Have a brand new Tradesman Regular cab 3.6. with about 900 miles on it. Noticed during medium to hard braking at highway sppeds it is pulling to the right. That is the only time it is pulling. Normal driving and braking is true and straight. Any ideals why this might be happening?
Vehicle pulling when hard braking
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If you have rear drum brakes, which I know some of the new heavy duty models still do, I may have a possible solution.
I had the same exact symptoms on my 2nd generation ram after replacing the rear brake shoes. Anytime you get new shoes its sort of up to you, or in your case the dealer or factory, to set the initial gap adjustment between rotor and shoe surfaces. This is done by adjusting a gear like screw that either pulls in or pushes out the shoes. Then the automatic adjuster takes it from there and expands over time as breaks wear down. But Too big of gap at first and the brakes don't grip the rotor surface tight enough,, and too tight and you won't be able to get the rotor slid back on over the shoes. A happy medium is good, BUT EVENNESS of spacing between the two sides of your truck is most important. If the left side is tighter than the right, the left will grip first and grip hard, causing a sharp pull to the left, or vise versa.
New trucks have new shoes, so this is a definite possibility. Of course .... Over a long enough period of time the wear of the shoe and the compensation of the auto adjuster should eventually even it out somewhat .
I had the same exact symptoms on my 2nd generation ram after replacing the rear brake shoes. Anytime you get new shoes its sort of up to you, or in your case the dealer or factory, to set the initial gap adjustment between rotor and shoe surfaces. This is done by adjusting a gear like screw that either pulls in or pushes out the shoes. Then the automatic adjuster takes it from there and expands over time as breaks wear down. But Too big of gap at first and the brakes don't grip the rotor surface tight enough,, and too tight and you won't be able to get the rotor slid back on over the shoes. A happy medium is good, BUT EVENNESS of spacing between the two sides of your truck is most important. If the left side is tighter than the right, the left will grip first and grip hard, causing a sharp pull to the left, or vise versa.
New trucks have new shoes, so this is a definite possibility. Of course .... Over a long enough period of time the wear of the shoe and the compensation of the auto adjuster should eventually even it out somewhat .
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How hard does it pull? Does it actually "jerk" the steering wheel, where you have to consciously pull it back straight, or is it more of a steady drift or oa drift that gets progressively worse? If you feel it in the steering wheel, I'd have the front brakes looked at. If it's a gentle drift, maybe rears, but I've also seen tires cause this, may not hurt to try rotating the front side to side to see if the pull changes direction.
Well the dealership mechanic found the problem, but not the solution. The caliper was sticking bad. Had to use a pry bar to get it apart. Replaced with a brand new one expecting that to fix it. The new one did the exact same thing.
The service adviser told me that they have shot it up to Chrysler. That scares me, and I wonder if there is more to the story that I haven't been told yet.
I bought a new vehicle so I wouldn't have to deal with vehicle issue for awhile. I guess I just have crappy luck with vehicles,
The service adviser told me that they have shot it up to Chrysler. That scares me, and I wonder if there is more to the story that I haven't been told yet.
I bought a new vehicle so I wouldn't have to deal with vehicle issue for awhile. I guess I just have crappy luck with vehicles,
Can you believe I'm still dealing with this BS. I went to pick up my truck on September 18 after supposedly being fix. I'm not even a mile down the road and it is doing the same thing as before. I'm to pissed and tired to turn around so I take it back the next day. I'm upset that the issue was not fixed, and I'm really upset with the lack of communication from the service department. I take it up with upper management and at least the communication problem is served.
Anyway, I drop it back off and I pick it back up early in the morning on a Wednesday. I test drive it, and felt a slight pull to the right once or twice. I go ahead and take it, but not sold that it was fixed. By the end of the day it was just as bad as before. Take it back, and the shop foreman and service manager had said they both drove it and it wasn't doing it. They both went on rides again and agreed it was back. The GM of the dealership also went on a ride and noticed it. So it back in the dealer's and Chrysler's hands.
I purchased this vehicle on September 1. I've had it in my possession for 7 days.This is not acceptable.
Anyway, I drop it back off and I pick it back up early in the morning on a Wednesday. I test drive it, and felt a slight pull to the right once or twice. I go ahead and take it, but not sold that it was fixed. By the end of the day it was just as bad as before. Take it back, and the shop foreman and service manager had said they both drove it and it wasn't doing it. They both went on rides again and agreed it was back. The GM of the dealership also went on a ride and noticed it. So it back in the dealer's and Chrysler's hands.
I purchased this vehicle on September 1. I've had it in my possession for 7 days.This is not acceptable.
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