Hey Guys,

I took the truck into the shop this week due to a dragging left front caliper that resulted in a warped rotor on that side. They replaced the caliper and turned the rotor, fixing the annoying vibration under braking, but now the brake pedal travels over half way to the floor before starting to engage, and to get any reasonable bite and stopping power, the pedal has to be pressed below the gas pedal. I'm worried if I have to make a panic stop, I'm going to run out of travel and bottom out the master cylinder before I get full braking power.

The pedal felt fine before the recent work, so my first guess is air in the lines even though they said they bled them. I'm hoping it's not something worse, like a bad master cylinder. What are your thoughts?

I'm now kicking myself for not replacing the caliper on my own, but it was a warranty repair on an earlier brake job and I didn't feel like pulling the rotors myself to get them turned. The repair was free, but I guess you get what you pay for...

Thanks!

 

Air in the lines would be my first thought. They didn't get in to the back brakes at all did they? Just one side on the front or both? Bleeding would be an easy/cheap first step before you look anywhere else.

 

They inspected all four corners, but only tore into the left front from what I was told. I agree that bleeding the brakes is a good first step. I may run it by the shop and see if they'll do it. If I end up doing it, I'll be bleeding all four corners just to be sure, since they may have ran the reservoir dry when they pulled the left front.

 

X2^^^^^^^^^

 

Sounds like they never readjusted the rear brakes after pulling the drums

 

They never worked on the rears... You might want to re-read the thread.

 

Gravity bleed them!

 

I just "re-read" the thread, and you said they inspected all 4 corners.... How do you think they inspected the back anyway... Shine a light through the 1" wide 3/16 slit you adjust the brake shoes through???
Come on buddy, you're steppin on the toes of one of the best contributors of the forum.
If they said the inspected all 4 corners, and they didn't remove the wheels and drums, they lied to you and I wouldn't go back. Good thing you didn't pay much. If they did pull the drums....to inspect all 4 corners, then they probably didn't readjust the shoes, they were in a hurry because you didn't pay much.

 

That's what I was thinking. A good brake person would not have to remove the brake line to the caliper just to replace pads/rotors. If anything, with new pads, your reservoir might be over full. But, to pull the drums on these trucks you almost always have to turn the slack adjusters all the way in. This will result in large travel of the pedal before the rears engage, and excessive front wear as it will bias to the fronts. Doesn't take but a few minutes to re-adjust the rears.

But of course, if you want to bleed, go for it. Between the two your about 99% sure to find the problem.

 

Just to clarify, williamneub is not the OP. Otherwise, i agree with yor remarks 100%.

 

Yeah I knew that when I posted, then got off track. I should have separated my two thoughts a little better. Was a long day, been a long week, and longer month then I've wanted.

 

Maybe you want to reread

 

Wow! This thread blew up after I last posted!

I just wanted to give you all a quick update and let you know I took the truck back to the shop Friday afternoon and they got it all fixed, and now the brakes feel better than they ever have. They ended up getting a little more air out of the left front caliper and the guy said my rear brakes were adjusted way loose, so he tightened them up, and now the pedal feels perfect!

What's odd, is the rear brakes have always been loose since they replaced the shoes a couple of years ago. They had to keep them loose, otherwise they would drag to the point of smoking. I took it on a decent drive over the weekend and the rears didn't build up any heat, so the guy that did the work on Friday must have done something right. I also can even trust my e-brake on a hill again.

They did end up mangling my two rear center caps with the air gun when removing the lugs, but I'm just going to buy a couple new ones and install them next time I rotate the tires since mine are pretty rusty and I'd probably be shot if I went back and complained.

Thanks for the input!

 

Glad you got it fixed.

 

I'm going to get my tires rotated and balanced and I took my center caps off. I'll put them back on when I get home. I'm tired of buying those things and I don't trust those guys!!