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97 Ram Cummins Drums, and Parking Brake

1292 Views 34 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  David Ivory, 
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Passenger slave leaked a bunch of fluid soaking the inside of the drum before it left a small puddle on the ground one morning. Popped the new one in, and started ordering parts to fix everything broken. This project took Me 8 whole days and probably around the clock once.
I ran into 5 problems. First the two of the lower sliding points on the backing plate for the shoes needed to be weld filled and ground smooth. The Passenger side e brake cable end ball would fit through the parking brake return spring(needed to file it down so it was round instead of oval). I welded the edge of the new brake shoes where it rides on the backing plate because two of them were flush with the friction material. The Forman adjuster didn’t have the slot for the drivers side cable to sit in so I cut a slot a little narrower then the original one.

The parking brake return spring wraps around, and clips into the parking brake arm, but the one I might have bent a bit removing wouldn’t stay clipped, so I took some bailing wire wrapped it through the hoop under the arm around the return spring, back under the arm, and twisted the bailing wire together.I did that for both sides just for assurance.






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jason867
Is that the Dana 70 or 80?

Dana 80s can be upgraded to Chevy 1 ton wheel slave cylinders for improved braking performance.
Not sure if this will work on the 70s through.
It's my understanding that all 3500s had d80s, and only 5-speed 2500s had d80s, while 2500 autos had d70s.

Some reading and feedback here:

Just did the Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinder upgrade - Dodge Diesel - Diesel Truck Resource Forums

24 Valve Engine and Drivetrain - Just did the Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinder upgrade - Last night we just did the Chevy one ton wheel cyl upgrade. Raybestos part # WC37337 . Not having decent brakes for 2 years , and problems with overheating the front pads ...I gotta tell you , my brakes are...
www.dieseltruckresource.com

RAYBESTOS WC37337
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Nice work!!

I have done everything i can do with the 94s rear brakes .
They only work OK.
Just dont seem to get enough pressure / juice .
I blame the olden anti lock alum block , or the compression coupling ( not my doing ) mid way to the brakes.

REAL CLOSE to re routing the rear brake line direct , via an aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve and a new hard line all the way back . I know one doesnt want tooo much rear stoppie , but id like to have enough to get the drums nice n warm , which rarely happens .

One detail which has stopped me from just jumping in ,, the lil hard line on the master clnd is bigger ( unknown if it bubble or double flared ) than the line that goes to the rear . Hopefully thats not a deal breaker .
IF anyone has done this , please share details .
thank you
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Antonm
Great and through job on the brakes.

Unrelated question, is the lower bracket for your air bag mounts upside down? Like shouldn't the flat side of the red circled brackets below be touching the springs and not the raised edges?

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MY truck came with the p
24hrsparkey said:
Nice work!!

I have done everything i can do with the 94s rear brakes .
They only work OK.
Just dont seem to get enough pressure / juice .
I blame the olden anti lock alum block , or the compression coupling ( not my doing ) mid way to the brakes.

REAL CLOSE to re routing the rear brake line direct , via an aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve and a new hard line all the way back . I know one doesnt want tooo much rear stoppie , but id like to have enough to get the drums nice n warm , which rarely happens .

One detail which has stopped me from just jumping in ,, the lil hard line on the master clnd is bigger ( unknown if it bubble or double flared ) than the line that goes to the rear . Hopefully thats not a deal breaker .
IF anyone has done this , please share details .
thank you
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🤔 maybe.
Antonm said:
Great and through job on the brakes.

Unrelated question, is the lower bracket for your air bag mounts upside down? Like shouldn't the flat side of the red circled brackets below be touching the springs and not the raised edges?

View attachment 975320
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Dana 80. My brakes are excellent now. I would probably have to recalibrate the proportioning valve to use those cylinders eh? Also the Chevy might have bigger shoes and thicker drums. You could wreck the shoes, and warp the drums with the extra pressure maybe? Like compounding your brakes on a Semi truck.
jason867 said:
Is that the Dana 70 or 80?

Dana 80s can be upgraded to Chevy 1 ton wheel slave cylinders for improved braking performance.
Not sure if this will work on the 70s through.
It's my understanding that all 3500s had d80s, and only 5-speed 2500s had d80s, while 2500 autos had d70s.

Some reading and feedback here:

Just did the Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinder upgrade - Dodge Diesel - Diesel Truck Resource Forums

24 Valve Engine and Drivetrain - Just did the Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinder upgrade - Last night we just did the Chevy one ton wheel cyl upgrade. Raybestos part # WC37337 . Not having decent brakes for 2 years , and problems with overheating the front pads ...I gotta tell you , my brakes are...
www.dieseltruckresource.com

RAYBESTOS WC37337
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Antonm
Cummins12valve86 said:
the Chevy might have bigger shoes and thicker drums. You could wreck the shoes, and warp the drums with the extra pressure maybe? Like compounding your brakes on a Semi truck.
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Nah, the Chevy rear brake cylinders are a way common thing / upgrade for the second gen dodge guys. I've had them on the back of my truck for years now, as have many others, without issue.
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Cummins12valve86.

IF those pictures were for me , looks like you still have the prop Valve and the anti lock all in the OEM config ?
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GAmes
Antonm said:
Great and through job on the brakes.

Unrelated question, is the lower bracket for your air bag mounts upside down? Like shouldn't the flat side of the red circled brackets below be touching the springs and not the raised edges?

View attachment 975320
Click to expand...
The mounts are correct.

Edit; I looked at the top, not the bottom. My mounts have U-bolts that go under the leaf so you might be correct.
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24hrsparkey said:
Cummins12valve86.

IF those pictures were for me , looks like you still have the prop Valve and the anti lock all in the OEM config ?
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There are no wheel speed sensors. I don’t know what that stuff is but it works. I slammed on my brakes in gravel, and loose gravel on pavement. The slightest little chirp and I’m stopped immediately.
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Antonm
Cummins12valve86 said:
There are no wheel speed sensors. I don’t know what that stuff is but it works. I slammed on my brakes in gravel, and loose gravel on pavement. The slightest little chirp and I’m stopped immediately.
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There is a wheel speed (well, actually ring gear speed to be exact) sensor mounted on the center of the differential that inputs in the rear wheel speed to the abs module.
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Antonm
GAmes said:
The mounts are correct.

Edit; I looked at the top, not the bottom. My mounts have U-bolts that go under the leaf so you might be correct.
Click to expand...
It probably doesn't really matter either way. Looks like its been working as-is for awhile now and those brackets aren't really supporting any load, just keeping the lower airbag mount from sliding off the top of the leaf spring.
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Went to my local junk yard and ripped apart the drum hardware. Parking brake return springs are damn near mint. In case My old ones ever need replacing. You can’t find them anywhere.
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Walker111
Drum brakes are dumb. I know I know, they’re better, they’re still dumb. They’ll soon be a thing of the past. I’ve scoured my area for someone that will turn drums with no luck, and the Chinese shat that new drums are made of are shaped like an egg.

I recently picked up a D80 disc setup with LSD for 150 bucks. Needs a pinion seal, calipers, rotors, and e-brake equipment. I’m looking forward to getting rid of the drums.
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Antonm
Drums brakes are not going anywhere anytime soon at least. Heck there are brand new, high end luxury, electric cars coming off the showroom floor with drum rear brakes (the Audi Q4 e-tron is one).

In fact the lack of brake drag that drums have compared to disc brakes is making them look good again in the eyes of those looking for fuel mileage and EV range. Here are few quick google search articles that talk about it a little, kinda interesting if you're into that kinda stuff.


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Walker111
Antonm said:
Drums brakes are not going anywhere anytime soon at least. Heck there are brand new, high end luxury, electric cars coming off the showroom floor with drum rear brakes (the Audi Q4 e-tron is one).

In fact the lack of brake drag that drums have compared to disc brakes in making them look good again in the eyes of those looking for fuel mileage and EV range. Here are few quick google search articles that talk about it a little, kinda interesting if you're into that kinda stuff.


...
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Thanks, especially for giving me an example. I’m intrigued enough to see if there are any differences old vs new)

maybe they’ll make a comeback like all the other terrible things from the past. If the tree huggin hippies want them in their ev’s….be my guest.

For me, I’ll stick to disc’s.
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I’ll keep My drums. Every semi truck I’ve ever driven has them, and for good reason. They prevent dirt, and water from constantly bombarding the brakes. I’ve seen so many problems with rear discs it’s not even funny. When it comes to EV’s I’ll never get rid of My 12 valve, but the 2007 Honda CRV will go to some poor ******* if I can make enough money, Ill get a RAV4 Prime.

This is what gives Me ultimate power and control through the week plus sugar free rockstar, decaf Swiss coffee, and Organic green tea from southern Japan. I call it the sausage, and egg Mcgrease! Olive oil in the pan to thaw and cook the sausages covered on low, and a jalapeño mayo from Costco. Made with good old cancerous canola oil.
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Walker111
Cummins12valve86 said:
I’ll keep My drums. Every semi truck I’ve ever driven has them, and for good reason. They prevent dirt, and water from constantly bombarding the brakes. I’ve seen so many problems with rear discs it’s not even funny. When it comes to EV’s I’ll never get rid of My 12 valve, but the 2007 Honda CRV will go to some poor *** if I can make enough money, Ill get a RAV4 Prime.
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Drums on a semi are slightly different than our hydraulic drums.
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