1998 Dodge Sportsmobile Brakes

[Path914]

Hi, first post but we've had our SM for about a year now. The biggest issue that we've come across are the weak brakes in our B3500 van. The brakes get overheated quickly, especially coming down from trips up in the mountains and often require that we stop partway down to let them cool off.

Are there any upgrade options available for these vans? I have searched unsuccessfully and have not found any solutions so far. It seems that the Dodge vans are much less common and have little aftermarket support. We have relatively new rotors and pads on the front and brand new drums on the rear. I'd love to find some braided lines and larger calipers/disks if possible.

[snomad]

calling Pntyrmvr. Meanwhile Path914, try searching his posts.

[Path914]

Originally Posted by snomad

calling Pntyrmvr. Meanwhile Path914, try searching his posts.

Thanks, I'll do that. I tried searching every relevant keyword I could think of and didn't find any useful information. Appreciate the suggestion.

[Pntyrmvr]

Hi.

A few notes on Dodge brakes.

1- the rear drum adjusters never keep the brake pedal high or firm enough for me. I carry an adjusting tool with me. Find an old school mechanic who worked on trucks. Have him adjust them up, test drive, slam on the parking brake while stopped- a dozen times, and adjust them again. It should be difficult to remove the drum when they are adjusted.

2- new parts- replace everything behind the drum including the shoes. Everything. Wheel cylinders (carefully match the existing bore size and note you may be able to go up a 1/16" in bore as you drive the thing fully loaded) and every bit of hardware. Have the drums machined. Again by a mechanic who knows drum brakes. Use the most expensive parts you can find. Almost 30 years have gone by and all that junk in there is junk. The idea is to get it back to factory. Replace all 3 flex lines. Flush the fluid. Replace the calipers. They'll have crud in and around them. Lots of molybdenum lube on the slides. New holdowns too. If the pads have the ears on them that can be hammered over beat them down while someone stands on the brake pedal. When they start rattling beat them down again. That rattle is slop in the chain of braking action.

3- weigh the beast. I bet the GVWR IS 8510 lbs. Stay under 8000 lbs if you can.

4- use the transmission to slough off speed. Turn off the overdrive on hills and let the engine brake in D. Every bit helps.

5- don't expect a setup designed way back to stop like a Ferrari. Anticipate traffic and start the top of big hills at a reasonable speed. Dragging the beast down from 75 to 55 when you get messy pants on a hill is too late. The right lane is your friend.

6- the 2003 B1500 vans had rear discs, but I have no idea if they will retrofit on to whatever axle mother Mopar put under your tank. Nor have I ever heard of anyone doing it.

Recap:

Find a true drum brake mechanic.

Restore the beast to factory specs completely. Buy expensive parts. Pay for expert installation.

Drive ahead of the game.

You got a deal on that Dodge. Now you need to understand it's limitations.

Be well.

G

[Path914]

Thank you for the information! Most of these points have already been addressed with our van, so I'm more looking for other options to increase the braking capability. Really what is needed is more thermal mass and caliper force for the front brakes, which is why I was hoping that someone has figured out larger compatible OEM options or at least that aftermarket calipers/rotors would be available.

1.Our rear drum brakes are completely new OEM replacements that have been adjusted by experienced truck mechanics very familiar with the process.

2. We have all new high quality drums, rotors and pads installed. The front calipers were thoroughly cleaned. We have not replaced the brake lines, so that is definitely something to address and I hope to find some braided stainless options if they are available.

3. The weight is just over 8k, but there is little that we can do to reduce this to any extent that would make a difference. This is the main problem with the factory brakes as they were clearly not designed to manage the additional weight of the SM conversion.

4. Done, we are familiar and competent in driving heavy vehicles. However, even with the transmission in low and driving 35-40mph, we are experiencing the brakes overheating coming down curvy mountain roads (Recently took a trip to Big Bear where this was an issue that required a cool down break on the way down and the front brakes were overwhelmed half way down).

5. N/A we are already driving well below the flow of traffic on roads that more often than not only have a single drive lane (there were semi's and larger RVs that we let pass)

6. This would require extensive parts replacement well beyond the brake parts and would make minimal improvements based on the size of the rotors and fact that most of the force and weight for the use case in question relies on the front brakes.

[Pntyrmvr]

I'd try the new brake hoses first. Then I would up the rear wheel cylinder bore by 1/16". I still lean towards the rear brakes not taking their intended share of the load. Also front pad composition. Try a different one.

GVWR IS 8510 lbs? Which rear axle? Full floater with the hub protruding past the wheel center?

I drive that setup with original 22,000 mile parts except for front pads. My GVWR is 10,500 and with all the goodies it weighs 10K. I'm always adjusting the rear brakes. My other 5 have always been the same with the rear brakes.

Oh, use your parking brake all the time. In theory it helps the rear brakes stay adjusted.

[Path914]

I'll look into this. Are you aware of any aftermarket hose options, I haven't been able to find any and was thinking of having some custom made if needed. Not a fan of rubber, especially in this case.

If I cannot find any larger aftermarket caliper/rotors to replace the front brakes, then I will look into heavier duty pads for the stock brakes. It has new pads currently, but they are just regular good quality stock spec. If I'm stuck with that option, I may also look into installing some ducting from the bumper to provide cooling (I'm used to this for my track car, but didn't expect to have the need for a conversion van, lol).

I don't know the GVWR off hand, I'll take a look. I'm sure that the rear cylinder bore has factory spec currently.

We always use the parking brake.

[Pntyrmvr]

I'm unaware of any aftermarket hose options. There are custom stainless steel hose makers.

The parts listing for Dodge trucks and vans used to list the wheel cylinders by bore diameter. The factory did unusual combinations and maybe one size up would allow more rear force that can be utilized because your RV is always loaded.

Will your rig lock up all four wheels when the brakes are cool?

[Pntyrmvr]

Rock Auto lists 2 wheel cylinder sizes for a 1998 B3500 Dodge. 7/8" and 1". Both for 12x3 drums.

[Pntyrmvr]

Any chance the rear wheel anti lock module has crapped the nest?

Time for a factory service manual.