Brake calipers needed - what to buy?

[6.4LMegaMan]

I got roughly 40k miles out of my stock brake pads and rotors so I replaced them with EBC pads and rotors. The right front was worn more than the left front so I suspected a hanging caliper. Now I'm at 70k miles and the right front is yet again wearing faster than the left. I'm going to replace both front calipers and need to decide on what to buy. Anyone have any good options? All I can really find for direct fit is OE, Power Stop red powder coated (which looks like a powder coated reman OE), and SSBC. Other than that you get into BBKs which I'm not interested in because I like my 18" Method wheels and most big brake kits need 20" min (Wilwood, Baer, etc.). Rotors are still good, just need pads and calipers now. Any advice?

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[Daw14]

Raybestos makes a brand new , not rebuilt caliper. I had both of my fronts hang up on me with under 20,000 miles. I researched this and it appears every caliper ,including the powder coated ones are rebuild/ reman except mopar, witch seem to have defective pistons. I did not get to try these, as they weren’t available when mine chit on me .

 

[Rick Ram-jet]

Not actual "Ram related," but I have had good luck with Power Stop (made by Stop Tech) brake kits on my wife`s suv, I`ve been very happy with these kits, ie: very well priced for the quality, coated rotors (no rust/corrosion), stainless hardware, carbon fiber/ceramic pads, etc, the oem stuff was crap and warped badly!

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

What condition are your flexible brake hoses in, Release the bleeder on the right caliper and see if the drag releases, have you been doing allot of 4X4 causing them to flex allot, also it looks like you're lifted, replace with braided stainless, please put up a signature.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

The hoses appear to be in good condition. I am on a Thuren 2" front lift. Stainless lines is a good idea. I'll look into that when I do the job. I'm only on a computer at work really and only do the forum from my phone. That's why I don't have a signature.

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[SeppW]

The rubber will disintegrate from interior of hose over time as well and clog the line. Hard to figure having brake issues on a 2016, but who knows.

Personally I'd stick with OEM, I usually go the reman route if the vehicle is well aged, hi mileage. Brake upgrades get expensive fast when adding 2 or more piston calipers. A couple of the Ram diesel sites have "big brake upgrade" kits for 2500/3500. Should work on a gasser with a few exceptions.

How did you narrow down to sticking caliper? Was it pulling? Can also feel the wheel (with caution) after a run. If it is hotter than other side could indicate a sticking caliper or clogged hose.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

Yes I have a hot right front and right front pads were worn substantially more than left front 2 times in a row now. I don't have much time in my life right now between work and family and am the type of person who wants to do something once and be done with it. If I have to spend more or replace more than what is needed to make sure the problem is solved then I don't care. Just need to fix it once and be done.

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[SeppW]

Yes I have a hot right front and right front pads were worn substantially more than left front 2 times in a row now. I don't have much time in my life right now between work and family and am the type of person who wants to do something once and be done with it. If I have to spend more or replace more than what is needed to make sure the problem is solved then I don't care. Just need to fix it once and be done.

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Probably just replace then. May as well go whole hog and replace both calipers, rotors, pads, and flush/bleed or take it to dealer. I bet a front brake job is at least $800, if not more.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

Well, in a bit of a surprise even to me, I made quite the decision on brakes today. @Nick@GotExhaust worked with me and is setting me up with an R1 big brake kit. Going to be rotors, calipers, pads and stainless braided lines. Having the calipers and rotor hats anodized in dark gold to match my bronze Method wheels. Build time is 4 to 6 weeks. Going to just park the Ram and drive my backup beater for the time being. It appears I'll be the first on this forum to install this kit so that will be fun. I'll do a full write up on it when I do the install. More to come next month!

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[Nick@GotExhaust]

Well, in a bit of a surprise even to me, I made quite the decision on brakes today. @Nick@GotExhaust worked with me and is setting me up with an R1 big brake kit. Going to be rotors, calipers, pads and stainless braided lines. Having the calipers and rotor hats anodized in dark gold to match my bronze Method wheels. Build time is 4 to 6 weeks. Going to just park the Ram and drive my backup beater for the time being. It appears I'll be the first on this forum to install this kit so that will be fun. I'll do a full write up on it when I do the install. More to come next month!

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@6.4LMegaMan going with the BIG Brake Kit! This setup is going to look and perform amazing on your RAM!!I think the Dark Gold is a great choice. Stopping power is going to be incredible. We have a lot of these on other applications and feedback has been great so we are sure you are going to love these. Looking forward to seeing your write up and review!

 

[Spirit79]

I have 90K on my 2015 original brake parts. Lots of expressway driving, not much towing and I live in the saltless Southland. I’m very fortunate. When it is time for work, I’m sure I’ll go OEM parts.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

In a sad turn of events, R1 Concepts was not able to create a BBK and still let me run my 18" Method wheels. I would have had to run spacers which I did not want to do.

@Nick@GotExhaust worked with me and we came up with the best solution he had available. Went with the Power Stop red powder coated calipers, Centric Posi-Quiet brake pads, R1 Concepts slotted and coated rotors and stainless steel braided brake lines.

All in all the install was as expected. I did the brakes on this truck 2 years ago and put anti seize where needed so I didn't have much difficulty. The EBC rotors were still in pretty good shape. The pads on the right side were shot and wearing very unevenly. You can see that in the pics.

The stainless lines went in fairly easy. Soaked the original fittings and it came right apart. The new lines are nice and fit well. I reused the clamps where able and just used tie wraps where needed. The rotors are well made although there was some chatter in the slot cuts. Shouldn't matter in use but I thought it was noteworthy. It was difficult to get a good pic of that so maybe I'm too critical.

I haven't driven it much yet so I don't have any review just yet. I'll report back after a few days of driving.

Here are the pics. I'm uploading from my phone on Tapatalk so they may be out of order but I'll do my best. Let me know if anyone has any questions. Thanks for the help in piecing this brake kit together, Nick. I would recommend buying off of him to other members here.

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[Nick@GotExhaust]

In a sad turn of events, R1 Concepts was not able to create a BBK and still let me run my 18" Method wheels. I would have had to run spacers which I did not want to do.

@Nick@GotExhaust worked with me and we came up with the best solution he had available. Went with the Power Stop red powder coated calipers, Centric Posi-Quiet brake pads, R1 Concepts slotted and coated rotors and stainless steel braided brake lines.

All in all the install was as expected. I did the brakes on this truck 2 years ago and put anti seize where needed so I didn't have much difficulty. The EBC rotors were still in pretty good shape. The pads on the right side were shot and wearing very unevenly. You can see that in the pics.

The stainless lines went in fairly easy. Soaked the original fittings and it came right apart. The new lines are nice and fit well. I reused the clamps where able and just used tie wraps where needed. The rotors are well made although there was some chatter in the slot cuts. Shouldn't matter in use but I thought it was noteworthy. It was difficult to get a good pic of that so maybe I'm too critical.

I haven't driven it much yet so I don't have any review just yet. I'll report back after a few days of driving.

Here are the pics. I'm uploading from my phone on Tapatalk so they may be out of order but I'll do my best. Let me know if anyone has any questions. Thanks for the help in piecing this brake kit together, Nick. I would recommend buying off of him to other members here.

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Thank you for sharing. Install looks great. pretty crazy how un-even those pads were wearing! Definitely a good move replacing the calipers as they were most likely the culprit.

 

[6.4LMegaMan]

I now have 2k miles on this set up and wanted to do a follow up. Everything is holding up very well. Still looks darn near new. The braking feel is much improved over the last set up. I'm not sure if it's the stainless braided lines or the new fluid but there is pretty much zero brake fade now. It's a very linear output of braking power to pedal input. Overall I am very impressed with this configuration. Also, I no longer have a hot right front wheel. Had to be either the caliper or the line but whatever I did, it did the trick!

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[SeppW]

I now have 2k miles on this set up and wanted to do a follow up. Everything is holding up very well. Still looks darn near new. The braking feel is much improved over the last set up. I'm not sure if it's the stainless braided lines or the new fluid but there is pretty much zero brake fade now. It's a very linear output of braking power to pedal input. Overall I am very impressed with this configuration. Also, I no longer have a hot right front wheel. Had to be either the caliper or the line but whatever I did, it did the trick!

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Turned out well it appears. Where did you source the SS lines? Did you replace all of them of just the front? Have a brand and part number?

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

I now have 2k miles on this set up and wanted to do a follow up. Everything is holding up very well. Still looks darn near new. The braking feel is much improved over the last set up. I'm not sure if it's the stainless braided lines or the new fluid but there is pretty much zero brake fade now. It's a very linear output of braking power to pedal input. Overall I am very impressed with this configuration. Also, I no longer have a hot right front wheel. Had to be either the caliper or the line but whatever I did, it did the trick!

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that is great to hear you are happy with this setup! It is a great upgrade for sure. Glad we could get you some better and more reliable stopping power.

Turned out well it appears. Where did you source the SS lines? Did you replace all of them of just the front? Have a brand and part number?

Feel free to message me for a quote on them

Crown Performance brake line kits feature five (5) layer stainless steel brake hoses, that are Kevlar reinforced and contain a Teflon inner core hose to minimize internal friction and volumetric expansion. They also feature unique one (1) piece construction steel fittings that are extremely durable and reliable. These DOT approved brake hoses are compatible with all brake fluids and are available in nine (9) colors.