Hi everyone! i'm new here and I come with a problem I hope yall can help me with...I recently bought a 2001 Cummins Shortbed, Quadcab, 4x4. I bought the truck sight-unseen and as is where is...When we were loading the truck I noticed the brakes hanging and the steering wheel being hard to turn...When we got it home we noticed powersteering fluid leaking and covering the underside of the engine compartment...When you push the brakes they lock and it takes about 5-10 seconds to release...any ideas??? Thanks in advance!

 

Our trucks are known to have leaky PS hoses. That very well may be the only problem there. I'd try filling it up and do some turning in place. You'll be able to see or feel if it's leaking.

The brakes could need some new calipers. The rubber boots may be gone and a lot of crud got in to cease up the piston. That would be a reason they lock and take for ever to release. Or, you coould have a master cylinder going bad.

 

Jack up the wheel that is hanging up. Have someone step on the brakes. Go underneath and as soon aas they release the pedal crack open the bleeder. IF the tire instantly frees up the prblem is in the brake lines. If itts still locked up the problem is the caliper.

 

Don't know if the newer trucks have hydraulic boost still but could they be related ?

 

I dont think the problem is the hydro boost. . .if it was it would take forever for the thing to stop, if at all.

 

Its not just one wheel doing it, it's all of them...all four wheels lock up, not to the point of sliding the tire but enough to almost stall the truck out in 3rd gear goin around 25...

 

The brake master cylinder has become contaminated with power steering fluid that has leaked past the seal in the hydraboost, this causes the rubber cups to swell and block off the return flow of the fluid, thus causing the brakes to release very slowly, to verify this you can jack up a wheel, pump up the brakes and then loosen the bleeder screw, if you have pressure there than thats the problem, if your lucky it has just ruined your master, however all the wheels are likely contaminated and have swollen the rubber parts in the calipers and slaves, at the least tear them down and inspect and clean them, or they will contaminate your new master cyl.

as for the power steering fluid under the truck, your pump has likely given out which foams the oil terribly then when you shut the truck off it all spews out the cap, or less likely it is pulling in air from thehydraboost at the mentioned leaking seal and the air is foaming the oil leading to the same resuslt. Ive gotten some of these rigs in the shop before for this same problem and thats what we have found, just my 2 cents! btw welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks 6, I hope what you're saying is correct because I really don't wanna have to take the thing to the local dealer to get this problem taken care of...Also, have any of you seen the ball joints worn so badly that it gives the front wheels drastic amounts of camber? The front end of the truck looks like it's ready to run at Charlotte or something...

 

Yes!I have an 01 and bought it used in 2001 with 38k on it. The ball joints were worn so bad that the inside of the right tire was bald and the outside of the tire had an inch of tread on it. And ifI hit a bump in the road it would change lanes on it's own. I'd check your trac arm,hubs and everything else up front too.Replace it with MOOG or some other good brand aftermarketparts, not Dodge parts from the dealer. The dealerparts are cr@p and won't last very long.

Also check your lift pump. If it is the original lift pump, go ahead and change it out too. It will save you from eventually breaking down on the side of the road, or worse ruining your VP44 and costing you $2k-$3k to fix.

The good news is that once you get it going, it will last you a long, long, long, longtime.

 

Thanks guys...I guess I just need to get to work on the truck now, you guys have been most helpful...thanks!