I recently purchased a 1997 Dodge Regency conversion van, 5.9 motor, AC, 4 spd tranny, front disk, rear drum brakes.
I drove the van home from San Antonio to Fort Worth (About a 5.5 hour trip) without problems.
The last week or so I have noticed that the van will pull a little bit to one side or the other. Three days ago I was driving around town and when I came to a stoplight I noticed a different odor. It smelled like an electric motor when it gets hot. The van started pulling a bit to the right. When I would apply the brakes the pull would seem to disappear. Then when I'd release the brakes, they seemed to release slowly and the pull to the right would return. It seemed like the brakes were not releasing fully. I had to give it more gas to maintain speed. I was a few blocks from home and when I got home I noticed the front brakes were hot, especially the front right, It was sizzling hot. Yesterday I took the van to Just Brakes and told them what had happened. The tech looked at the van and they told me that the van had probably had a front and rear brake job right before I purchased the vehicle. They informed me that the pads, rotors and drums were brand new. They also told me that there is a substance sprayed on the parts to keep them from rusting and that is probably what I was smelling and that until the substance was gone I would still experience the problems of the odor and the pulling to either side. They were quite nice to me and didn't charge me for the visit. Today while driving back from my GF's house the van started pulling slightly to the left.
Is this typical behavior for a vehicle with a new brake job? Or should I take the van to a different place to have it looked at? I will be driving the van to Wisconsin in August and don't wish to have any problems along the way. It's about 1100 miles each way plus the driving that i'll do around town when I get there.
Thanks in advance!
David