At 12:59 PM 1/31/96 -0600, you wrote:
>While we are on the subject of brakes, here's an interesting one...
>
>I brought my 92 Dakota to the dealer today because of a loud drivetrain
>clunking noise which occurs after a long (30 mile or more) highway drive.
>It sounded like a bad U-joint or something in the driveline. He just
>called me to tell me that my brake pads are sticking because my rotors
>are slightly warped, the calipers are fine, but he needs to resurface
>my rotor.
>
>I've owned many vehicles before, and while warped rotors are usually
>noticable under light braking, I've NEVER seen brakes stick and 'clunk'
>so loudly. I guess it's unique to the Dakota, but it's something you
>folks may want to be aware of.
>
>Bob
>
I've experienced some small clunks coming from my front brakes, especially
when I brake while turning to the right and coming to a complete stop. This
doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's after the brakes have warmed
up. I can also feel a small clunk in the peddle. My braking power doesn't
seem to be effected, even when I trailer my Z car. As a matter of fact, I
don't believe I've heard or felt the clunk when I'm towing the trailer.
When I looked at the brakes, everything looked fine, but I wonder if the
rotors could be slightly warped? Maybe the brakes are sticking a little bit
after they heat up. It seems to me that I would feel more of a wobble if
this were the case.
I took the truck to the dealer and asked them to check it out, but they told
me that they coudn't duplicate the symptom, nor could the mechanic detect
anything wrong with the brakes through a visual inspection. I really want
to figure it out soon since my warranty will run out in about 5 months and I
want to get the truck working perfectly before this happens.
The truck is a 92 Dakota Sport xtra cab 3.9L with a 5 speed. It's got
around 50k on it and still runs great. I bought the truck as a factory buy
back (due to a sticky transmission/gearbox) from the dealer in June of 1995,
so they gave me a year bumper to bumper and a four year drive train
warranty. I've taken the truck to the dealer a couple of times, and they are
really helpful. If anybody has any ideas about this, I would love to hear
(read) them. Thanks
Jed Unrot
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