Jim Grant's Tech Tips
Dodge Dynasty, Smoking Front Tire
Q:
We have a '90 Dodge Dynasty with a 3.3 engine. The front passenger tire
gets so hot that we have to pull over and let it cool down. We had it
in three times to a garage and replaced the caliper twice. The last time
we replaced the caliper we replaced the rotor, pads and caliper which
still does not work so we brought it into a brake shop hoping that they
could find the problem. He said there was an air bubble on the opposite
side, that was probably putting pressure on the one that was giving us
the problem so we kept our fingers crossed and drove it for about a day
without a hitch. Then, low and behold we were out driving for about five
minutes and the tire started to smoke really bad and you could smell something
burning. We pulled over for about 20 minutes and then we managed to get
it home. This is so annoying that none of the mechanics or the brake specialists
can tell us what it is...
-Sharon/Ray
A:
I'm
kind of surprised that no mention was made of the brake hose. Your vehicle
is plenty old enough to have problems such as degrading brake hoses. The
inside of the brake hose can be swollen and even coming apart. Under the
right conditions the brake hose can actually prevent the release of brake
fluid. An air bubble in that or any other brake line won't do that. If
you can get the brake to stick, pull into a shop and ask them to jack
up that wheel. Once the wheel is up, try to turn the wheel to be sure
it's still binding/sticking. Then with a wrench, open the bleeder screw
to that brake caliper. If suddenly the wheel turns free you know brake
fluid pressure was holding the brake on not the brake caliper. If the
wheel turns free the brake hose is suspect.
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