Front Brake Issue

[Oxthe3rd]

I rebuilt my entire front brake system from the master to the axle itself. I'm having an issue where the brakes are grab on the outside surface of the rotor only and seems to be dragging on the passenger side ever so slightly. On hard stops the passenger side locks up way before it should and when stopping normally it pulls right.

I've never dealt with this style of caliper setup before but the calipers seems stubborn to move almost like its bound up on the slides and the driver side is ****ed slightly. I've tried cleaning the surfaces by every means other than sandblasting.

The Ex seems to stop decently but the locking up is not safe. I cant see any reason it should be doing this.

 

[Centaurious]

I clean the contact areas of both the caliper and it's mount with a wire brush and clean the retainer strips and inspect the rubber bonded inside. The retainers on mine are shaped stainless steel and clean up well. I coat all contact surfaces between the caliper, bracket, and retainer with a film of brake grease. While these brakes are not as nice as the ones with the slider pins they normally are good about relatively even wear.

I'm not sure from your description if the calipers were replaced but regardless I would un-mount the caliper, remove pads, retract the piston then block the piston with a thick enough piece of wood that the piston can't over extend as it only needs about 1/2". Have an assistant GENTLY depress the brake pedal and observe how the piston extends. If it extends smoothly and it is pushed back in with a C clamp or piston retractor without difficulty then all is good. If not then that caliper should be replaced or exchanged. Do the same for the other side.

Best of luck

 

[Oxthe3rd]

Brand new calipers, lines, hoses, pads, hardware and rotors. I've already taken them apart 3 times to clean and basically polish the v notches where the retaining slide goes.

I did have the master cylinder blow out the front o ring after the original brake overhaul but I've stripped down twice more since then each time there has been heavy use on the outside face and only light to no use on the inside.

A little extra info; the truck sat for a year without moving before I bought it. The was heavy rust scale and pitting covering the entire knuckle assembly. The inside pad also sits a little loose in it's guide even with the rattle clip.

 

[Rhett]

Are you sure the knuckle isn't damaged?

 

[natenkiki2004]

Pretty sure mine fit a slight bit loose with the rattle clip but it doesn't cause issue. You cleaned the slide grooves but did you lubricate them as well? CRC makes a fantastic product for brake calipers. It's all synthetic grease; molybdenum, graphite and teflon.
https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Brake-Caliper-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000M8IF1Q

 

[Oxthe3rd]

Pretty sure mine fit a slight bit loose with the rattle clip but it doesn't cause issue. You cleaned the slide grooves but did you lubricate them as well? CRC makes a fantastic product for brake calipers. It's all synthetic grease; molybdenum, graphite and teflon.
https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Brake-Caliper-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000M8IF1Q

Yes i used that lubricant to lightly coat the top and bottom channels

Are you sure the knuckle isn't damaged?

I was thinking the same thing but whats the chances that someone tweaked both knuckles to cause the same issue on both sides.

I see that there and two different size rotors listed for the front 2.5" and 2.2". Everywhere i checked only stocked the 2.5" so i went with it. The rotors were long gone when I bought it so no chance of matching the originals. It seems like the 2.2" is for the dana 28 but its still listed under the explorer.

 

[natenkiki2004]

You'll find a lot of the Dana 28 stuff for the Explorer. I think it's because it was used on the Bronco II and Rangers and for some reason carried to the 1st gen Explorers when they duplicated the parts listings.

Maybe you need different slides or need to take a flap disk to the channels? It's obviously the caliper not wanting to move which is a direct correlation to the slide pins. Also make double sure the pads are seated properly in the caliper. I remember I had a similar issue and couldn't quite get everything back together. Staring at it a while, I finally realized the outboard pad wasn't seated right.

 

[Rhett]

I was thinking the same thing but whats the chances that someone tweaked both knuckles to cause the same issue on both sides.

You're right, the chances are low, but still possible. With the D35 and D28 I've seen it where I had to take a mallet and gently convince the caliper "frame" to get into the proper orientation. I chalked it up to manufacturing differences, but it is still worth noting.

You might want to post a pic of each side so we can see what it looks like.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

I'll try to find some time to tear it down. It's my daily and I'm right in the middle of a bathroom remodel. Judging on how the lady took care of it I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

Alright its been a long time but i finally got time to clean up the brakes to bare shiny metal on all contact surfaces. the problems remain, on moderate stops the truck pulls hard right if pushed hard it will lock up the passenger side front. Im at wits end with this and wish i could SAS it but i dont got the fab skills for that.

One interesting thing i noted is every time i remove the bearings there is a significant amount of grease covering the spindle even though i clean both matting surfaces before installing.

 

[2stroke]

I do not like the caliper setup much either, a slide pin bolt is much better. Calipers binding in the slide pins is the only way I can think of to be dragging on the outside of the rotor.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

well i found a used set of knuckles and spindles for $200 that only have 50000 miles so im gonna start fresh.

 

[2stroke]

That seems a tad expensive, at least to me. I would do a bunch of research on the dual caliper piston upgrade. I don't remember exactly what's involved, the knuckles from 95-97 rangers fit on, and you then use dual piston calipers. I do not know the specifics with the spindle, or rotor. The benefit of this is 2-fold, you get the much better design of a bolt side pin verses the weird rubber core hexagon thing. Second, you get a good upgrade in the power of the front brakes.


Here is a good write up.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...-97-ranger-brake-swap-info-parts-list.325392/

 

[Oxthe3rd]

I'll make some calls see if I can find a pair cause that is the answer to all my problems.

The reason those are that expensive is they are on a shelf out of a 50000 mile truck with little rust. That's like gold up in the Northeast.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

I found a set on 96 ranger knuckles and spindles for $225 and since my rotors and pads are shot already from riding on one side, i figure I might as well go for it.

 

[2stroke]

Cool, hopefully all goes well for you. It looks like they use a larger rotor, both in diameter and width. I've always wanted to do the upgrade myself, but never had a good reason to. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

will do thanks for the tip.

 

[Rhett]

will do thanks for the tip.

Yes, please do post up, if you end up doing the knuckle swap. Same as 2stroke said...it's something I have always thought about doing but never have. I'm not even sure I'd be able to find 96-97 Ranger ends. That was my concern with it.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

It wasn't easy to find. the only ranger i could find in that year was 100 miles away.

 

[Oxthe3rd]

i finally picked up the knuckles and spindles, they are not pretty. 20 years have not been kind to them so time to break out the wire wheel and flap wheel for round 2. Sucks that i just put all new ball joints seals and bearings into my old set but i cant wait to get these on. This should finally make it a reliable truck again.

I'll try to get some pictures of the process for future reference. Wish me luck.