Automotive Forums

The front disc brakes on my van have locked and over heated 3 times. Once on the driver's side and twice on the passenger's side.  Each time I had to replace the calipers, hoses, seals and turn the rotor.

What can be causing this?  And what can be done?  The mechanics say, "that's a Dodge".  Me and my wallet say Help!!  

yeah dodge brakes are probably the worst brakes on earth  

summercut:
The front disc brakes on my van have locked and over heated 3 times. Once on the driver's side and twice on the passenger's side.  Each time I had to replace the calipers, hoses, seals and turn the rotor.

What can be causing this?  And what can be done?  The mechanics say, "that's a Dodge".  Me and my wallet say Help!!

Irregardless of the ignorant post above and by your "mechanics", if this has occured a total three times, the cause should be apparent to someone who is qualified in the repair of braking systems.  Knowing nothing else about the vehicle, it would seem that you have a brake pedal pushrod that is too long, a problem with the master cylinder/power booster interface or just a bad master cylinder.  Incorrect fluid in the braking system such as power steering fluid (yes, I've seen it many times) will cause the same problem, but at this point the system should have been bled often enough to precluse that as a possibility.

So where do you go from here?  Well, if it happens again I suggest taking to a different shop.  I hope you stay away from the Precision Tune, Pep Boys, etc type of places and go to a real independent repair shop.  They should have no problem isolating and repairing the root cause because all that's been fixed befor is the symptoms.

BTW, have you had any work relating to the brake sysem performed recently prior to this starting to happen?  

i stand by the my previous statement, that dodge has the worst brakes, they put brakes on their trucks and vans that are considerably smaller than other manufactures, everyone i have ever known (including me) who has owned a dodge truck or van will say the same thing  

To: vwhobo

I am taking the van to an independent shop that I have used for many years with successful fixes in the past of other cars and problems.

What about a Dodge dealership?  What's your opinion?

I have had no previous brake work other than the 3 freeze ups.

I did notice a long dry rust streak down the power booster where it meets the master cylinder.  I cleaned it up and keep checking to see if there was a noticeable leak.  I never could see one. It's still dry and clean.  Could this be the interface problem you spoke of above.

Please advise.  

Burtreyn0lds:
i stand by the my previous statement, that dodge has the worst brakes, they put brakes on their trucks and vans that are considerably smaller than other manufactures, everyone i have ever known (including me) who has owned a dodge truck or van will say the same thing

Newsflash junior.  I personally service three fleets containing a total of 70+ Dodge vans and trucks.  I also own 1,2,3,4,5, six of my own so I have more than a little experience in the matter.  A lowly '95 Dakota V6 has larger brake pads and calipers than a full sized Chevy or Ford and the rotors are the same diameter.  If you can show me any industry documentation to prove what you're saying, I'll be happy to read it and retract my statememt.  Until then it stands.

Just because you type garbage doesn't mean we need to let it ride.  If you're going to degrade an entire line of vehicles, at least be man enough to back it up with facts.  

Dodge RAM brake recalls speak for themselves.  
 Dodge trucks/suv's catching fire now, to be continued with recalls...
Should we continue to speculate......
 Maybe the brakes catching fire?
 It's the hottest deal of the summer!
 New dodge Ram with heated seats!

 It's not dodge though, it's just an American car thing, which answers the original question. It's because you bought an american car, duh.

 What is "Because I bought American for 400 Alex"