I bought a 1997 dodge 3500 van a while back. When I bought it the brakes were bad. The van was pulling to the passenger side because the caliper was locked up. The abs and brake light also went on and off at random. I replaced the caliper and put new pads on the front. I bled the passenger side caliper. But now when I hit the brakes hard it pulls to the driver side. I figured I didnt bleed the brakes good enough so i bought a vacuum bleeding kit and blead it out again. It still pulls to the driver side. We took it on a long drive (80 miles @70 mph) and when we got where we were going the passenger side front brake was smoking. I can't figure out whats going on here. Any help???

 

Whenever you open up the hydraulic brake lines, you must bleed the whole system, not just the component you replaced.

I will venture a guess that your rubber flexible front brake lines have swollen shut on the inside. The MC has enough power to push fluid past it, but the clogged line keeps some pressure and keeps applying the brake after you take your foot off of it.

Don't just replace one, do both, and flush the whole braking system.

There is another flexible brake line going to the back axle. Might as well do that one at the same time.

 

Ok, that makes sense. I'll look into it tomorrow. The only thing im worried about is that i replaced the passenger side caliper and its pulling to the drivers side when you hit the brakes. But I did notice today that when you jack up the front end the drivers side free spins alot easier than the passenger side. I think the rotor might be warped a little. anyways are there any other ideas or are you sticking to the rubber lines?

 

I don't know of a way to test the flexible rubber lines. Outside cracking could indicate age, but internal blockage, no. Replacement and rebleeding the brakes would at least eliminate those as a culprit.

If the caliper got so hot it was smoking, some damage could have occurred to the new caliper in addition to glazing the brake pads, warping the rotor, and burning the bearings. The brake fluid also does not like to get that hot.

The rear brakes and the adjustment there of can also cause pulling to one side or another.
Air in the line leading to any of the individual brakes can also cause pulling. If the rubber lines are collapsed, and the MC pushed an air bubble through it, the reexpansion of the air might cause the caliper to activate slightly, and cause the rubbing which led to the overheating and smoke.

If you only bled the one caliper you replaced, then you might have shot yourself in the foot, and get to redo the whole job again with new parts.

 

Landyacht318 gives good advice concerning the brake hoses. I too have given the same advice in the recent past on this forum.

If you Search you will find archived discussions regarding front brake calipers locking up. In some cases it is the caliper itself (worn, faulty, overheated). In some (usually rare) cases it can be an ABS issue.

In my case it was a front brake hoses. Over time the rubber swells and the hoses refuse to properly flow the hydraulic fluid in either direction.

The cost is only about $20 a side; I recommend you change them both.

 

I changed the rubber line, the rotor and when I had it apart I noticed the wheel bearings were bad so I changed those also. The brakes don't pull anymore so i'm pretty sure it was the rubber line. Good advice, would of never thought of that!!! I don't think the brakes are rubbing... but the tire still doesn't spin as freely as the drivers side. Need to take the caliper off tomorrow and narrow down why its not spinning as freely....

 

The tire might not be rotating as freely for several possible causes.


Did you properly seat the bearings, then back off the nut and retorque according to spec?


The inside brake pad is designed to slide on the caliper. Where the brake pad rests on the caliper should be smooth and free or rust. I like taking a wire brush or wheel to this area, and use a light dab of high temp grease.

 

Didn't get a chance to check out the van today, had to replace the wheel bearing and ball joint on my blazer. But anyways, not sure what the spindle nut is supposed to be torqued down to, and I dont have a socket that big for my torque wrench. I just tightened it down, then backed it off and tightened it down fairly snug. Also the brake caliper is new and where the pads slide is clean and a dab of grease on it. Wondering about the shims the pads came with, The rotor is new and not sure if they need to be in there? Any info on why the pads come with them shim plate things?

 

I've had little luck in having the shims stay in place. Within a couple months I hear a rubbing and find even the adhesive backed shims have slid off the pad and are rubbing on the rim. Then I remove them, and noticed no difference in noise or performance and wonder why they are necessary.

MAR can give you a good description on how to torque the lugs to spec. I have just tightened the nut with a tool about a 1/2 turn past finger tight, then spun the wheel to seat the bearings, then back off the nut, retighten the nut till finger tight and re insert cotter pin.

 

I know - it doesn't seem to make sense, especially when the outside of the hose is in good shape, free from cracks and leaks. But the inside of those front hoses must really take a beating since the front discs do most of the work on these heavy vans. Glad changing the hose got you fixed up.

You might be getting drag from the caliper now if it was overheated. I seriously doubt your brake pad is binding in the carrier.

If properly adjusting the spindle nut doesn't give you a free-wheeling front rotor then you may need a new caliper. These are also cheap from the local Advance Auto Parts store.

My Advance has rebuilt Carbone units for $21.95 when you bring your old core in for them to rebuild.