History of brake trouble

[vtchris]

I have been told more than once that my rear brakes are fine. Mechanics keep working on my front ones. Here is the story: 1991 Toy 6 cyl, bought it 6 years ago, 54K miles on it. That first trip I noticed that going down a really steep grade there was a stutter when I braked, I could feel it in the peddle and in the steering wheel. That was the only time and a mechanic said to not worry until it got worse. Fast forward 5 years, 90K on it and now the brakes stutter all the time when applied. Last Sept. my mechanic in VT put new rooters on it. All was well until I got to Florida and the stutter returned. Mechanic there turned the rooters and put in new front brake lines. All was well again. Now I am back in VT and stutter has returned. My mechanic here put new rooters on again. Stutter goes away, but now my brakes pull to the right when depressed. And what should I do if a couple of thousand miles down the road the stutter returns?

[centralman]

yes, it's most likely your front brakes. They take the majority of pressure due to motion and weight than rear brakes. My suggestion would be:

(1) Keep your MH's weight down as much as possible;

(2) When braking downhill try the press and release routine, don't step on the brakes for any long periods to avoid overheating the brakes (my guess is you will feel the shutter after overheating the brakes);

(3) Use heavy duty rotors and pads for your next brake change.

[Derek up North]

I find my brakes get depressed with Country & Western on the radio. They're much happier with Light Rock.

[Maineah]

Good one Derek

[Maineah]

I have been told more than once that my rear brakes are fine. Mechanics keep working on my front ones. Here is the story: 1991 Toy 6 cyl, bought it 6 years ago, 54K miles on it. That first trip I noticed that going down a really steep grade there was a stutter when I braked, I could feel it in the peddle and in the steering wheel. That was the only time and a mechanic said to not worry until it got worse. Fast forward 5 years, 90K on it and now the brakes stutter all the time when applied. Last Sept. my mechanic in VT put new rooters on it. All was well until I got to Florida and the stutter returned. Mechanic there turned the rooters and put in new front brake lines. All was well again. Now I am back in VT and stutter has returned. My mechanic here put new rooters on again. Stutter goes away, but now my brakes pull to the right when depressed. And what should I do if a couple of thousand miles down the road the stutter returns?

Centralman has some good points another thing you might try is shifting out of O/D and maybe even shifting to 2nd on a long steep hill as long as you are going slow enough. The shudder is the rotors but what you need to do is find out why it is pulling to one side it is possible you have a caliper problem and that needs to be corrected. The shudder is annoying the pulling is a bad thing.

[Gulfstream Greg]

I have been told more than once that my rear brakes are fine. Mechanics keep working on my front ones. Here is the story: 1991 Toy 6 cyl, bought it 6 years ago, 54K miles on it. That first trip I noticed that going down a really steep grade there was a stutter when I braked, I could feel it in the peddle and in the steering wheel. That was the only time and a mechanic said to not worry until it got worse. Fast forward 5 years, 90K on it and now the brakes stutter all the time when applied. Last Sept. my mechanic in VT put new rooters on it. All was well until I got to Florida and the stutter returned. Mechanic there turned the rooters and put in new front brake lines. All was well again. Now I am back in VT and stutter has returned. My mechanic here put new rooters on again. Stutter goes away, but now my brakes pull to the right when depressed. And what should I do if a couple of thousand miles down the road the stutter returns?

I think you need to replace the calipers. My guess is one is not releasing enough and the pad is creating excessive friction on the rotor. And it may not do it all the time. Drive 20 miles then see if one side is hotter than the other (using the hands on method). Both side should be warm but not hot and both should be the same temp. But like I said it may not do it all the time so be-aware of that. But when it does stick the rotor will heat up and warp, the result is a shutter sometimes a really bad shutter, sometimes not so bad. The heated rotor and shoe also tend to be grabby making the shutter worse and can cause a pull to one side.

[Derek up North]

Before the expense of replacing the calipers, I'd look in to replacing the front hoses (if they are 'age unknown'). They can look fine on the outside but failing inside, which can cause the calipers to stick on.

[Gulfstream Greg]

Before the expense of replacing the calipers, I'd look in to replacing the front hoses (if they are 'age unknown'). They can look fine on the outside but failing inside, which can cause the calipers to stick on.

Good point! I suppose from swelling of the hose interior?

Price out the cost of a caliper, they are actually fairly inexpensive. Good chance though that the rotors are warped if it is the calipers sticking but the rotors can be turned to bring them back to true if its not to bad. I just did both calipers and they were under $100 each. To do it right, hoses, calipers, rotors and pads is costly but the reality is the front brakes do most of the stopping! You want brakes that feel good! Another thing to check is the proportioning valve located in the rear. Someone might have adjusted it wrong and you are getting too much front brakes.

[Diesel_Aggie]

I think you have several potential problems. If you know a brake caliper is dragging, replace it AND the rubber hose. At this age I'd just replace both sides. The brake hoses fail from the inside out and collapse inward on themselves. This can cause not enough pressure to get to the caliper to provide adequate "squeeze" on the pads or it can cause not enough pressure release causing the brakes to drag. If you can do the work yourself, this is pretty cheap.

Next, has anyone looked to see that the rear brakes are adjusted properly and that the self adjusters are working? If they are out of adjustment, "loose", then they are not doing their fair share of the work. Guess who has to work extra hard? The front brakes. This creates extra heat that can warp the rotors. You will feel this in the pedal and the steering wheel and it gets worse with speed and how hard you step on the brakes. When checking the rear brakes have them check for an out of round drum as well. Having contributing rear brakes is very important on a vehicle with this much weight over the rear end. This may also dramatically shorten your stopping distances.

What kind of rotors and pads is your mechanic using? I have had terrible luck with cheap brake rotors and drums. Many are now made in China. I find as a general rule that their metallurgy is horrible and they warp quick. Most auto parts stores have at least two lines of brake parts. I almost always go for the highest line in all parts. I rarely warp high end rotors/drums. The pads/shoes are important too, ESPECIALLY on something like a Toyota motorhome that is borderline overloaded to begin with. A high end semi metallic lining holds up much better in high heat and resists fading much better. This brings up another concern. I would not let someone turn the rotors/drums on a Toyota motorhome. Doing so reduces the thickness of the metal and makes them much more prone to warp as they heat up quicker and get hotter as they can't dissipate as much heat. It's fine on a full size car that has very thick rotors to begin with.

The last thing to consider is the brake fluid. Odds are it looks like maple syrup in most of the rigs here. It should be flushed every two years. Why? It is hygroscopic and absorbs water. About 2% per year by most studies. Water causes corrosion in the brake system so we want it gone. It also gets dirty from the rubber hoses and seals breaking down. This dirt/water mix is a major contributor to brake caliper failure as the gunk ends up at the bottom of the system. This grit destroys the calipers. The higher the water content, the lower the boiling point of the brake fluid. When brake fluid boils, you pedal starts sinking and may go to the floor. Not want you want bringing the family down Pikes Peak.

Hope this helps. Brakes are a system and need to be serviced as such.