOT pass all the way thru to the MC. With a hydroboost unit, you are pushing the MC with your foot and the unit helps to push with you. The vacuum booster does it all with atmospheric pressure variations between sets of diaphrams. With a hydroboost, you can stop even if the unit fails. Just a little extra leg power is required. You'll be thankful for hydroboost with a trailer.

If towing daily is your gig, then money spent on a HD braking system is money well spent in my opinion.

A few other "tips" that I can pass along is this. The calipers that Dodge uses are good cailpers. A large single piston has the most stopping power. The trade off is reaction time. Your calipers also have quite a bit of flex to them.

You need to make sure your slider pins, AND the bushings they slide in and out of, are in tip top shape. If you pull the bushing out, you will see that it is actually the casting that starts to rust first, and then the rust build up distorts the roundness of the bushing. This subsequently puts uneven pressure on your sliders, which will quickly build heat, which brakes down the pin lube, and now everything sticks. When it sticks, the rotor takes the beating. You might see heat cracks on the pads from glazing. I can't strees enough how those bushings and pins need attention. If you brake heavy, then be ready to grease them 4x a year. Sounds like a lot but it has to be done. I know I ramble but I have spent MANY HUNDREDS of hours under my Ram. I consider myself a brake expert on mine. You can pull the pins out without having to remove the wheel each time. If they slide out with little resistance, relube them and keep driving. If they come out hard, then it's time for a busing set. I do bushing replacements once a year regardless. Mostly cause I love workin on my truck. Pull your sliders out. If they are hot from lack of lube or the bushing being untrue, you will see three rust "rings" around one end of the pins. Not the bolt, but the slider that's over it. You'll find that regular maintainence will prolong pad life, rotor life, and bearings as well.

Ok, sometimes I talk too much.

Anyway, good luck.

Good luck.