Front Brakes

[mitchk]

new to the site and this is my first actual post. never owned a 4wd 1st gen and am only familiar with chevy dana44 front axles. So the other day was driving down the road coming to the end of a hill. Heard a sound from behind me like a small screw or bolt fell on the ground. next day brakes started making noise. looked and saw that the spring and braket holding the caliper on the bottom was gone on the passenger side. guess thats what the sound was. Went down to napa and picked upa new one and put it in. seemed to slide in way to easy and theres alot of play in the caliper on the rotor still. Now if i drive a mile or so down the road that spring works its way about half way out towards the wheel. luckily i seem to catch it and push it back befor it comes all the way out. Dont know why there is so much play in the caliper. r they known for wearing which could be why that spring isnt putting enough pressure on it and letting it slide out. Not familiar with this style of caliper mounting. thanks for any help. need to drive three hours home from school next week and hoping to figure this out befor then.

[CumminsPower59]

Is the little retaining bolt still there? if not, that's probably why...

[mitchk]

retaining bolt is still there. tried to tighten that to make sure that wasnt it but it was still tight

[BILTIT]

Take some pics, that would help us out.

[mitchk]

Looking at it closer just now taking those pics im pretty sure the top of the caliper is pretty worn which could be what is giving that extra play, enough for that spring to slide out. just thought id get ur guys opinion befor i go spend money on new calipers.

top of caliper




New bracket and spring

[CumminsPower59]

Is the first shot before you put the spring assembly in the bottom???

Pictures 2, 3, 4 look normal...

[BILTIT]

Caliper and mount are both worn.

[mitchk]

CumminPoower59: pic 1 is with the caliper off to show the wear on it
And ye. Figured it was worn just wanted to make sure since I'm not familiar with this style of mount. Is there anywhere to get that mount or u think if just get a caliper it will be ok. Need to have this fixed befor next weekend or at least good enough to drive three hours home. thinking of just getting a caliper from napa to get home then get some quality parts once I get some more funds. Thanks for all the help and the very quick responses

[BILTIT]

I recall reading that you can get oversized "wedges" to make up for wear, i thought it was from napa but cannot recall.

[mitchk]

ok thanks. will check on that

[comotionman]

here is a thread where the author shows how to build up worn surfaces on both caliper hangers and calipers by welding a bead and grinding to shape for proper clearance and fitment.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/ ... p?t=309731

also would be good to take a look at a brake parts illustrated guide, you should be able to view one at a serious parts store that still has catalogs on hand and knows how to look stuff up in them. your going to want to see "service procedure and key selection instructions for chevrolet and gmc trucks equipped with bendix calipers". somehow they left dodge out in their description but no matter. same brakes, same parts and procedure.

[mitchk]

thanks for that. will probably end up welding the mount to fix those and just get some new calipers seeing as the truck has just under 300,000 miles and doesnt look like anybodys ever changed them. probably time to do that.

[bmoeller]

I'd replace all the rubber lines, too.

[mitchk]

So i got a new caliper last week and put it on and theres no play anymore. Drove it home and back to school total of 6 hours and havent had a problem. While i was home and coming back to school though i did notice that my truck has developed some shaking and vibrations. Dont think its got anything to do with the brakes but it just started in the middle of the week. At around 30mph it has a slight shake almost like what my old chevy did right befor it would start doing that death wobble. Its not too bad just shakes a bit then goes away once i get to about 35. Also wen i get up to highway speeds shifting 4 to 5 when the clutch is in and its coasting it has a decently bad shake then goes away once i get it into gear and let the clutch out. Then when im in fifth wen i let off the gas right about 1/4 throttle it shakes a bit and stops when ur off the throttle. and same when i get back on it. about 1/4 throttle shakes then once it starts pulling again it goes away. sorry for the length but i just really dont like these random shakes wen im going down the road and would rather fix it befor it gets worse

[BILTIT]

Vibrations can be many things, start troubleshooting.

U-joints
Kingpin/bushing wear
Axle u-bolts
Motor/trans mount

Everything you need to know about a dana 60 front axle:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavist ... index.html