If the design isn't too different than on my Gen. 1 Dakota, the whole
caliper assembly is free to slide on it's guide screws and therefore
pressures are equalized on both sides.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Davidson, Kevin" <ked@iti-oh.com>
To: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2000 11:58 AM
Subject: DML: front brakes and rotor warpage - long one!
> Hello all. I'm new to the DML, but I've perused the archived posts off
and on over
> the past several years. Forgive me for the length of this post...
>
> I decided to go ahead and join the DML in hopes of getting some feedback
on
> the Dakota's front brakes. I haven't had time to stay current with
reading the posts
> for some time now, but I do remember a while back that a lot of people
were
> having problems with their front rotors warping. Forgive me if this topic
has been
> rehashed or repeated.
>
> I bought a 97 Dak cc, V6 5sp, brand new. I've been very satisfied with
it, except
> for this brake problem. Here's a quick summary:
>
> 20k - Front rotors warped badly; entire truck shudders when braking. Took
to the dealer,
> they machined the rotors and said "highway driving will do that".
!?!?!?!!!! This got me
> off on the wrong foot...
>
> 40k - Front rotors warped badly again. I had read on the DML that a
solution to this
> problem is to replace the Chrysler garbage rotors with plain old
aftermarket parts. So,
> I personally replaced the front rotors with a set from napa.
>
> 60k (now) - Front rotors warped badly.
>
>
> Ever since I drove the truck off the lot, the lug nuts have been installed
exclusively with
> a proper torque wrench. I very rarely haul heavy loads or tow, and my
driving is about
> 75% highway, 25% city. I use engine braking when practical.
>
> When I pulled the calipers off to replace the rotors at 40k, I was VERY
surprised at what
> I saw. Now I don't claim to be an expert mechanic, but I have done brake
jobs on a handful
> of cars before, and I've never seen anything like this before - and that
is, the outboard brake
> pads are FIXED!! Every other brake system I've ever seen is designed
such that the rotor
> is sandwiched between the inboard and outboard pads, which can both move
and squeeze
> the rotor from both sides. NOT ON THE DAKOTA. The outboard pad is fixed,
and is not
> free to move at all. I might be out in left field, but to me it looks
like one of the following
> happens in this brake design:
>
> (a) The inboard pad pushes out against the rotor, and the rotor BENDS
slightly outward from
> the applied force, until it comes into contact with the outboard pad. The
rotor warps from the
> constant flexing (as the rotor turns, the location of deflection movies
circumferentially)
>
> ...or...
>
> (b) The inboard pad pushes out against the rotor, and the fixed outboard
pad just sits there
> and does absolutely nothing. The rotor warps from intense heat and
pressure applied to only
> the inside of the rotor.
>
> In either case, it looks to me like the front brakes on this truck are
essentially ONE PAD per
> wheel, and that the rotors are bound to warp due to this setup. When I
replaced the rotors on
> my truck at 40k, the pads had plenty of meat left on them - but the
outboard pads had
> considerably less wear than the inboard pads. This tells me that a
combination of (a) and (b)
> above probably defines what happens when we press the brake pedal.
>
> Now - I'd like to know, how many people have had rotor warpage problems?
Again, forgive
> me if this topic has been driven into the ground already.
>
> The reason I want to know this, is that I sent a complaint to
DaimlerChrysler about this,
> and they replied by saying "there has been little complaint from customers
about the Dakota
> brakes..." (I'll send my complaint and DC's answer in a seperate post).
>
> My point is that we should all let DC know of this problem. I'm sure they
know it's there, but
> they aren't going to do a thing about it unless we let them know we don't
like it. Will they
> change the design? Doubt it, not just because of us anyways. But it
can't hurt to give
> them some feedback. One way to give them feedback is at the following
address. In my
> opinion, everyone who's had this problem needs to let them know about it.
>
> http://www.dcanswers.com/contact/
>
> Please let me know how many of you have had this problem, and also let me
know what you
> think of the brake design and my description/concerns.
>
> Thanks
> Kevin
>
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:52:43 EDT