- Local time
- 12:55 PM
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2015
- Messages
- 646
- Reaction score
- 1,214
- Location
- West Palm Beach, FL
I have had this happen on 2 different vehicles. Maybe these experiences will help you diagnose your problem...
67 Satellite with original 4 piston caliper power disks - car had semi-metallic pads when I got it. I switched to organic pads after restoration thinking it would reduce rotor wear - new hoses, rebuilt calipers, same rotors (1-piece hub/rotor which I don't think were original), DOT 5 fluid. Brakes would start dragging as I drove it and get progressively worse the more I drove. Happened during shakedown runs after resto so thankfully I didn't drive it enough to warp the rotors. Put new semi-metallic pads on and the problem went away. Still no issues 30 years later. I don't remember if I compared pad thickness between the 2 types so the organic pads may have been too thick though they weren't any harder to install. My other guess was that the organic pads were swelling as they heated.
2001 Dakota R/T - truck chewed up brakes from new - I do drive it somewhat aggressively. Was especially bad after driving somewhere, usually less than 10-15 miles, stopping for a short time and then driving back. Brakes would feel fine on the way there, but the pedal would be hard and could feel brakes dragging when I'd go to leave. Once they started dragging, they would continue to get worse the more I drove to the point where it felt like I was standing on the brake pedal. Warped the rotors so put on new pads, new rotors at ~20k miles. Warped them again - this time new pads, new rotors, new calipers. 3rd time it happened I changed to drilled & slotted rotors and problem went away. I now have more miles on those rotors, with the same pads and calipers as #2, than the first 2 rotor sets combined. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the solid rotors couldn't shed heat fast enough so it would build up and either the rotors were expanding or it was causing the fluid to expand or boil.
Solutions were different, but both times it was related to heat buildup in the braking system. I have had hoses go bad and lock up brakes, but never both sides at the same time.
67 Satellite with original 4 piston caliper power disks - car had semi-metallic pads when I got it. I switched to organic pads after restoration thinking it would reduce rotor wear - new hoses, rebuilt calipers, same rotors (1-piece hub/rotor which I don't think were original), DOT 5 fluid. Brakes would start dragging as I drove it and get progressively worse the more I drove. Happened during shakedown runs after resto so thankfully I didn't drive it enough to warp the rotors. Put new semi-metallic pads on and the problem went away. Still no issues 30 years later. I don't remember if I compared pad thickness between the 2 types so the organic pads may have been too thick though they weren't any harder to install. My other guess was that the organic pads were swelling as they heated.
2001 Dakota R/T - truck chewed up brakes from new - I do drive it somewhat aggressively. Was especially bad after driving somewhere, usually less than 10-15 miles, stopping for a short time and then driving back. Brakes would feel fine on the way there, but the pedal would be hard and could feel brakes dragging when I'd go to leave. Once they started dragging, they would continue to get worse the more I drove to the point where it felt like I was standing on the brake pedal. Warped the rotors so put on new pads, new rotors at ~20k miles. Warped them again - this time new pads, new rotors, new calipers. 3rd time it happened I changed to drilled & slotted rotors and problem went away. I now have more miles on those rotors, with the same pads and calipers as #2, than the first 2 rotor sets combined. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the solid rotors couldn't shed heat fast enough so it would build up and either the rotors were expanding or it was causing the fluid to expand or boil.
Solutions were different, but both times it was related to heat buildup in the braking system. I have had hoses go bad and lock up brakes, but never both sides at the same time.
