Grand Voyager Brakes

Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
100,000 miles.

On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 16:06:28 -0800, "Don Jough" > wrote:

>Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
>Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
>rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
>the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
>little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
>100,000 miles.

7 front pad changes in 50K miles, but you've never replaced the rear pads?
Perhaps the f/r brake force balancer is kaput and all the stopping force is
coming from the fronts?

On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 16:06:28 -0800, "Don Jough" >
wrote:

>Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
>Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
>rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
>the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
>little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
>100,000 miles.
>
What kind of problems, where do you live, and who's replacing the
parts with what quality?
If you live in the salt belt and use iron metallic pads, and
particularly if the vehicle is not heavily used, you WILL replace pads
and rotors regularly - rotors before the pads are worn. Use ceramic or
aramid (Kevlar) pads and the rotors will last a lot longer. Carbon
Metallics worked good for me on the Aerostar (which couldn't stop
worth crap with the factory brakes, and needed rotors about evey 13
months) On the Mystique I'm running EBS Green (Kevlar) pads with
excellent results.
My 1988 New Yorker (same brakes as the grand caravan) and the 1998
Neon were not hard on brakes with non-metallic pads.
I'm in the middle of the "salt belt" of Central Ontario.

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:55:16 -0500, daytripper
> wrote:

>On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 16:06:28 -0800, "Don Jough" > wrote:
>
>>Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
>>Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
>>rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
>>the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
>>little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
>>100,000 miles.
>
>7 front pad changes in 50K miles, but you've never replaced the rear pads?
>Perhaps the f/r brake force balancer is kaput and all the stopping force is
>coming from the fronts?

The stopping IS done by the front - not at ALL unheard of for the
rears to outlast the fronts 4:1.

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:35:18 -0500, wrote:

>On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:55:16 -0500, daytripper
> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 16:06:28 -0800, "Don Jough" > wrote:
>>
>>>Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
>>>Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
>>>rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
>>>the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
>>>little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
>>>100,000 miles.
>>
>>7 front pad changes in 50K miles, but you've never replaced the rear pads?
>>Perhaps the f/r brake force balancer is kaput and all the stopping force is
>>coming from the fronts?
>
>The stopping IS done by the front - not at ALL unheard of for the
>rears to outlast the fronts 4:1.

Um, he said he's had 7 front pad changes, but little wear on the rears.
Sounds closer to infinity:1

You never heard of the brake force distribution valve failing, then?

On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:17:01 -0500, daytripper
> wrote:

>On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:35:18 -0500, wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:55:16 -0500, daytripper
> wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 3 Jan 2009 16:06:28 -0800, "Don Jough" > wrote:
>>>
>>>>Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
>>>>Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
>>>>rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
>>>>the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
>>>>little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
>>>>100,000 miles.
>>>
>>>7 front pad changes in 50K miles, but you've never replaced the rear pads?
>>>Perhaps the f/r brake force balancer is kaput and all the stopping force is
>>>coming from the fronts?
>>
>>The stopping IS done by the front - not at ALL unheard of for the
>>rears to outlast the fronts 4:1.
>
>Um, he said he's had 7 front pad changes, but little wear on the rears.
>Sounds closer to infinity:1
>
>You never heard of the brake force distribution valve failing, then?
Is none on most current vehicles, and would not have that effect if it
did and it did fail.
In 50,000 miles he should have worn less than 1/4 of the rear brakes,
and 2 sets of pads and one set of rotors under normal use with factory
parts..
If tha caliper slider mechanisms seize up he'l take the pads off one
side of the rotor real quick. I suspect he needs to have a
knowlegeable brake mechanic go over the vehicle to dtermine why he is
so hard on brake parts. Either that or he needs to learn to drive an
automatic vehicle with one foot.
2 foot driving will have the effect on brakes that he is experiencing.

On Jan 3, 7:06*pm, "Don Jough" > wrote:
> Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth Grand
> Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7 times, the
> rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I have replaced
> the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear brakes show
> little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with just under
> 100,000 miles.

it sounds like the front hoses are at fault keeping the brakes on and
burning up the pads and rotors you can burn up a set of brakes in one
month with faulty hoses and take out the rotors with it

"Don Jough" > wrote in message
...
> Has anybody had, or have problems with the front brakes on a Plymouth
> Grand Voyager (mine is a 1996). I have had to replace the pads about 7
> times, the rotors 3 times, and the calipers 3 times. For good measure I
> have replaced the Master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders. The rear
> brakes show little wear. I have 150,000 miles on it, and purchased it with
> just under 100,000 miles.
>

Don,
I wonder what problems you were having to keep replacing those parts
over and over? I found it better to replace rotors then turn them because
they wear quickly, and the shops that turn rotors often have no idea what
they are doing, and try to resurface with a single cut for $20 each.

On a van as old as yours you need to replace the brake hoses since these
can fail in a way that keeps the front caliper's from retracting properly,
and this can lead to extremely quick rotor glazing.

I had a 99 Caravan, and yes the brakes when they are at their best are
no more than adaquite. They don't stay that way long as the front pads and
rotors glaze quickly. The choice of parts used is a big factor also. I had
my best luck with Napa rotors and pads (ceramic).

The rear needs to be adjusted correctly, and the OEM wheel cyclinders
have a tendency to leak in as few as 30,000 miles. The cheapest Autozone
Chinese crap wheel cyclinders are superior to OEM. Adjust the rear brakes
one at a time with the wheel off the ground. Then you will notice that the
brake pedal travel is at minimum before you feel resistance with your foot.

Get one of those lazer / Infra-red gun type temperature meterers. Go
out and do 2-3 runs from 60 to zero and then pull over and see how the
wheel temperatures compare. The front should be hottest for sure, and the
rears should not be cold.

In my opinion Dodge brakes of the mid to late 90's are marginal at
best when everything is right. Keeping them at this "peak level" is
difficult unless you work on them often, or resign yourself to strengthen
your legs and don' tailgate.

JC