NiceTrip Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 At 27,000 miles, the wear indicator on my right rear was screaming (literally) for a rear brake job. So I bought some ceramic pads from my friendly neighborhood parts store and went to work. Put the car up on jack stands and took the wheels off. First thing I noticed on the right side was that I couldn't easily rotate the wheel, the brake seemed to be dragging. Then once I got the caliper off, I found the reason for the premature wear. The lower caliper pin was completely frozen in its hole. I could turn it with a wrench, but could not pull it out. After a bit of head scratching, I reassembled the caliper, less the outer pad, used a large c-clamp to prevent the top pin from sliding out too far, and had a helper press the brakes to force the pin out. Took a bit of doing but finally got it out of there. The pin was dry - no lubricant - and covered in rust. I cleaned of the rust with a bit of fine sandpaper and gave it a good coating of brake lube and put everything back together, so it's working for now. Tomorrow I'll be taking it in to the dealer, and I expect a new caliper pin, and caliper bracket at the least. They should also replace the caliper, as the old seals are probably heat damaged. I'll also be asking for reimbursement for the brake pads I had to buy prematurely as a result of Dodge's shoddy quality control. If I'd just taken it straight to the dealer instead of doing it myself, I'm sure they'd have simply cleaned it up and put it back together, while charging me ~$200-$300 for their "5-star service". I've been generally happy with my Journey, but it has had more issues than any new car I've bought. Perhaps to be expected with a first-year model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwengel Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 At 27,000 miles, the wear indicator on my right rear was screaming (literally) for a rear brake job. So I bought some ceramic pads from my friendly neighborhood parts store and went to work. Put the car up on jack stands and took the wheels off. First thing I noticed on the right side was that I couldn't easily rotate the wheel, the brake seemed to be dragging. Then once I got the caliper off, I found the reason for the premature wear. The lower caliper pin was completely frozen in its hole. I could turn it with a wrench, but could not pull it out. After a bit of head scratching, I reassembled the caliper, less the outer pad, used a large c-clamp to prevent the top pin from sliding out too far, and had a helper press the brakes to force the pin out. Took a bit of doing but finally got it out of there. The pin was dry - no lubricant - and covered in rust. I cleaned of the rust with a bit of fine sandpaper and gave it a good coating of brake lube and put everything back together, so it's working for now. Tomorrow I'll be taking it in to the dealer, and I expect a new caliper pin, and caliper bracket at the least. They should also replace the caliper, as the old seals are probably heat damaged. I'll also be asking for reimbursement for the brake pads I had to buy prematurely as a result of Dodge's shoddy quality control. If I'd just taken it straight to the dealer instead of doing it myself, I'm sure they'd have simply cleaned it up and put it back together, while charging me ~$200-$300 for their "5-star service". I've been generally happy with my Journey, but it has had more issues than any new car I've bought. Perhaps to be expected with a first-year model? I'm just curious, how did you make out with your visit to the dealer? What did they actually do for you, if anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiceTrip Posted April 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2010 Update: Dealer replaced both rear calipers under warranty at no charge - said there was a TSB stating that if you change one caliper due to binding/sticking you must replace both. I'm also pressing for reimbursement of the ~$55 that I paid for new pads because of the premature wear . Told the service writer that I replaced the pads myself because I knew they are a normal wear item and excluded from the warranty. However when I found the stuck caliper, it went from being a wear item to a defect. Service writer seems to think it won't be a problem. I'll let you know how that comes out. The strange thing (at least to me) is that it was the caliper PIN that stuck in the BRACKET, and neither of those were replaced. I lubed everything up with brake lube, so it's not sticking now, but I'm concerned that it may stick again, since there seemed to be some rust/corrosion on the pin and inside the hole in the caliper bracket where the pin goes. Bottom line, whether you do your own brakes or have them done, make SURE the caliper pins are removed, cleaned and lubricated. The way these brakes are designed, it's entirely possible to remove the caliper, change the pads, and replace the caliper without ever pulling the pins or noticiing that they are stuck. Thereby setting yourself up for yet another premature replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeeric Posted May 20, 2017 Report Share Posted May 20, 2017 I thought this was interesting as this addresses the need to check your rubber brake line for restriction due to rust on the metal clamp.  This would stop fluid from getting back to the master cylinder.  Check it out:   larryl and 2late4u 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwengel Posted May 20, 2017 Report Share Posted May 20, 2017 Hey freeeric, Â That was a great find......a lot of people might be surprised to find this to be true. Â Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted May 21, 2017 Report Share Posted May 21, 2017 That happened to another car I had. Pretty easy to overlook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 I was told by the service advisor that this was a common problem.. not the brake hose, but the dirty and sticky calipers. He claimed it was due to excessive brake dust causing the caliper not to slide. Would have never thought about the restricted hose.   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankster Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 I had the restricted brake brake hose problem on one of my old Caravans. I think it was the 94. Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 2 hours ago, BrianS said: I was told by the service advisor that this was a common problem.. not the brake hose, but the dirty and sticky calipers. He claimed it was due to excessive brake dust causing the caliper not to slide. Would have never thought about the restricted hose.    I don't think it would be classified as "common". Out of the 40+ vehicles I've owned over the years, there was only one that had a collapsed brake hose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brwengel Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 45 minutes ago, jkeaton said:  I don't think it would be classified as "common". Out of the 40+ vehicles I've owned over the years, there was only one that had a collapsed brake hose.  I think what they mean is that it's a common problem with these Journey's.  I looked at my brake hose and the metal bracket in question appears to be rusted, looks like it's not plated.  So I would expect all of them to rust, and it'll be worse the further north you are.  My sister has an '09 Caravan and it has the same problem with the rear calipers and her hose bracket is also rusted..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 I was talking about the collapsed brake hose, I misunderstood your post. You were referring to the sticking calipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Rider Posted October 21, 2017 Report Share Posted October 21, 2017 Have a 2013 Journey Crew. Just brought it in as the rear passenger brakes were smoking, turns out it was a seized caliper. Rotor is warped and pads need to be changed......all this with 45,000 kms? Of course, the rear driver's side wasn't in much better condition so it's a full rotor, pads and caliper change on both sides. I am an old guy who drives the speed limit (sorry about that young folks!) and really don't consider myself to be hard on brakes. After reading the many posts on brake and caliper issues I can only think that the braking system on these journeys are woefully inadequate. As I've had 7 other issues with this Journey (3 on recall and 4 on warranty) my faith in Journeys is at an all time low. I'm getting close to "trade in time" (and not for another Journey). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted October 21, 2017 Report Share Posted October 21, 2017 Good luck! 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted October 21, 2017 Report Share Posted October 21, 2017 cant complain about my journey , i have 67k on the speedo and checked the pads on the last tire rotation and they look about 1/4- to 1/2 gone.and you might be like the big crown vic i seen a couple of days ago that kept hitting their brakes in the left lane and drove with her foot resting on the brake even when she was picking up speed of course she was holding up traffic since she was blocking us from passing, thank goodness that only lasted for about 3 miles before she finally made her left turn. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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