First Problem With My Ram

[durango4819]

my truck let me down for the first time today I had just picked my girlfriend up from work and was headed home when i noticed after leaving a stop light a lot of vibration in the steering wheel. i only got to 25mph when i noticed it was unbearable to drive so i pull over to see what t he ***** going on. turns out my drivers side rear caliper was seized......i could smell it as soon as i walked back there and my lugs were 1000 degrees. i jacked the truck up and was trying to get the lugs off and the wheel broke free on its own. put it back down and started driving and it was fine???? any ideas on what it might be? im definitely not going to drive it until i get it somewhere to be fixed because i dont want to chance something ******* up worse.

 

[GhostRam94]

wow thats really weird??

 

[durango4819]

i know right? not sure if something is wrong or what but im scared to drive the damn thing now till i take it somewhere. but i also dont want to get ripped off by a shop and have them do something uneccesary to the truck

 

[reddot]

curious but what are your break fluid levels? I have no idea what is going on but just trying to think.

 

[GhostRam94]

yea curious about that too... if low maybe check for a leak... replacing a caliper isnt hard.... i did all of mine on my last truck...

 

[Muddinginamopar]

Caliper could've just been hung up. Probably gonna want to replace that rotor though if it got warped... I'd say replace the caliper and rotor (and new pads while you're there) and see how she holds. What do you mean by the wheel broke free on it's own?

 

[Jdark6]

All of these truks have caliper pistons that are made out of a plastic material. When it is heated the piston looses its round and will not go back in. Like the post above have the rotor turned or replaced and replace the caliper and pads and you should be good. Also if the brake fluid doesnt look like the color of beer then you need to have it fluhed out. If you need any help with the job let me know and I will try to explain anything that you need help with.

 

[reefguy89]

could be a couple thinks bad caliper, collapsed break line are 2 things i can think of off the top of my head.

 

[reddot]

well it seems these guys know more about this stuff then I do.

When he said the wheel broke free by itself I assume he means the caliper released the rotor allowing it to spin free. When reading it first thing that came to mind was the wheel fell off....lol

 

[Muddinginamopar]

Yeah, so did I lol I only know this because I had these same problems with my ****** Ford. Hahaha. Caliper seized shut on me going 55...that was a scary ride. Lol

 

[durango4819]

yea curious about that too... if low maybe check for a leak... replacing a caliper isnt hard.... i did all of mine on my last truck...

yea i never had to really do anything to my truck other than oil changes yet haha. didnt notice any leaks but ill check the fluid tomorrow.

Caliper could've just been hung up. Probably gonna want to replace that rotor though if it got warped... I'd say replace the caliper and rotor (and new pads while you're there) and see how she holds. What do you mean by the wheel broke free on it's own?

can i get away with just replacing everything on the one side? and the wheel was stuck from the caliper being seized and then all of a sudden it popped and would spin freely on its own when i was loosening the lugs.

All of these truks have caliper pistons that are made out of a plastic material. When it is heated the piston looses its round and will not go back in. Like the post above have the rotor turned or replaced and replace the caliper and pads and you should be good. Also if the brake fluid doesnt look like the color of beer then you need to have it fluhed out. If you need any help with the job let me know and I will try to explain anything that you need help with.

thanks i appreciate it ill let you know. my truck only has 50k miles on it, is it still something that could commonly happen? this is the first time ive had brake trouble on any of my trucks so maybe im over thinking it.

could be a couple thinks bad caliper, collapsed break line are 2 things i can think of off the top of my head.

yea hoping its nothing too major and/or costly

well it seems these guys know more about this stuff then I do.

When he said the wheel broke free by itself I assume he means the caliper released the rotor allowing it to spin free. When reading it first thing that came to mind was the wheel fell off....lol

haha nope wheel was all good youre right it spun on its own lol. i didnt think i worded it too wrong.

 

[durango4819]

Yeah, so did I lol I only know this because I had these same problems with my ****** Ford. Hahaha. Caliper seized shut on me going 55...that was a scary ride. Lol

damn that is scary man lol, luckily i noticed this at a low speed.

 

[Muddinginamopar]

I'd say do it to both, just for good measure. Then you know when you did it and don't have to worry about just doing one. It's easier and I'm sure there's a better reason for doing it as well. Lol

 

[Muddinginamopar]

damn that is scary man lol, luckily i noticed this at a low speed.

Yeah. Luckily it was one of those 2AM Walmart runs in the middle of farm country when I was at school. Haha.

 

[SmokedRam]

Yeah sounds to me that either the caliper just failed, or the lining of the flex hose collapsed.

Always, ALWAYS replace brake parts in pairs. Not doing so can result in many unhappy experiences, like uneven braking and even brake fade. Especially when it comes to the flex hoses. I have seen people replace the bad flex hose on one side, then literally a day later the other side blows.

 

[quietpeen]

looks like everybody has you on the right track. Hope you get it fixed soon

 

[WhiteExpress]

Also if the brake fluid doesnt look like the color of beer.

Depends on the beer! ****** light beer, yes.

 

[Sagebrush2500]

I've had brake lines blow but never a caliper hang... definitely recommend turning the rotor at least

 

[jlb]

Are you sure it was the brakes? That seems really weird that it just magically started working again.

I know somebody on here had an issue with low fluid levels in the rear axle from the dealer, is it possible it was actually a wheel bearing?

 

[unclemark]

I had that problem on my 98' tj with 4"lift and 33's. Caliper would hang up and as soon as that would happen and you go to pull the wheel off to inspect and it would free up. Did it here and there, not that often for over a year, I finially just replaced the calipers on both sides just because as soon as I do one the other will screw up. Its not a hard job at all just make sure they are on the right side, bleeder valves facing up. bleeding took all of 10min to do with two people.