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Jeff
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2002
17:17:23

Subject: BRAKES!
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Please someone with the magic answer tell me the most inexpensive way to cure my brake troubles. I have horrible pulsation from the pedal and the whole cab shakes. My wife is afraid to drive it. A brake shop down the street said $710 for everything it needs. They say it's stopping ability is still good and safety is not a problem. Also they (Midas) said the rotors have already been turned twice. Do I have to spend all this money or are new rotors enough? Any idea the cost including labor? Is this a do it yourself job? I have no experience with brakes. Thanks for the help.



joe
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2002
17:56:30

RE: BRAKES!
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Yes, go someplace else!! New rotors are not much more then having your old ones turned, unless you opt for something fancy.



born2steel21
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2002
22:07:53

RE: BRAKES!
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Jeff, if you search around the forums you'll find many dak owners complaining about the same issue. Basically, from my understanding, dodge went with too light of a rotor for the dakota and many owners are having problems with their rotors warping. Even after having them turned the problem typically comes back after about a thousand miles. A good set of powerslot rotors seems to be the best option in aliviating this problem and that should be it besides new pads. If you have any mechanical inclination at all, you should be able to do a brake job with a maintenance manual such as chilton or haynes. Thats how I learned. If your not comfortable with that buy the rotors and let someone install them for you. I would pursue this option before paying the $710.



rtdkota
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2002
22:57:38

RE: BRAKES!
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$710?? Buy the parts and pay my airfare and I'll come out and do it for ya! :P

Powerslots are one of the best choices out there... they cost about 4x's what an OEM replacement costs... I got about 25k out my powerslots before I had a pad crack and lunch my driver's side rotor. If you are hard on funds, you can always go to autozone-- pick up a set of pads for around $26.00, then get this... 2 ROTORS (made in Canada) for about $60.00--- Purchase a 8mm allen socket, a couple cans of brake cleaner, and go home and change your brakes. Shouldn't take you more than 2 hours if you are slow ! Easiest vehicle to do a brake job on!

Sam
www.socaldakota.com





JMII
Dodge Dakota
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5/13/2002
20:37:30

RE: BRAKES!
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Midas sucks! :(

They completely f***ed-up the brakes on my Civic several years ago. All I needed was new pads (guy next door was a wrench-head and told me so), but the butt-wipes at Midas went on and on about the other "problems" (like brakes lines? please) and kept trying to bleed more $$ out of me. I told them to stick the pads in & been done with, I was not buying their sales pitch at all. So in the end they put the wrong pads on and toasted my perfectly fine rotors. So... DO NOT GO TO MIDAS they blow! :o

- John



Craig
Dodge Dakota
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5/16/2002
13:45:54

RE: BRAKES!
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I just spent $360 for new Raybestos pads and rotors at a local tire shop. That price included a front end alignment. Everything has been OK so far. My factory brakes were horrible. There is definitely some defect with the factory rotors on Dakotas.



handi2
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5/17/2002
21:11:07

RE: BRAKES!
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The rotors in the Chrysler vans are the same and they are also having warping problems.


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joe
Dodge Dakota
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5/18/2002
16:10:02

RE: BRAKES!
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I agree with that! I went through two sets of factory rotors on my van before getting a cheap set from the local brake shop. Haven't had another problem.....



Mac
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2002
08:20:37

RE: BRAKES!
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Hey Jeff, I have a 2000 Dak. First set of rotors went on at the dealer at 11,000 miles. Second set I argued with them about up to 35,000 miles. The warped at 20,000. Finally the changed them at 38,000. It now has 41,000 on it and they are shot again. The Dealer told me that it was the self-adjusters in the rear drums that were'nt working and thats why the fronts warped. I am going to chrysler, anyone want to join me? I have only had the truck for a 1 1/2 years.



kawzx7
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2002
09:20:52

RE: BRAKES!
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(Tongue in cheek here, so no flames!!)
I agree the brakes warp fairly early on these trucks, but not to the point you guys are complaining about them. I swear some of you guys must ride them constantly. I picked my truck up used at 12K miles, and I noticed some light pulsation. I have been driving like a friggin idiot for 10,000 more miles, and the brakes pulsate just as much as at 12,000 miles. Yes, very little change. Are all you guys doing mainly city driving??? City driving will warp even the best stuff.

I am gonna get the rotors cut and the drums done soon with some Performance friction carbon metallic pads up front, and some carbon metallic shoes in the rear and I'll let you know. I put the Performance Friction carbon metallic pads on my S-10 at 30,000 miles, never cut a rotor for almost 50K miles of HARD driving, like when you stop at home you can smell the brakes!!!!

As I have said before, if you think Dodge spent any less money on rotors than say GM or Ford...WRONG! Pennies are pennies. BUT, the pads they put on these brake systems are so hard, no stock rotor is gonna last long. Believe it. I warped my Chevy S-10 rotors quick, my Cavalier rotors quick, even our Ford Escape is gonna warp the rotors here soon I believe.

Don't forget, these are heavy trucks, so the rotors will get hotter, than, say, a Geo Metro. But the brakes on our trucks are also bigger to take that extra abuse. Go to Chrysler if you want, you're wasting your time IMHO.

Later guys



mac
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2002
13:17:23

RE: BRAKES!
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I hear what you are typing but let me ad this. In the 5000 miles it took to waste a pair of rotors, I dove 1200 miles on the interstate with the cruise set. I drive 60+ interstate miles a day to work and back. I also have a 99 Ford SuperDuty in the garage with 72,000 miles on it. Never put as much as a brake pad on it. Its a extended cab/4x4/V8 diesel/8'bed. Thats a heavy truck. The dealership told me the reason its happening was because the self adjusters in the rear drums were'nt working. Shortly after that I had a trailer that weighed about 2000lbs push me half way thru an intersection in a drizzle with the front tires locked. NO REAR BRAKES. I agree with some of what you say, yeah, its possible that some are riding there brakes, but I know how to drive, and that ain't the problem.



kawzx7
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2002
20:55:29

RE: BRAKES!
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I shoulda clarified. Mac, you're an isolated case I guess, and well within your rights to b!tch. I would to. My drums are working fine(thankfully), obviously you ate the front up quicker since the drums weren't working as they should have.

Buuut, same thing coulda happened on your SuperDuty. I don't blame the trucks, you just get a bad one every now and then. With the shoddy balljoints, and some brake type issues, I still would never return to my piece of sh!t Chevy truck or any GM for that matter. I had so much work done on my Chevy with the 10/100 extended warranty I septupled(7 times for the slow folks) my money on a $1000 investment.

I love my Dak more than any truck so far. That 4.7 eases all my cares...........!!! Hahahaha!

Later
Chris



Bill Smith
Dodge Dakota
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5/21/2002
22:52:22

RE: BRAKES!
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one quick coment on the rotor warpage problem.
trust me, a lot of this is self indused. are you or the shop doing your brake work reinstaling the wheels with a torque wrench or a 10,000 ft pound impact gun? ive seen guys absolutely destroy rotors AND wheels by hammering lugnuts with an impact gun. if the lug nuts are not tightened evenly ... it distorts the rotors and will warp them in as little as a thousand miles. food for thought!



mannyzamora
GenII
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5/23/2002
03:22:01

RE: BRAKES!
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First let me tell you guys with 3gen daks something. The rotors on your trucks are to friggin small! And your trucks are on an average 300 -500lbs hevier then the gen2's. The overtorqing will defenetly kill them also. Just for GP you 3gen guys look at the brakes on gen2 daks, much larger. I have a 94 with 53k on it. Have not had to replace the brakes on it yet. Also have competed in 4 open track events, on the same brakes. The pads and shoes are still at about 50%.

manuel i zamora

Big Blue QC
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5/23/2002
08:07:14

RE: BRAKES!
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Like Bill Smith said, the torque of the lugnuts is critical on ANY new car today. 22,000 miles, 2 tire rotations, and the use of a torque wrench to tighten the lugnuts is why I have NO pulsation at all. Pads still look almost new too. As far as the rear drums go, to make sure they self-adjust, in an empty parking lot go about 5-10 MPH in reverse and slam on the brakes. Go ahead and do this everal times. The hard torque twist that occurs is what moves the self-adjusting mechanism. The normal tendancy of drivers is to go from reverse into drive, or from reverse to first without completely stopping while in reverse. This also shortens the life of your transmission. Try it.

2002 QC 4x4 Sport Plus, 4.7L, auto, Patriot Blue, Tire & Handling group,
Heavy Duty Service group, Leer cap w/out windows, Mopar Step bars and roof rack, Rhino liner in bed and on step bars, Pace Edwards Power Tailgate lock
3.55 rear, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes, all possible fluids are AMSOIL

Knobbyman
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5/23/2002
09:37:05

RE: BRAKES!
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There is a Group Buy on Rotors Right now.. If you need yours replaced you can get Slotted Rotors Shipped for about $178 (GREAT DEAL FOR THESE ROTORS).. Check out the Group Buys board.

'01 Graphite QC 4x4
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----Speed only breaks stuff faster----

Don
Dodge Dakota
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5/31/2002
09:47:44

RE: BRAKES!
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The dealer said there was no BRAKE problems with Dakota rotors. Mines been bad ever since I owned the truck. 95 with 95,000 miles
Don



Albert
Dodge Dakota
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7/03/2002
09:15:47

RE: BRAKES!
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I am having have same brake problem with my dakota. Should the extended dealer warrenty cover this? I called them once and told them that my brakes are starting to shake, this is what they have to say "sir, you warpped it by overheating em" I am like...err...so my brake taking a crap at 20000 miles have to be my fault. Should I just replace the rotors? or should I turn them?



al
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7/04/2002
14:03:53

RE: BRAKES!
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I have a 02 Dak Quad. took truck in at 25k for service, dealer noted that rortor was warped I was told that if I had brought it in 5k earlier they would of repaired free but now I have to pay!



MILES
Dodge Dakota
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7/09/2002
15:45:56

RE: BRAKES!
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I have brake problems too. I have cleaned my pads and rotors and still they have a piercing whin to them. They also have a slight vibration in the pedal when i am stoping. The brake pads are basically brand new. HOw can i get the noise to go away.



greendak
Dodge Dakota
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7/09/2002
23:09:28

RE: BRAKES!
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I have a 2000 Dakota club cab sport plus with the 4.7L with 57,000 miles. My factory rotors were warped, and the factory pads had actually cut into the rotor with little wear themselves. Replaced the rotors and pads and now 25,000 miles later they are warped again. Have researched the overheating concept and am considering getting drilled or slotted rotors and ceramic pads, possibly Brembo. Anyone with suggestions?



Albert
Dodge Dakota
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7/10/2002
10:45:13

RE: BRAKES!
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Yup, it was my brake rotors..I changed my rotors and reused the factory brake pad last night, (the whole job only took 10 mins)and the vibration in the pedal went away. I am a happy dodge customer....(for now). I got my rotors for 65 bucks each at a local Pepboys.



Brendan
Dodge Dakota
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7/11/2002
22:33:47

RE: BRAKES!
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I can't say this loud enough. WHATEVER YOU
DO DO NOT GO TO MIDAS/MEINEKE
ANYTHING. THEY WILL RAPE YOU 2X AS
MUCH AS YOU'D EVER THINK THE DEALER
CAPABLE OF. TRUST ME. I HAVE SEEN IT
HAPPEN WAY TOO MANY TIMES TO WELL
MEANING OWNERS. SEEK OUT
REPUTABLE INDEPNDANT SHOP OR
(GASP!) AN HONEST DEALERSHIP. (THEY
DO EXIST!!!!)



Jeff
Dodge Dakota
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8/03/2002
18:05:54

RE: BRAKES!
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Just wanted to thank everyone who gave me advice on changing my rotors, it was fairly simple and appears to have solved my brake woes. It really sucked driving around with that pedal vibration. My passenger side rotor was stuck solid on the hub and it must have taken me an hour to bust it loose. Autozone has a great deal on rotors, 2 for $60 as someone mentioned earlier. The only headache was that I needed a 7mm hex bit versus a 8mm which was recommended(extra trip to Autozone). No big deal, the advice was otherwise great and I got the whole job done for $90 including a new torque wrench. THANKS GUYS.



DakotaDriver
Dodge Dakota
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2/13/2003
13:55:47

RE: BRAKES!
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My Dakota has had this problem from day one! I have turned the rotors, replaced them with Dodge rotors and finally replaced them with cryogenic "Frozen Rotors" designed for racing - nothing works! I mainly drive the truck at continuous highway speeds for 300 miles at a time. (Back and forth from a Los Angeles primary residence to our vacation home in Lake Havasu City) I made damn sure that when the frozen rotors were installed that the lug nuts were tightened correctly. Still within 5000 miles the problem has resurfaced.

I wonder if there is any benefit from lodging a complaint with the NHTSA on this issue? Maybe Consumer Reports?



yathink
Dodge Dakota
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2/14/2003
22:44:06

RE: BRAKES!
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got a 02 qc 4+4 flowmaster 2-14-03 took mine in to the dealer got 5,400 miles when i told them about it to make app they said it is normal for the rotors to get groves i them i told them not onmine it wont be normal, when took it in they turned rotors and put on new pads i dont think it was write to turn my rotors with 5,400 miles but they did i feel they should have replaced them what do you guys think.



Ted
Dodge Dakota
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2/21/2003
17:34:32

RE: BRAKES!
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Not to be an trite but it is time for brake school.Not hi-po or fancy stuff but stock.

In a former life I was a prototype build and instrumentation technican for a friction material supplier.We were just down the road from JTE(Jeep Truck Engineering) in Detroit and worked close with the engineers there.

Use a torque wrench on all your lug nuts,clean the hub face well when replacing the rotors and use a torque wrench.Failure to properly install the lugs will induce installed rotor runout.

Some of you that are having pulsation issues are running into what is called material transfer.This occurs more with vehicle that are driven nonstop with very few apps.What happens is that the runout(rotors have a small amount of runout and an amount of seal rollback to retract the piston into the caliper)built in to the rotors and a possible weak seal or hung caliper the pad drags on the high spot and transfers small amounts of the friction material to the rotor causing the pulsations.The rotor is not warped but larger is one spot,we measured rotors in 60 or 120 points and sh___ materials would produce larger results.

Turning the rotors and putting on a more agressive material will fix most of the problems.

There are a few things that you can do to combat this such as retorquing the lugs properly,making sure the calipers are not hanging on the sliders(sil-glide works good for this),check that the pistons ar not hanging in the calipers and also check that the pad hardware is good and tight.

Any other questions just ask.


tsmit137@wideoperwest.com



Christie
Dodge Dakota
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3/25/2003
04:54:24

RE:BRAKES!
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HELP GUYZ! I'M A CUTE, 21YR OLD FEMALE, (THOUGHT THAT WOULD GET YOUR ATTENTION)WITH A 97 CADILLAC CATERA THAT HAS 18K ON IT. I NOTICED A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT THE FRONT BRAKES WERE STARTING TO GO,
(AND NO, NOT BY THE LITTLE WARNING LIGHT)BUT I HAD TO BUY NEW ONE THEY SEEM PRETTY MUCH SHOT. IT DOESN'T SEEM TO SHIMMIE AT ALL, SO I DON'T THINK MY ROTORS ARE WARPPED. I have replaced brakes before on my old 95 T-Bird and it wasn't hard, is my caddie going to be the same? Also, are the rotors going to krap out on me in a month or two, would it be in my best intrest to just go ahead and replace them right now when I have the damn thing torn apart? Basically what would you recomend? My car is ment condition, I change the oil every 3k and try hard to keep it up to par as much as possible. I am the type of person who believes if I want something done right, I do it myself, that way I can call myself a jackass for screwing it up. ALso, if anyone has any ideas for me on what I should do to better or keep it better I would like your thoughts. I BOUGHT the RAYBESTOS CERAMIC DISC BRAKE PADS AT CHECKER AUTO, I heard they were the beat??? Thanx Calichick



Texas Todd
Dodge Dakota
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3/25/2003
10:00:27

RE: BRAKES!
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What TEd said,

AND,

ADJUST YOUR REAR BRAKES!!

It takes the work off the front brakes!!

But, what does a dumb Texan know?

Read Teds post, here's a website that explains it also for all you Einstiens:

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm



J.D. Leddon
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2003
06:20:46

RE: BRAKES!
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Hey Jeff, I just replace the rotors & front brake pads a few weeks ago on my 99 Dakota. Went to Auto Zone & got rotors for $50.00 & brake pads for $50.00 & did it myself. My truck drives like a dream now. The stock rotors do stink on the Dakotas. So save yourself some $ & pick up the parts & do it yourself. Only takes a couple of hours. Good Luck



chris
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2003
21:35:55

RE: BRAKES!
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2000 2wd 3.9

where are you guys getting your brakes. the cheapest i can find are rotors for 120ea,pads for 80,drums are 135 ea, shoes are 35, hardware kit is 19.
of course these are all raybestos parts, and prices are in canadian dollars



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