2001 2500 Ram brakes

[Gordon Maney]

What are you using to install the brake caliper dust boots? Official tools, or pieces of pipe, or what? Do you know a source for the right tool, other than Miller?

This is for a 2001 2500 Ram with discs front and rear. I also wonder if the fronts and rears take the same diameter pistons and dust boots.

Winter is descending upon us....

[DODGEBOYS]

thats hard core stuff / l have not rebuilt a caliper in years since the 80,s when they were over a hundred bucks for a new one / since then the price has dropped / l use to have a complete selection of exhaust pipe-s that were the right sizes for all the different calipers for installing the dust boots / they have gotten lost in the shuffle of the last tweenty years of not use,in them

[Gordon Maney]

I guess that shows how out of touch I am. I used to rebuild lots of calipers.

Last night, as it so happens, I talked to a former student who runs a garage. He told me the same thing. He talked about buying unloaded and loaded calipers. Meaning, without pads, or with pads and hardware. Also, alternative grades of pads.

Thank you....

[Desoto61]

Yes, unless it's new or fairly rare you can usually get a set of rebuilt calipers for only a little more than the rebuild kit, if you can even get a rebuild kit.

Only time I rebuilt a set was with my Shadow. Had a damaged one and the rear disks were optional and not often used on a low end car like that. So rebuilt calipers were many times more expensive than the rebuild kits. But they're also small enough I could drive the seals in with a large socket.

As for pads, I subscribe to the opinion to buy the cheap ones and replace them often. Some of the "lifetime" semi-metalic pads are so hard they'll wear the rotors, which cost a lot more than the pads to replace.

What makes you think the calipers need rebuilt? Or is it just a "since I'm in there" type of thing?

[Gordon Maney]

Yes, unless it's new or fairly rare you can usually get a set of rebuilt calipers for only a little more than the rebuild kit, if you can even get a rebuild kit.

Only time I rebuilt a set was with my Shadow. Had a damaged one and the rear disks were optional and not often used on a low end car like that. So rebuilt calipers were many times more expensive than the rebuild kits. But they're also small enough I could drive the seals in with a large socket.

As for pads, I subscribe to the opinion to buy the cheap ones and replace them often. Some of the "lifetime" semi-metalic pads are so hard they'll wear the rotors, which cost a lot more than the pads to replace.

What makes you think the calipers need rebuilt? Or is it just a "since I'm in there" type of thing?

I suppose the since I am in there perspective. The truck is a 2001 with over 125,000 miles on it. I know from having rebuilt calipers in the past you can find rusting on a caliper bore and have that contribute to a lack of brake release when you take your foot off the pedal. The disc brake depends on the little bit of rotor runout and rectangular seal distortion to withdraw the pads. Any sticking of the piston will interfere with that, drag the brake, wear pad and rotor.

I consider a worst case scenario, and time is an issue. I would rather have parts lined up and do it thoroughly. Although, that would of course magnify the bleeding issue. Having said that, however, I believe I should flush the system, given the age.

[Desoto61]

Replacing older rubber parts is usually a good idea. I'd agree with the fluid though. After the first time I flushed a brake system and saw the difference between what came out and what went in I was converted.
They even make little strips you can dip in the brake fluid to tell you the boiling point of the fluid like a litmus test.

I try and do all my vehicles about every 3 years or 30k miles. And this is one that I'd do based on time over milage. DOT3 fluid absorbs moisture which reduces it's boiling point and therefore performance. Plus you don't need that water filled fluid sitting inside the system either.

[Deathdeelr]

I would definitely go with a rebuilt caliper if it comes to a caliper problem. If you really wanted to take the caliper apart I would guess you could use a piece of pipe to seat the seal but with the availability and low price of a rebuilt caliper I wouldn't even recommend you disassemble it.

I highly recommend the loaded caliper kits from NAPA. It really saves $$$ when replacing calipers as opposed to buying the parts separately. I think even with that amount of mileage, you shouldn't have a rusting problem with an '01 that could cause premature wear. Unless you park the truck in a lake on a regular basis or have left the top off the master for a long period of time.

Oh, and I second (or third) the motion to flush the fluid.

As for the pads, I find the non-metallic pads give the best results with the Dodge. I use ceramics in my non-rice rocket Cavalier and they work great but I tried them in the Jeep and they don't stop very well at all. I'm taking them out in a few weeks when I have some vacation and installing the non-metallic. It's a shame when my 880 stops better than the family Jeep. I would guess it's a weight issue; heavier vehicles don't respond as well with the ceramics.

I would guess that's why all the rigs at work get non-metallics (all my Mitsubishi FE's and FH's have discs and non-metallic pads).

[Gordon Maney]

The irony here for me is that rebuilding a caliper I always thought was quite easy and cheap from a required parts point of view. And, it allowed visual inspection of the bore and piston.

Someday I will be the volunteer at the living history farm, demonstrating how to adjust carburetors and breaker points, while the onlookers marvel at the past....

[Deathdeelr]

I was brought up during that transition from points to electronics, from carbs to injection, from all drums to all discs. I feel your pain.

When I was a kid my Dad and I spent hours on the Torino, tune ups, brakes, etc. We whole weekends the '56 Ton and 1/2, WC56, his buddy's half track, tune ups, brakes, clutches. A flathead, a couple of box wrenches, a hammer, a test light made out of an old taillight assembly.

Now, my Dad tells me his engine light is on, I plug in, diagnose, replace. Scanner, scope, DVOM, a 6.5mm socket, and a bunch of wiring diagrams.

Isn't technology grand?

[MoparNorm]

...As for the pads, I find the non-metallic pads give the best results with the Dodge. I use ceramics in my non-rice rocket Cavalier and they work great but I tried them in the Jeep and they don't stop very well at all. I'm taking them out in a few weeks when I have some vacation and installing the non-metallic. It's a shame when my 880 stops better than the family Jeep. I would guess it's a weight issue; heavier vehicles don't respond as well with the ceramics.

Re: Ceramics;
Which model Jeep? They work great in the Liberty (4400 lbs), not so good in the Cherokee XJ (3800 lbs) and fairly well in Dodge Rams (5500 to 11,000 lbs).
I found that the Mopar Value Line are OK, but overpriced for the quality, they are equal in quality to the mid range Raybestos pads, at the high end price....= )

[Deathdeelr]

Re: Ceramics;
Which model Jeep? They work great in the Liberty (4400 lbs), not so good in the Cherokee XJ (3800 lbs) and fairly well in Dodge Rams (5500 to 11,000 lbs).
I found that the Mopar Value Line are OK, but overpriced for the quality, they are equal in quality to the mid range Raybestos pads, at the high end price....= )

The WJ stopped great when I bought it earlier this year. My wife drives it regularly and she's always been tough on brakes and this is her first SUV. I changed the front pads with some NAPA True Stop (?) ceramic pads and I wasn't able to get them bedded properly. They still have long stopping distances, chatter, squeal and make a lot of dust even after 5K miles. I'm going with the lower quality NAPA pads the same as on my 880 and that truck stops on a dime (well maybe a quarter - really big one). I need to change the rears anyway next week so I'm changing all four rotors, balancing the tires and swapping out the front axle shafts (busted boots/rusted CV's) to try to cure a vibration in the steering wheel. They call it "DEATH WOBBLE" on some other websites but that's for another thread.

[MoparNorm]

The WJ stopped great when I bought it earlier this year. My wife drives it regularly and she's always been tough on brakes and this is her first SUV. I changed the front pads with some NAPA True Stop (?) ceramic pads and I wasn't able to get them bedded properly. They still have long stopping distances, chatter, squeal and make a lot of dust even after 5K miles. I'm going with the lower quality NAPA pads the same as on my 880 and that truck stops on a dime (well maybe a quarter - really big one). I need to change the rears anyway next week so I'm changing all four rotors, balancing the tires and swapping out the front axle shafts (busted boots/rusted CV's) to try to cure a vibration in the steering wheel. They call it "DEATH WOBBLE" on some other websites but that's for another thread.

That's odd! Those are all of the symptoms that ceramics are supposed to cure!...= )
Maybe a warped rotor?

[Deathdeelr]

Yeah, most likely; or a number of warped rotors. Like I said she's always been tough on brakes.

She must be using the wrong bump drafting technique...