My '96 Town and Country started making noises a couple of years ago when braking. Noise seems to eminate from the rear drums. Particularly in warm weather, they make a loud "Whump, Whump, Whump,etc." sound and the brake pedal pulsates slightly. I've had three different mechanics check it out and they all said the brakes are in good shape and there is nothing wrong with them. The vehicle only has 42, 000 miles on it and I don't know what to do next.
Not at all qualified to answer this, but if I may I can tell a related story in the hope that it may be helpful...
About 10 years ago had an Olds that developed the annoying habit of locking up one of the rear wheels (drum) if you so much as thought about touching the brake pedal. The wetter or more humid it was the worse. I guess because brake fluid is hydroscopic. Scared a lot of folks by "screeching" to a (safe, but only I knew it) stop behind them.
Took the wheel apart, found the teensiest wheel cylinder leak, just an ever so slight wet-ishness around the seal.
Being of the waste not want not generation, replace the cylinder, cleaned the drum thoroughly with brake cleaner, and sanded the shoes so they looked like new.
Worked perfectly for a couple of days, and then failed.
Took it apart, cleaned and sanded even more thorougly, and again good for a couple of days. Did this several times; always perfect and then failed.
Finally got smart; bought new shoes and installed 'em, cleaned everything in sight, and it worked fine for as long as I owned the thing.
Ken, Thanks for letting me know about your brake problem. I'm of the opinion that it might be wise to replace the rear brakes. The only thing I'm wondering is could it be something wrong in the ABS?
D>> Thanks, but where does one find a "qualified" technician? Do you think it
Could it have something to do with the ABS? I live in a small city (less than 60,000) so choices of really good auto techs is somewhat lacking. I'll relate the information you sent to the next brake technician I take the van to. Thanks again.
D>> Thanks, but where does one find a "qualified" technician? Do you think it
I stand ready to be corrected by the mechanics here, but I suspect that your abs is working fine... proving it every time you've stopped lately :)
Willing to bet you a dollar to a doughnut that you have exactly the same problem I had, with the only difference being that the old Olds had no abs.
So - everytime I braked the wheel locked up solid; whereas your abs is preventing lock up. Then the abs releasing the brakes causes the whump sound everytime it applies/releases, and the jiggle you're feeling in the pedal is just normal for the abs.
If dollars are a little tight, and/or service is far away, it was pretty easy to change (rebuild) the wheel cylinder. Toughest part of changing it is getting the old fitting off (you need the correct wrenches). Then naturally you have to bleed the brakes. Rebuilding would be even easier, though you'd have to get ahold of a hone.
And once more, I'm absolutely convinced that you have to change the pads. Once they're contaminated there just ain't no amount of cleaning and sanding that will save them permanently.
Thanks, Ken. You know, your explanation makes a lot of sense. So, if that's the case, I will need to have my brake cylinders rebuilt or replaced and also replace the shoes. The first time it happened, we were on vacation, it was early in the morning and it was so loud it scared the heck out of me. It isn't quite as loud now.
You got to be really careful when changing calipers or wheel cylinders on a car with ABS. If you allow too much air into the brake lines, and the air gets up into the ABS controller valves, you can NOT bleed them yourself, it must be done with a scan tool. (and not a $199 cheapie, either)
I would try having an assistant sitting in the car, loosen the brake line just a bit, then get all the bolts and such out, then quickly undo the brake line and then slap the new cylinder in, then quickly tighten the line and then have the assistant start pressing the petal and get the bleed cycle going. And make sure the master cylinder is full, if it sucks air, your screwed.
I've never bothered rebuilding wheel cylinders, the cost of new ones is cheap enough to just go new.
We bought our 96 T&C new and had a bunch of problems with it in the first few years. Reading your post caused me to recall that we also had this problem with ours.
If I remember properly, it was some sort of design problem that merited either a recall or a TSB. Chrysler fixed ours under warranty. I suggest you do a little research on line and, if you can find a reputable one, discuss it with your friendly Chrysler dealer.
Ted, bleeding air or even replacing the calipers or wheel cylinders aren't a problem. The problem occurs when the hydraulic (ABS) lines or hydraulic assembly has been opened, that's when it requires the use of the DRB brake bleed function to be used.
Is this what you are experiencing? If so, it's the same disease as ours that Chrysler fixed:
Make: CHRYSLER Model: TOWN AND COUNTRY Year: 1996 Type: MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE Service Bulletin Number: 051695 NHTSA Item Number: 46507 Summary Description: BULLETIN APPLIES TO VEHICLES BUILT PRIOR TO DEC. 5, 1995 (MDH 1205XX). A MOANING NOISE FROM THE REAR BRAKES DURING LIGHT BRAKE PEDAL EFFORT STOPS OR REAR BRAKE SHOES REQUIRE REPLACMENT. BULLETIN INVOLVES THE REPLACEMENT OF THE REAR BRAKE SHOES, BRAKE DRUMS AND THE INSTALLATION OF ADDITIONAL BRAKE SHOE SPRINGS.
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