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Old 05-23-2011, 07:53 PM   #1
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Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

All,

I am the proud new owner of a not so new Sportsmobile. I recently purchased a 1996 Diesel 4x4 and was coming down a local mountain pass and the brakes started smoking badly and losing power. I was doing the recommended pump and release but that did not seem to help.

My instinct is that these vans are designed for this kind of driving, but being new to these vehicles, I may be overly optimistic. Should I be looking for a break problem or are there limitations? This was probably an 8% grade at about 40 mph average.....

Any info on the brake system for this vintage and what these bad boys can handle would be helpful.

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Old 05-23-2011, 11:10 PM   #2
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Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

All,

I recently purchased a 1996 EB Diesel 4x4 Sportsmobile. I was coming down a local mountain pass (8% or so grade at about 40 mph average) and the front breaks started smoking and losing power. I was taking all precautionary driving measure while driving (i.e. pumping brakes). My impression is that these vehicles should be able to drive i these conditions without frying the brakes? Is this not the case or should I be looking for a problem with the brakes. Any info would be appreciated as I am new to these vehicles and am looking for guidance on general capability.
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Old 05-24-2011, 08:24 AM   #3
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

nevada, I combined your posts since I wasn't sure which to keep. Your first 3 posts have to be approved before appearing.

About the brakes, you can smoke the brakes on anything if you ride them coming down a grade like that. I always use my engine to brake and if necessary (engine braking not adequate or a sharper curve than anticipated) pump the brakes over longer periods (3 seconds braking harder, 2 seconds off) rather than just holding a constant pressure and at that normally 80% of the descent I never touch the brakes.

The SMB is heavy ~10K and the brakes are not adequate to treat it like a sportscar- they are not overbuilt by any stretch of the imagination and there are several upgrade routes. In addition your pads and rotors have had a service life that you're unaware of. Certainly smoking the brakes is not good and indicates something needs to change.
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Old 05-24-2011, 08:33 AM   #4
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

Quote:
Originally Posted by nevadagold72
All,

I am the proud new owner of a not so new Sportsmobile. I recently purchased a 1996 Diesel 4x4 and was coming down a local mountain pass and the brakes started smoking badly and losing power. I was doing the recommended pump and release but that did not seem to help.

My instinct is that these vans are designed for this kind of driving, but being new to these vehicles, I may be overly optimistic. Should I be looking for a break problem or are there limitations? This was probably an 8% grade at about 40 mph average.....

Any info on the brake system for this vintage and what these bad boys can handle would be helpful.
Don't know what brake setup came on a 1996 E-350 van, but can say that I've got to use both the tranny and brakes to manage speed on long mountain descents. Relying on the brakes alone will fry them and to state the obvious, that can make for a very dangerous situation.

Which pass were you coming down and how long was the descent?

For any of the big ones in the eastern sierras (tioga, monitor, conway, sherwin, etc....), I descend in 3rd gear and use light braking to control speed. For the really steep ones (tioga), I go down in 2nd. Never had any problems with brake fade. At times that means I'm coming down at 20-30mph. Annoying to those behind me, but I couldn't care less about their schedule and I do use all turnouts to allow for passing.

Rob
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Old 05-24-2011, 08:43 AM   #5
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

My van is a 2500 Chev Express extended van. I do the same thing as stated above on lone down grades. Coast. If that doesn't work, shift to 3rd (40mph ish). If that does not hold speed with LIGHT breaking then I shift down to 2nd (25pmh ish).
Have had some grades that even in second I had to pump the brakes to hold the speed.

On long grades use the brakes last and engine braking first.
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Old 05-24-2011, 11:01 AM   #6
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

On a '96, you will have rear drum brakes. It is not uncommon for those to need adjustment. If the van has ever sat a long time, or the previous owners never did any hard stops in reverse, then the adjusters are probably seized, which means you rear brakes are not doing anything. I would check that first, then look at the front pads. Use OEM or better. A lot of parts store stuff is greatly inferior than OEM. If it costs less, its for a reason, when it comes to brake pads.
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Old 05-24-2011, 06:02 PM   #7
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

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Originally Posted by carringb
On a '96, you will have rear drum brakes. It is not uncommon for those to need adjustment. If the van has ever sat a long time, or the previous owners never did any hard stops in reverse, then the adjusters are probably seized, which means you rear brakes are not doing anything. I would check that first, then look at the front pads. Use OEM or better. A lot of parts store stuff is greatly inferior than OEM. If it costs less, its for a reason, when it comes to brake pads.

What he said.
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Old 05-25-2011, 03:10 PM   #8
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

I agree as well, especially on a new to you vehicle, it's a good idea to do an all round check-up. But theses things are heavy and I also downshift dropping down a grade. On unusually steep grades I go into 2WD low, something you can do with a SMB 4x4 conversion.

Not sure but can't you keep the hubs unlocked and shift into 4WD low if needed?
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Old 06-07-2011, 02:58 PM   #9
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

For many reasons it would serve you well to rebuild the brake system. You might also think about upgrading the brakes, rebuilding the front end (ball joints, tierod ends, etc) and replacing the bearings & seals on the diffs while they have the outboard stuff off. Opening the diff will also allow you to assess the gears and replace all fluids. Don't forget to change the transfer case oil.
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Old 06-08-2011, 09:00 AM   #10
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Re: Smoking Brakes on a Sportsmobile?

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Originally Posted by daveb
Not sure but can't you keep the hubs unlocked and shift into 4WD low if needed?
I've used 4WD Low on some paved but steep roads and later thought about not locking the hubs so I asked Quigley about it at one of the SMB rallys. They recommended against using 4WD without locking the hubs since that would put a lot of stress on the rear differential...with the hubs locked, that stress is shared between the front and rear differentials...at least that is what I think they said.
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