peterd

OK, leaving for the flea market this AM...

About four miles from house, at 50 or so, get a rrriiiiiiittttt-clunk.
Stop and check, nothing obviouls. The rrriiiiiiiitttt sound is fast
(much faster than once per tire revolution). Once the clunk happens,
all is quiet for the rest of the trip.

Finish the flea market, and headed to Wally World. About 40 MPH and
get the exact same thing, but sooner, about two miles into the drive.
Exact same noise. A quick rrriiiiiiittttt (we're talking a couple of
seconds) and the clunk.

Finish Wally World, and pull out of the parking lot. A (short) block,
make a left turn, and in the middle of the turn 'Clunk'. No
rrriiiiitttt sound, but pronounced clunk.

Each time, happens once then never happens again for that drive. Three
trip segments, got almost the same thing each time (with the exception
that the third time, the pre-noise didn't happen.

The clunk feels and sounds just like a stuck brake pad, but since the
truck was rolling (without any obvious binding that I could tell) this
seems odd.


Recent repair(s): New pads all four corners. New hub on left front.
Tires are OK.

Dodge Ram 2500 HD Hemi, automatic, standard cab.

Anyone like to take a WAG? <bg>

bill

Who replaced pads?
Might want to look at them.

licker

If one of the pistons on the calibers is sticking you will hear that clunk
when it releases suddendly. You stated that you replaced all 4 pads. Do
you mean all 4 wheels? Check the back since the drive train is pushing the
vehicle. If it was a front you might feel it pull to one side or another.

peterd

Me! <g> And I will look into them. They have about 8K miles on them
now (since Feb) including two round trips to Florida from New England
without problems, but that's not saying much...

I think tomorrow I'll toss it on the lift and pull all four wheels and
do a good visual.

peterd

Yes, all four corners. Only had one bad pad (for some reason one of
the rear pads word more than any of the others) but since I had to
pull the front hub to replace it, I did the pads in front too--cost
for parts was trivial overall, and labor was already done. <g>

Since all four wheels are dual-piston calipers one sticking piston
might just be the problem.

fmb

Could the brake fluid be contaminated? Check out
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/d...20#post2492920
or http://tinyurl.com/mt27ny , post #5.

FMB
(North Mexico)

peterd

If it is contaminated, it happened without opening the master
cylinder! <g> I didn't add (or remove) any fluid when doing the
brakes--monitored the level and it was OK before and after (higher
after, but OK both times).

I think the first thing it to check at the wheels. Bear is that of
course it is not a terribly visual thing to see.

Oddly, one other (missing in my other post) was this happened after
driving in light rain. Not the first wet driving since the last repair
work by a long shot, but it was the first wet drive for some weeks. I
wonder if the caliper pins have some rust/corrosion?

steve w.

CLUE

Only had one bad pad (for some reason one of the rear pads word more
than any of the others)

CLUE
Hint - one pad worn more than others is a sure sign of a sticking
caliper/piston. I'm betting that one of the calipers isn't sliding
properly and the clunk your hearing is the caliper shifting against the pins.

--
Steve W.

peterd

And them's big clues, too... When I pull the wheels I bet I see uneven
wear on that corner again. At least I hope so.

bill

Does it have anti-lock brakes?