another brake question

[MaGiKaLsHoTs]

has anyone's 2001 ranger ever seemed like it was barley using the back brakes when brake is applied? because if i wash my front rims of brake dust.. 2 days later they're like black again.

ive replaced both wheel cylinders and bled them about 5x over what needed to be to make sure no air in there and it seems like the back brakes dont even work? and i forgot the adjustment thingy on the bottom ive turned that all the way so when i put the drums on they rub when i spin the tire

any theory's?

 

[kcm1582]

What makes you think the back brakes aren't working? The back brakes are drums, they don't throw dust the way the disks do on the front.

 

[MaGiKaLsHoTs]

yeah i know that, the reason im thinking the back brakes dont work.. cause er when i power brake it, it never wears my rear brakes at all... and when i first bought my truck in june this year it had like brand new rotors and pads on.. now they're both shit and my back brakes are still like new lol..

 

[kcm1582]

First off how are your front brakes already shot? Second it isn't uncommon to go through three or for sets of front brakes before the back ones wear out. When I did the brakes on my Saturn at 120k miles the rears were barely worn but still original to the car.

 

[MaGiKaLsHoTs]

well when i bought the truck the front pads were like new that was like 6 months ago now they're shot i dont know why or nothing.. and like i said it seems like the rear brakes arnt even working, cause on rainy days somtimes goin down hill ill hit the brakes and the front will lock up and the rear do nothing.. so im going to assume its like a 90-10%, 90 being the front 10 being the rear

 

[kcm1582]

Its probably closer to an 80-20 split. How often do you power brake it? You may have glazed your shoes. Try replacing them and laying off the burnouts.

Don't forget to get the drums machined or at least scuff them up with some emery cloth.

 

[MaGiKaLsHoTs]

when i first bought the truck ive only power braked it like total of maybe 5 times, since i got my new winter tires i havent even thought about it

but i just replaced the front pads.. we will see how fast they were now hopfully not till atleast next year lol

thanks for the help kcm

 

[goinforbroke]

Mine seems to do the same thing. (No rear brakes.) I tried new adjusters, backing up, adjusting them up manually etc. Still, if I get on a wet/slippery road, or simply brake hard on any surface, the front brakes lock dead and the rear of the truck wants to kick out. It's so bad that I have to park it when the weather gets bad. (aside from the fact it is worthless in the snow even with 300# of weight plus a full aluminum utility cap and studded tires) I am down to rebuilding the rear brakes and adding a locking diff or I'll trade it for a 4x4.

 

[kcm1582]

Mine seems to do the same thing. (No rear brakes.) I tried new adjusters, backing up, adjusting them up manually etc. Still, if I get on a wet/slippery road, or simply brake hard on any surface, the front brakes lock dead and the rear of the truck wants to kick out. It's so bad that I have to park it when the weather gets bad. (aside from the fact it is worthless in the snow even with 300# of weight plus a full aluminum utility cap and studded tires) I am down to rebuilding the rear brakes and adding a locking diff or I'll trade it for a 4x4.

Post up some pics of your brakes. Lets see what they look like.

 

[goinforbroke]

I will try to take pics this week if I have time. Thank You.

 

[exotic_4x4]

i would like to note that the front brakes provide 65% of the vehicles stopping power..

 

[Captain Ledd]

I had rear brake issues for the longest time on my '97.

The issue was I had a seized adjuster on one, and the other side had a seized wheel cylinder.

Part two, drum brakes are adjusted by backing up. Do you do so often? Otherwise they work for that first little bit and go right back out of adjustment. Every so often back up and tap the brakes a bunch, and the auto adjusters will keep them in correct adjustment.

Another thing, there should be a proportioning valve, it should be just under the firewall on the driver side frame, it's a little block with all the brake lines going into it. I know it can be adjusted, but I've never looked up as to how. I wouldn't play with it without some good knowledge as to what you're doing though.

 

[nitrofan1]

O.E. proportioning valves cannot be adjusted. They are set to the original brake specs set by the manufacturer. Too many suit happy num nuts would screw up the settings so they don't allow adjustments. You can get aftermarket units that will adjust but are very illegal for the street.

Second, list what brand of brake parts you are using. Sounds to me you are using too soft a pad or cheap products. If you brake hard or hot rod your Ranger forget ceramic and such. You would need to go to a severe duty pad or ferro carbon ones.

 

[idriveafordranger94]

Keep in mind, the front brakes do 75% of your braking and the rears do 25%.

Also, the the type of pad you have installed relates to how much dust you have. I put some $40.00 Bendix pads on the front which I thought would be low-dust pads. It turns out they were awful. The brake dust was so bad I was forced to change the pads. I upgraded to some Duramax Gold pads from AutoZone ($43.00) and they are great. The dust is very minimal.

As your brake pads wear, sometimes the dust becomes worse at the end of the pad's life. Your driving style may also effect the amount of brake dust yor have.

As for your rear brakes issue, maybe you should adjust the rear shoes one or two turns tighter. That may help a little.